Asymmetrical Christmas Mantel Ideas

Nov 24, 2021 · 1 Comment

Asymmetrical Christmas Mantel Ideas: use garland and a mini Christmas tree collection to create a cozy pretty Christmas mantel.

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I love decorating my mantel for Christmas. I've never loved things being perfectly symmetrical so today I'm sharing some asymmetrical Christmas mantel ideas. I love this look and that it's a bit different, and it's really easy to pull together.

Snowy Backdrop

We have a corner fireplace and it can be a bit tricky to decorate, because it has such a large triangular space to fill. I usually start out with some kind of back drop. For Christmas I decided to make a curtain of snow. To start, I picked up some white pom poms in three different sizes, and strung them randomly onto some white thread. Next, I used some command hooks at the top, with a string tied between them, and hung the strands of pom poms from them. I love how snowy and whimsical it looks for the holidays.

Christmas Trees

In front of my snowy backdrop I added a collection of mini Christmas trees. I love mixing different colours and textures. This year for my Christmas decor I'm using lots of whites and neutrals with touches of pink, and iridescent. I used a tall bottle brush tree, two different white ceramic ones, a raw wood tree, one pretty iridescent tree, a pink glass tree, and a metal brass looking one. I love the mix of different colours, textures, and heights to add interest to the display. We've placed the largest one to the right, to create a bit of the swoop to the display, and coordinate with the asymmetrical garland beneath it.

mini table top Christmas tree collection

Candles

Next, since it's Christmas I thought it would be nice to include some candles. I used vintage brass candle stick holders form the thrift store, and thrifted pink candles.

The Garlands

The base of this garland is two faux fir garlands, attached to the mantel with two small finishing nails on either side. I wanted my Christmas decor to feel warm, cozy, and layered this year, with a Scandinavian feel, so I layered a lot of different garlands on top of the greenery. Secondly, I always have my DIY macrame bunting hanging on the mantel, and I left it up for Christmas, since it feels so cozy and pretty. See the tutorial for the macrame bunting here. On top of that, I combined a fun pom pom one, and a felt ball one. I also included one long 12 ft. garland of raw wood beads, and doubled it. Lastly to add in some of the pink I used some pink pom pom yarn, and the pink star garland that I made last year with polymer clay and gold wire -find the full tutorial for the star garland here.

And the last finishing touch to the garland area was to hang up some warm, wooly stockings. I used more command hooks to hang them, and placed them on one side to add to our asymmetrical look.

how to decorate an asymmetrical Christmas mantel

I love the asymetrical look achieved by off setting the garlands, and arranging the Christmas trees all to one side. This Christmas mantel is full of interest, and all the cozy, Christmas feels I was looking for. I hope it inspires you.

pink Christmas decor ideas fireplace mantel

With these Asymmetrical Christmas mantel ideas, life really is a party!

Free Printable Letter To Santa

Nov 17, 2021 · 4 Comments

Free Printable Letter To Santa: use our free printable template in pink or blue, to make writing a letter to Santa extra fun and easy.

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It's always fun for kids to write a letter to Santa at Christmas. Make this fun holiday activity easier -and cutier, than ever with our free printable letter to Santa template.

Free Printable Letter To Santa In Pink or Blue

We've made our letter to Santa templates two different versions, available in both pink and blue, so choose whichever your child prefers. Just print and let them fill out all the details, making it easier than ever for anyone to write their own letter to Santa.

Our free printable dear Santa letters are great area wonderful way to send magical messages to the big guy. The blank Santa letter templates can be printed at home on your home printer, or at any office supply store.

You'll love seeing which box they check, and if they think they've been naughty, nice, or a little of both this past year. There's a also a fun little greeting to Mr. Claus, and a spot for them to fill out what's on their Christmas wish list this year.

Start A Fun Tradition

We love traditions, especially during the Christmas season. So there's so many fun activities to do as a family like Elf on the Shelf -check out all our free printables and cute ideas here. We also love to bake Christmas cookies and turn it into a Christmas baking party too.

And writing a letter to Santa is a favourite tradition too. Make an afternoon of it with some hot chocolate, and toy flyers or catalogues. You might want to pick up a fun Santa pencil just for the occasion! This simple letter makes it easier for young children with a little help, or older kids who aren't sure what to say and easy, fun way to share their Christmas wishes.

It's also a fun activity at a festive get together or as part of a Christmas crafts station. Create a letter writing centre with our fun free printable letter, and some envelopes, and stamps. You could make your own post office, complete with a mini Christmas tree, Christmas lights, and post box. Make sure kids add their return address to their Christmas letter on the envelope, and address their letters to Santa Claus North Pole, before leaving them with your DIY postal service -and be sure to actually mail them.

Another great idea for this magical time of year is add the blank printable Santa letter template to a Christmas Eve box. Kids will love sharing their Christmas lists, and the nice things they've been doing along with the traditional milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Make a little box or basket with special Christmas pajamas, the letter, and package of hot cocoa to enjoy while writing letters.

This letter to Santa is available free to Life is a Party subscribers, in our free printable library. Subscribe below for instant access to the PDF files and tons more beautiful free printables. Our free printable Santa letter template is available for personal use only.

With a beautiful Letter To Santa template to enjoy this holiday season, life really is a party!

pink and blue free letter to Santa printables

Christmas Breakfast Board

Nov 15, 2021 · 2 Comments

A Christmas breakfast charcuterie board is the perfect solution for busy Christmas morning with festive gingerbread waffles, sugared cranberries, bacon, eggs, and all your favorite holiday treats. This beautiful breakfast spread lets everyone graze while opening presents, and most items can be prepared the night before for a stress-free holiday morning.

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A Quick Look At This Recipe

📋 Type: Christmas Breakfast Board
⏲️ Ready In: 35 minutes (20 minutes prep, 15 minutes assembly)
👪 Servings: 6-8 people
🔪 Difficulty: Easy
💭 Top Tip: Make the sugared cranberries and cook proteins the night before so you only need to warm and assemble Christmas morning!

Why You'll Love This Christmas Breakfast Board

Festive gingerbread theme: Gingerbread waffles, marshmallows, and sprinkles create a cohesive holiday look.
Make ahead friendly: Cook bacon, sausage, and sugared cranberries the night before for easy morning assembly.
Perfect for Christmas morning chaos: Everyone can graze while opening presents without sitting down for a formal meal.
Sweet and savory balance: Offers waffles and treats alongside eggs and breakfast meats to please all preferences.
Beautiful presentation: Cedar sprigs, sugared cranberries, and festive colors make this board Instagram worthy.

I've been creating Christmas breakfast charcuterie boards for my family every Christmas morning for the past several years, and it has become our favorite holiday tradition. The key is preparing everything the night before so Christmas morning is about family time, not kitchen stress. My kids love grazing from the board while opening presents, and adults appreciate having substantial breakfast options without the pressure of a sit down meal.

The gingerbread theme makes this board feel extra festive and cohesive. Between the gingerbread shaped waffles, gingerbread marshmallows, and warm holiday spices, your kitchen will smell like Christmas morning should. The homemade sugared cranberries add an elegant touch that looks impressive but takes only 30 minutes to prepare.

This Christmas breakfast board works beautifully whether you're hosting extended family for Christmas brunch or keeping it simple with your immediate household. The variety means picky eaters find something they love while adventurous eaters can try everything.

If you love easy breakfast ideas for the holidays, you might also enjoy these pumpkin waffles, easy overnight French toast casserole, or small batch pancakes for Christmas morning entertaining.

What's On a Christmas Breakfast Board

Gingerbread Waffles: Use a gingerbread shaped waffle maker if you have one, or make regular waffles and cut them into festive shapes with cookie cutters. You can use your favorite waffle recipe or mix, and gingerbread flavored batter takes the theme even further.

Scrambled Eggs: Fluffy scrambled eggs add protein and balance the sweeter items. Cook them just before assembling since they only take a few minutes.

Breakfast Meats: Crispy bacon and breakfast sausage links provide savory elements. I always bake my bacon in the oven at 400°F for 15-20 minutes for perfectly crispy results with minimal cleanup.

Sugared Cranberries: These jewel-like cranberries are easier to make than they look and add gorgeous color and festive sparkle. See the recipe below.

Fresh Berries: Raspberries, strawberries, or any seasonal berries add fresh color and natural sweetness.

Whipped Cream: Serve in a small bowl with a spoon for topping waffles. Make it the night before and keep refrigerated.

Maple Syrup: Pour into a small pitcher or bowl so everyone can drizzle their waffles.

Festive Additions: Gingerbread marshmallows, holiday sprinkles, and fresh cedar or rosemary sprigs from the garden create Christmas magic.

The Gingerbread Theme

Creating a gingerbread themed Christmas breakfast board brings everything together visually and makes your breakfast feel extra special. Here's how to build the theme:

Gingerbread Waffles: The star of the show. If you can't find a gingerbread waffle maker, regular mini waffles work perfectly. You can add 1 tablespoon molasses, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves to your favorite waffle batter for authentic gingerbread flavor.

Gingerbread Marshmallows: Look for these seasonally at specialty stores or online. They're adorable scattered across the board and kids love them.

Gingerbread Sprinkles: Add a jar of gingerbread shaped sprinkles for topping waffles and whipped cream.

Mini Cast Iron Skillet: I use a gingerbread shaped mini cast iron skillet for the scrambled eggs. It keeps them warm and adds to the theme, but any small oven-safe dish works.

If you can't source gingerbread specific items, you can create any Christmas theme using shaped waffles (Christmas trees, snowflakes), red and green sprinkles, and peppermint flavored additions instead.

How to Make Sugared Cranberries

These sparkling cranberries look like Christmas jewelry on your breakfast board and taste delicious. They're surprisingly easy to make and can be prepared 1-2 days ahead.

Ingredients:

¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 cup fresh cranberries
¼ cup sugar (for coating)

Instructions:

Step 1: Combine ¼ cup sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar completely dissolves and the mixture reaches a gentle boil.

Step 2: Add the cranberries and stir gently to coat them in the sugar syrup. Remove the pan from heat immediately. You're not cooking the cranberries, just coating them.

Step 3: Use a slotted spoon to remove the cranberries from the syrup and spread them in a single layer on a wire rack set over a plate or baking sheet. Let them sit for 20-40 minutes until they become tacky and sticky to the touch.

Step 4: Place the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a shallow bowl. Working in batches, roll the sticky cranberries in the sugar until completely coated. They should look frosted and sparkly.

Step 5: Store sugared cranberries in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Don't stack them or they'll stick together.

Assembly Instructions for Your Christmas Breakfast Board

Step 1: Start the Night Before

Cook your bacon and sausage the night before. Let them cool completely, then store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Make the sugared cranberries up to 2 days ahead. Whip your cream and refrigerate. This prep work means Christmas morning assembly takes only 15-20 minutes.

Step 2: Christmas Morning Prep

Warm your pre-cooked bacon and sausage in a 300°F oven for 8-10 minutes. Make fresh waffles using your waffle maker or waffle iron. If you're making regular waffles instead of shaped ones, you can use Christmas cookie cutters to cut them into festive shapes while they're still warm. Scramble your eggs last so they're hot when you assemble the board.

Step 3: Choose Your Board

Select a large wooden board, cutting board, or serving platter. I use a board that's at least 18 inches long to give plenty of space for all the components. Make sure it's food safe and can handle warm items.h berries on the board and make them extra special holiday treats for Christmas

Step 4: Arrange the Waffles

Start by laying the waffles down the center of the board in a gentle wave pattern, overlapping them slightly. This creates your focal point and establishes the visual flow.

Step 5: Add Bowls and Skillets

Place your mini cast iron skillet with scrambled eggs on one side of the waffles. Add small bowls for whipped cream, maple syrup, and sprinkles. Space them evenly for visual balance.

Step 6: Add Proteins

Arrange the bacon and sausage links around the bowls and waffles. You can stack bacon in small piles or fan it out. Sausage links can be arranged in a row or scattered.

Step 7: Fill with Fruit

Add piles of fresh raspberries, sugared cranberries, and any other fresh fruit around the board. Use the bright colors to fill empty spaces and create pops of color.

Step 8: Final Touches

Tuck small sprigs of fresh cedar or rosemary from your garden around the fruit for a natural festive decoration. Scatter gingerbread marshmallows across the board. Sprinkle some holiday sprinkles over the whipped cream bowl for extra sparkle.

Make-Ahead Strategy

The secret to a stress-free Christmas morning breakfast board is strategic prep work:

Two Days Before:

Make sugared cranberries
Shop for any missing ingredients

The Night Before:

Prep waffle batter (if making from scratch)
Cook all bacon and sausage
Whip cream and refrigerate
Set out serving board and bowls

Christmas Morning:

Reheat proteins (10 minutes)
Make waffles (15 minutes)
Scramble eggs (5 minutes)
Assemble board (10 minutes)

Total Christmas morning work: 40 minutes, most of which is hands-off reheating time.

Serving on Christmas Morning

This breakfast board shines on Christmas morning because it lets everyone eat while opening presents. Set it up in the living room on a coffee table or keep it in the kitchen where people can wander over between gifts. The variety means kids can grab waffles with sprinkles while adults load up on eggs and bacon.

I love using this approach because Christmas morning is chaotic and wonderful, and sitting down for a formal breakfast feels impossible when there are stockings to explore and presents to unwrap. The board stays out for 1-2 hours as everyone grazes, and there's always something left for those who want seconds.

For drinks, set out a large carafe of coffee, hot chocolate for the kids, and orange juice. Festive Christmas mugs make everything feel more special.

If you're hosting overnight guests for Christmas, this board feeds 6-8 people easily. For larger gatherings, make two boards or use a very large serving platter.

You might also enjoy serving this alongside our Christmas granola for a complete Christmas brunch spread, or check out our yogurt and granola breakfast board for another entertaining style breakfast.

This delicious brunch board, with a gingerbread theme is one of my favourite fun Christmas breakfast ideas. This is so much fun for anytime around the holidays, Christmas eve, or Christmas day and your family and friends will love it. Instead of a regular breakfast or brunch, arrange it like this to take it to the next level.

More Christmas Breakfast Inspiration

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this Christmas breakfast board the night before?

You can prep almost everything the night before. Cook bacon, sausage, and sugared cranberries ahead of time. On Christmas morning, warm the proteins, make fresh waffles, and scramble eggs just before assembling. Fresh waffles are worth the 15 minutes because they taste so much better than reheated ones.

What's the best board size for a Christmas breakfast charcuterie?

Use a board at least 18 inches long for 6-8 people. Larger boards (24+ inches) work better for 10 or more people. The key is having enough surface area so items aren't piled on top of each other. You want everything visible and accessible.

How do you keep hot items warm on a breakfast board?

Cook eggs last and use a mini cast iron skillet or small oven-safe dish to help them retain heat. Warm bacon and sausage just before assembling. The board won't stay piping hot for hours, but it should stay warm enough for the first 30-45 minutes while everyone is most hungry.

Can I make a Christmas breakfast board without cooking?

Yes! Use store-bought mini waffles (frozen, then toasted), pre-cooked bacon, pre-cooked sausage links that just need warming, and skip the eggs entirely. Add yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, mini muffins, and mini cinnamon rolls for a completely no-cook assembly.

What are good store-bought items for a Christmas breakfast board?

Frozen mini waffles or pancakes, pre-cooked bacon, pre-cooked sausage links, mini cinnamon rolls (just bake), mini muffins, store-bought whipped cream, fresh berries, and any festive holiday treats. There's no shame in using shortcuts on busy Christmas morning.

How far in advance can I make sugared cranberries?

Make them 1-2 days ahead and store in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. Don't make them more than 2 days ahead because they'll start to get sticky and lose their sparkly coating.

What can I use instead of gingerbread waffles on my Christmas brunch board?

Regular waffles, mini pancakes, or French toast sticks all work beautifully. You can cut regular waffles into Christmas tree shapes or gingerbread men using cookie cutters, or make chocolate chip waffles, pumpkin waffles, or classic buttermilk waffles. The theme is flexible based on what your family loves.

If you try this Christmas breakfast charcuterie board or any other ideas on my blog, leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!

Recipe

About the Recipe Developer

I'm Dannyelle, a trained celebrant and former teacher who's been creating memorable celebrations for 15+ years. This Christmas breakfast charcuterie board has become our family's favorite holiday morning tradition over the past several years. My work has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens and Country Living for party styling and seasonal entertaining. More about Life is a Party →

How To Make DIY Paper Christmas Star Decorations

Nov 10, 2021 · 4 Comments

DIY Paper Christmas Star Decoration: this easy craft is perfect for Christmas. Make any size or colour, add mini holes, paint and glitter.

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It's always fun to make some homemade Christmas decorations. These paper Christmas stars are fun to make, and use materials that you probably have on hand already. These stars are perfect for the holiday season. I'll be using these as part of my own Christmas decorations this year. They'd also be really fun for New Year's Eve.

Simple Origami

Origami stars can be a little bit tricky to put together at first, but the results are so stunning. These step by step instructions should make it easy to create these. Once you make a few and get the hang of it they're very easy. You can make them in any size you like, or a mix like we've done here. Make larger ones for a more dramatic look, especially when lit up with fairy lights. Imagine one at the top of the tree, with holes and some lights inside. And the smaller stars are really cute.

This simple craft is a great one for the whole family to make together, and simple enough for kids, once you get used to making them. Try making them in different colors, or using festive papers from the craft store.

Materials

To make these Christmas stars you will need:

paper or card stock
scissors
glue stick or school glue
glitter
mini hole punch hole punch

How To Make 3D Stars

Square Paper

1.Start out with a square piece of paper. You can use any colour you like, regular paper, or card stock or scrapbook papers with pretty patterns or glitter all work well. Heavier cardstock is harder to fold, but holds its shape the best after it's finished. Our smallest squares of craft paper were 6 cm by 6 cm, and they went up from there.

Folding Paper

To create our star shape, begin by folding the paper in half. Keeping the fold edge at the top, next, fold the top left corner down to the bottom edge to make a crease, then unfold , and fold the bottom left corner to top and make a crease.

2. Where the two creases meet is the mark where you next fold the top right corner to.

3. Now take that same right corner and fold that flap back on itself to line up with the edge.

4. Next, fold the whole piece in half along the middle folds.

Cutting The Point

5. Finally, use a pair of scissors to cut a straight line, as shown in the image. The greater the angle of the scissors, the pointier the star will be, Experiment after making your first star, to see what angle is your favourite.

6. Unfold the star and reverse the fold lines where necessary to form the points of your star.

Decorate With Holes, Paint, and Glitter

7. You can also use a hole punch to add some pattern to your star. I used a mini hole punch to create a lacy look to some of my stars by folding each point of the star, and punching through two layers at once to create a pattern. Iridescent paint added a little sparkle to some. Glitter paint would be pretty too. I added some glitter to some with some glue and glitter sprinkled on top.

Hanging Stars

8. To make the stars into hanging Christmas decorations, I added a mini hole to one point at the top of the star and used a darning needle to thread some cotton string through it. You could also choose to make double sided ornaments by making two stars the exact same size, and a hot glue gun to attach two together. To make a tree topper, use the same method but with larger stars.

How To Display The Paper Star Decorations

There's so many ways you could display these paper stars decorations at this wonderful time of year. The large ones would make really pretty Christmas tree toppers. They're also gorgeous hanging from a tree branch at different heights to make a wall hanging for the Christmas season, like I've done here. Small ones would look great on a Christmas tree, wreath, or tucked into a garland over your living room mantel. I made a few stars from paper bags and a Froebel star last year, and these would look amazing mixed together with them too. They'd also be cute as gift toppers. There's so many ways to use them this time of year.

Wall Hanging

To make my wall hanging, I found a few evergreen branches, and tied them with some twine to hang them on the wall. Next, I tied string to my stars, and hung them at various heights. Lastly I added some fairy lights for a little sparkle. These look so pretty at night.

Recipe

DIY Paper Christmas Star Decoration

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Print Pin Rate

Cook Time: 5

Additional Time: 5

Total Time: 10

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Cost: $2

Equipment

paint brush
mini hole punch hole punch
scissors
darning needle

Materials

paper or card stock
glue stick or school glue
glitter
iridescent paint
cotton string

Instructions

Start out with a square piece of paper. You can use any colour you like, regular paper, or card stock or scrapbook papers with pretty patterns or glitter all work well. Heavier cardstock is harder to fold, but holds its shape the best after it's finished. Our smallest squares of craft paper were 6 cm by 6 cm, and they went up from there.
To create our star shape, begin by folding the paper in half. Keeping the fold edge at the top, next, fold the top left corner down to the bottom edge to make a crease, then unfold , and fold the bottom left corner to top and make a crease.
Where the two creases meet is the mark where you next fold the top right corner to.
Now take that same right corner and fold that flap back on itself to line up with the edge.
Next, fold the whole piece in half along the middle folds.
Finally, use a pair of scissors to cut a straight line, as shown in the image. The deeper greater the angle of the scissors, the pointer the star will be, Experiment after making your first star, to see what angle is your favourite.
Unfold the star and reverse the fold lines where necessary to form the points of your star.
You can also use a hole punch to add some pattern to your star. I used a mini hole punch to create a lacy look to some of my stars. I also painted some with irredicscnet paint, and added glue and glitter to some.
To make the stars in to hanging Christmas decorations, I added a mini hole to one point at the top of the star and used a darning needle to thread some cotton string through it. You could also choose to make double sided ornaments by making two stars the exact same size, and a hot glue gun to attach two together. To make a tree topper, use the same method but with larger stars.

These paper Christmas stars are so fun to put together, and there's so many different ways you could use them. They're also very inexpensive to make, and a great craft for kids or a group.

With pretty paper Christmas stars like this, life really is a party!

You might like our Book Page Paper Feathers Tutorial here.

Also check out our DIY Star Garland here.

DIY Star Garland: easy craft using polymer clay and gold wire to create beautiful star garland for Christmas decorating.

You might also like Little House Christmas Wreath here.

Birch Christmas Wreath:-full tutorial to make your own square wreath from some gathered greens, birch logs, and a coat hanger. Perfect for Christmas.

DIY Moon Shaped Christmas Wreath

Nov 3, 2021 · 6 Comments

Moon Shaped Christmas Wreath: how to use a round wire form to make a DIY moon shaped grape vine wreath decorated with ornaments and mushrooms.

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Moon shaped crescent wreaths have become so popular that I thought it would be fun to make one for Christmas. This DIY wreath wasn't hard to put together, and I love that when you make it yourself you can customize it to go with your own personal decor and colour scheme.

I made a Halloween version of this wreath -you can find it here. It was so popular, that I knew a Christmas version would be great too. I love it. I can't decide whether to use it on my holiday mantel, front door, or a vignette. That's a pretty good problem to have. 😉

I'm still loving pink, so I went with a pink colour scheme for this wreath. But if you're more traditional, you could switch it up for red. It would look great in blue's or even neutrals depending on your holiday colour scheme.

Moon Shaped Christmas Wreath Materials:

wire wreath base
grape vine
garden clippers
wire
wire cutters
pink spray paint
faux greens
pink ornaments
yarn pom poms
pine cones
mini disco balls
air dry clay
hot glue
craft paint -white, pink, grey
white glue
iridescent faux snow
gold glitter paper
Cricut star cut pattern

The Moon Shaped Grapevine Wreath Base

I started out making the grapevine wreath. I used a dollar store metal wreath frame as the base. Begin by using some wire cutters to remove a section of the wreath. I cut out two sections of my wreath and drew the loose ends together on each side to create the crescent moon shape. Grape vine grows wild near where I live, so I gathered some and used wire to attach it to the wreath base.

how to make a crescent moon shaped wreath

I wanted by crescent moon wreath to be pink so I used some spray paint, pink ballet slipper, to paint it. Be sure to give it a few coats, and flip it over to get into all the nooks and crannies. Once it's dry, it's ready to decorate.

The Mushrooms

I made the mushrooms out of air dry clay. Start with a piece of wire to be the mushroom stem, and roll the clay around it. Form a mushroom cap separately, and then push it on the wet clay stem. Use a piece of styrofoam, and push the wire ends into it so they can dry. After the air dry clay has fully harden, which usually takes overnight, you can paint them. I used some craft paints in white, pink, and grey. Traditional red would be really cute for a red wreath too.

Decorating The Moon Shaped Christmas Wreath

Start by hot gluing some greens on the grapevine. Next arrange your ornaments and pom poms on top. I picked up various yarns to make my pom poms in two different sizes. To make them multicoloured, like I did, just add some different colours as you make them. Once you're happy with your arrangement it's time to attach them. I used hot glue to attach the pom poms, and pinecones. Some of the vintage pink Christmas ornaments I didn't want to permanently attach to the wreath, so I used some wire to attach them. This will allow me to remove them without any damage, if I want to use them differently another year. I wanted the mushrooms to look as though they were growing out of the wreath, so I attached them in a cluster near the bottom, with some hot glue on the wire ends.

Stars

Stars were the perfect addition to the wreath, since they're great for Christmas, and go so well with the moon. I used my Cricut to cut out some gold glitter paper -get my free Cricut cut pattern here. After they were cut out, I hot glued some gold wire to the back. This enables you to position the stars standing out from the wreath, as though they're floating and creates a really pretty 3D effect. To attach them, just poke the wire in and secure at the back of the wreath.

Snow

As a final touch, I used some white craft paint on the greens and pine cones to look like snow. Then I added glue to the mushrooms, and pinecones and sprinkled them with some faux iridescent glittery snow. This touch added a little magic.

The wreath is hung with some wire attached to the wire wreath base at the back.

DIY crescent moon shaped Christmas wreath

I love how this moon shaped Christmas wreath turned out and think it will be a really fun addition to my holiday decor.

Halloween Mantel Decor

Oct 13, 2021 · 4 Comments

Halloween Mantel Decor: a moon shaped wreath, and flying black butterflies with lots of pumpkins and lanterns are perfect for Halloween.

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This Halloween I thought it would be fun to add some Halloween decor to the fireplace mantel. It's perfect for Halloween movie watching. And even though it's perfect for Halloween and a little spooky, it's also really beautiful too. If you're looking for that balance of spooky decorations but still really beautiful, here's some inspiration for you and some Halloween mantel ideas you'll love.

Your fireplace is the perfect spot to add some indoor Halloween decorations to your fall décor. Add a sprinkle of the holiday season living room style with your favorite Halloween mantel decorations. The first things we started with to decorate the top of the mantel was making and hanging this beautiful Halloween wreath.

Moon Wreath

The wreath is a fun DIY. You can read all about how I made it from a dollar store round wreath form, and transformed it into this fun moon wreath for Halloween. Check out the full tutorial to make the Halloween moon wreath here. This new wreath makes the perfect focal point. I had so much fun making it, it's truly one of my very favorite holiday DIYs ever.

The wreath set the colour scheme for all our Halloween mantel decor ideas. I used black, with some pink, peach, and white for a scary vibe.

To hang the wreath I used a simple 3M hook attached right to the mirror. Look for one that holds the appropriate about of weight for your project.

Black Butterflies

When I made the wreath, I added some black paper butterflies for a spooky look, and decided to cut out some extra ones with my Cricut, to decorate the mantel with as the perfect finishing touch to the wreath. You can find my free black butterfly cut file for cricut here. I attached the butterflies to the mirror using some scotch tape, and was sure to fold the wings outward to create a more 3D effect. Be sure to group the butterflies so that they're all flying at about the same angle in the same direction for the best look.

I really like the black butterflies, but if you prefer you could use some black spooky bats here instead. Pick up some dark bats, or cut them out with your Cricut machine, and attach the paper bats in same way I have attached the butterflies. Another fun option would be some cute creepy spiders and spider webs.

Garland

I love using a garland on a fireplace. To create these Halloween garlands, I hung a few different pieces of yarn, black lace, fringe, pom poms, and felt ball garland in black and white, with one strand of pink pom pom yarn. It was really simple to hang them with a couple command hooks. The best part about this garland is it's not specially Halloween. Use the neutral ones any time of year, or raid your ribbon or yarn basket. Layering different textures in the garland helps create a cozy home feel, even for our spooky mantel.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and More Pumpkins

The rest of the mantel is decorated with pumpkins. There's a mixture of real and faux pumpkins here. I love using real pumpkins, but remember that indoors they can go bad fairly quickly. A tip is to cut a small piece of parchment paper and layer it under your real pumpkins. It won't show, but it will help protect your home from any damage. .And we used white pumpkins, pink pumpkins, and peachy orange pumpkins to go with our spooky Halloween mantel color scheme perfectly. We combined large, small, and mini pumpkins in our farmhouse Halloween mantel display. Some of the faux pumpkins weren't the right shade of pink to match the wreath so they got a spooky makeover with some spray paint.

I also added in a couple black lanterns -because they seemed perfect for Halloween. Any black candle holders would work well. I love using my regular home decor pieces in a seasonal look like this one. No need to always buy new holiday themed pieces, when you can shop your house and find things simple items like white candles, old books, book pages, lanterns, string lights, and black candlesticks that you already have. Once you get your creative juices flowing you realize you can use lots of existing decor in new ways for a fun way to decorate your Halloween mantel.

Touch of Whimsy

I also added a simple letter board saying "making magic" and a disco ball to match the ones in the wreath. I always like to add a few fun things to create a bit of whimsy as a final Halloween touch. Another great option might be to add a witch hat, or magic wand.

It's really a pretty simple Halloween mantel, but I love how it turned out. And it looks so beautiful and spooky at night with the candles lit. It's a really fun addition to your haunted house this fall season. It's the perfect place for watching scary movies, eating Halloween candy, and snuggling in your favorite throw blanket.

With this Halloween mantel decor, life really is a party!

DIY Cresent Moon Wreath

Oct 6, 2021 · 3 Comments

This Moon Wreath is an fun DIY. Convert a round wire wreath base into crescent moon wreath adding your own grape vine and decorations.

DIY Crescent Moon Wreath with homemade grapevine base, and decorations.

Why You'll Love This Project

It's perfectly magical for Halloween or fall.
You can customize by spray painting the wreath black, leaving it natural, or painting a different color and adding your own decorations.
It's really inexpensive to make using dollar store supplies.

"Love it! Very inspired to make my own. Thank you for sharing!" -Mitchell via Pinterest

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I've noticed lots of crescent moon shaped wreaths lately, and fell in love with them. I thought it would be fun to DIY my own. Using grapevine and a round wire wreath form, we made our own moon shaped wreath base.

You might also like our Christmas Moon Shaped Wreath, Pinecone Wreath, DIY Birch Wreath, or these DIY Acorns.

I did see some grapevine crescent moon wreath bases at the craft store when I was shopping for a new wreath, but they weren't very crescent shaped, and they were quite expensive. You can make your own version that looks better and is cheaper.

We used our moon wreath as part of our Halloween Witchy Garden Shed -you can check out more details about it here.

Garden shed door decorated with crescent moon shaped DIY wreath.

Materials:

Round Wreath Form: We're going to customize this form and turn it into a crescent shape.
Grapevines: Look for these growing on fence rows.
Fine Wire: You want something bendable and easy to work with. Since we spray painted our wreath the color of the wire didn't matter, but if you want to leave the grapevine natural, be sure ot use a brown colored wire that will blend in with it.
Wire Cutters
Garden Clippers: For cutting the grapevine.
Black Spray Paint: Or whatever color you'd like your crescent wreath to be, or you could leave it natural.
Decorations For The Wreath: We used black faux flowers, yarn pom poms, disco ball ornaments, mini velvet pumpkins, back paper butterflies, and pink glitter stars.
Hot Glue

Variations

If you don't have access to grapevine, you could use a different material like burlap strips, ribbon, mesh, or fabric to cover your wire wreath frame. Then add in faux florals, vines, and branches on top, securing them with hot glue to create your wreath base and add more embellishments on top.

How To Make The Crescent Moon Wreath Base

Step 1: Make the Crescent Wreath Form

I started with a regular round metal wreath form, and with a few simple steps I turned it into a moon wreath form. Pick up an inexpensive round wire wreath form from the dollar store. The first step is to cut out a section of the round wreath form. Use wire cutters to cut it. It does take a little muscle and perseverance, but you can cut through them.

Once you have a section of the round wreath form removed, you can create your crescent shape. Use some floral wire to gather the ends of the wreath form together, and secure it tightly to create each end of the moon.

I wanted to make a black grapevine wreath, so I used the green wreath form I found and some silver coloured wire because I knew I was spray painting it all black once it was formed.

If you wanted to keep the natural brown grapevine colour, you could begin by spray painting your wreath form brown, and using brown wire to attach the grape vine.

Step 2: Adding the Grapevine

Next you begin to add your grapevine. I gathered my grapevine from a spot where it grows wild, and removed all of the leaves. There were lots of the twirly tendrils attached, which I think are my favourite part, so be careful not to break them off.

It's best to make your wreath within a few days of cutting the grapevine, because when you first pick the grapevine it's still really flexible and easy to bend.

If you were using older grape vine, you could soak it in water first to make it more flexible.

To add the grapevine to the wreath form, cut grapevine pieces to the right length and wire them onto the wreath from. As you go, you will want some pieces of grapevine that are shorter, to bulk up the middle section of the wreath. Try and tuck the ends into the wreath as you build it. Once it is how you like it wrap the wire around tightly and secure at the end.

You can also twist some wire to the back to create a wreath hanger.

DIY crescent moon grape vine wreath base

Next, spray paint your wreath black. Remember to do several light coats to avoid dripping, and spray from different angles, and from the back for full coverage.

Step 3: Decorate Your Moon Wreath For Halloween

Once your wreath is dry you can embellish it in your own style to suit any occasion. We made a Halloween wreath.

I was inspired by Lifesfrostings, and used pink, peach and black yarn to make two sizes of pom poms. I also added some mini velvet pumpkins, black faux florals, and some mini disco ball ornaments. The artificial flowers are form the craft store, and I used some wire cutters to cut them into smaller flowers to decorate the wreath.

Lastly I embellished the wreath with some black paper butterflies, and pink glitter paper stars. To make the paper stars and butterflies more dimensional, I hot glued them to some black wire and wired them to the wreath, so they could stand out more.

This wreath is the perfect addition to a front door or a mantel. It's a great idea to use for Halloween season.

With an amazing DIY moon shaped wreath, life really is a party!

More Wreath Ideas

Freqeuntly Asked Questions

Where did you get the grapevine to make your own crescent wreath?

I picked the grapevine that grows wild in my area. Look for it along fence rows. And remove the leaves before making the wreath.

What if I don't have access to grapevine?

You can purchase a moon shaped grapevine wreath base online or at a craft store, and then paint it and embellish it yourself to make something similar. Or purchase grapevine garland and shape it into a wreath. Soak the grapevine in water to make it easier to work with.

How did you cut the wire wreath form?

I used wire cutters to cut the wreath form. It was a bit hard to cut, but I also found bending the wire back and forth helped it to snap off.

If you try this DIY Crescent Moon Wreath or any other idea on my blog please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!

Recipe

DIY Crescent Moon Wreath

Make your own crescent moon shaped wreath using a regular round wire wreath form and grapevine.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Servings: wreath

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Cost: $15