The JOY of red!

I’m quite obsessed with touches of red in my Christmas decor this year. I honestly don’t know what the deal is, it’s just appealing to me for some reason. I added bits of red to our family room mantel and it’s all over the kitchen, which I’ll show you soon. You can see our cutie little red and white kitchen tree here.

Last week I showed you the decor I added to our bed of all places, and tonight I wanted to show you the mantel in our master bedroom as well. Yes, we have a fireplace in our bedroom. Yes, I LOVE IT. Yes, I about passed out when hubby wanted to add it to the “list” when we built our house. No, I don’t regret it one. bit. :)

One of my simplest Christmas projects I’ve ever done is also one of my favorites. I took wood letters from Hob Lob, painted them Santa Red (that’s the name, heee!), then hung them with ribbon from the wallpaper art hanging over the mantel. I hot glued the ribbon to the letters, then just used tacks to secure them to the “art.”:

The result for three bucks:

Ack! I still love it every. single. time. I look at it!

This year, I added some more touches of red -- I replaced the regular candles with bright ones from Joann’s (two bucks total!) and then stuffed some poinsettias into the vase:

Do you say poinsettias as spelled or “ettas?” I say it as it’s spelled. No clue!

When I showed you this project last year, I also gushed about my BFF, Mr. Good Will. :) I had found a ton of garland and some gorg lights for a steal. This year, said lights about put me over the edge. I don’t know WHAT is wrong with me this year – I have broken a TON of stuff, including a bunch of light strands. As I stood there the other night telling hubby how much I adore these lights, I touched one and the little bleeping thing just exploded.

Another strand later and some major muttering under my breath, I got it looking fab again. I spent another $10 on the lights because I love them so, but at least the first set was cheap, right? (And look where that got me!) I just think they are so pretty!:

For a couple more little updates, I added tufts of the Big Lots garland into the garland, as well as a few red bulbs here and there:

I added some greenery and bulbs to the little Goodwill candlescape on the table next to the fireplace:

Don’t worry, I won’t light them! :)

Ten bucks for a new set of lights (fists shaking in air!), and two buckaroos for candles. I absolutely LOVE this spot:

I swear, why is it so easy to decorate during the holidays? Is the lights? Is it the cozy feeling? I want to leave it like this year round, I am not kidding. Is that wrong? If it is, than I don’t want to be right! HA!

{Please ignore the crooked pictures and lamp shade. Focus on the mantel, umkay?)

What colors are you loving in your Christmas decor this year? Red fills me with JOY. :)

My friend Shannon (who made my blog beautiful!) is hosting a GREAT giveaway for customized party invitations. Her designs are fantastic! Check it out and enter by clicking on her button: