2103 Holiday Mantle and Gold Covered Box

I finally finished decorating my mantle and hearth this year– I undertook a few crafts this year even though I told myself I wanted to keep it simple because we’re going away for the Holidays.

Simple Holiday Mantle and Hearth

Most of the decorations I had already, but I added a few new things this year (without spending much money!).  First, you may recognize the lanterns, mini-tree, cheese boxes, and garland from last years’ hearth (see it here). Like last year, I’m still loving the gold and silver theme.  I mixed in a little green and red with the Nandina this year, but mostly because I didn’t want to buy any flowers or picks this year.  I did buy some (majorly marked down) pine cones of various sizes, which I think really help to warm up the vignette.  This year, I made three new modern “Christmas trees” and a small, gold paper covered box.

Modern Christmas Tree Trio

There are a million tutorials out there how to make these simple trees- and I have my own tutorial on how to make glitter ribbon trees from two years ago.  These started off with a styrofoam base.  I wrapped the two smaller ones in glitter paper from the scrapbook section of Michael’s.  I added a little bit of ribbon (that matched) on the middle tree to give it just a little more height, and to disguise the top.  The larger tree is wrapped in burlap (glued on), and then I just cut ribbons to go around it and pinned it down.  I had thoughts to do more fancy things with the burlap, but honestly just ran out of juice.

Gold Box on Mantle

I really like how this little box turned out.  This was a fairly easy project as well, but took a while because it needed to dry between each step.  I found this neat faux alligator skin gold paper that is super shiny and bright.  I bought a little box at JoAnn’s Fabrics a year ago with another project in mind.  But as soon as I saw this paper, I knew it had a new purpose.  One 12″ by 12″ sheet was perfect to cover this box, and the paper is nice and thick.  I bought both the box and the paper on sale, so this whole project cost me $4 to make (plus glue).

Gold Paper Covered Box

I very simple started by gluing the top first, more or less in the center of the paper.  The trick is to make sure that the glue layer is as even as possible (and not too terribly thick either).  So after squirting on some Elmer’s, I used my finger to smooth it out and to make sure every part of the surface being glued was covered.  I dried it under the weight of a couple of heavy books.  I cut into the paper, coming into the box at the corners, and then folded down the sides and glued the front first.  Before moving on, I took an exacto knife, and with the aid of a ruler, cut the slit where the box opens.  Once I made sure that it would open, I glue down both of the sides.  Repeat carefully cutting the edges where the box opens.  On the back, I did the same thing again except I did not put any glue on the joint where the box opens.  I also lightly scored it so that it could open without messing up the paper.

Bottom of Box

On the bottom of the box, you can see where I just cut slight angles, and glue the paper down again.  As you go, trim the paper to the box, and if there are any edges showing, I just used a little bit of gold craft paint to not make it so noticeable.  I just love how it came out!

Gold Box on Mantle

I hope you have a Happy Holiday!