Christmas Mantel

About a month ago I made a board to go on our mantel out of old IKEA bed slats (which you can read about here).  I had fun decorating it for the fall, but was really looking forward to Christmas as I had plans.  I used some much-loved driftwood, some vintage ornaments, and a twig star to make a Christmas tree. 

I limited myself to two of my favourite colours - red and turquoise - with silver thrown in to make it sparkle.  It was a little tricky to get everything attached to the boards, but so far so good - nothing has fallen down.  I used sticky-back velcro to attach the driftwood and I tied the ornaments around the driftwood with invisible thread.  Then I strung my tufted wool garland, that I bought at West Elm, under the mantel.
I had totally envisioned the tree on the bed-slat-boards with the garland and loved how it looked, but I really struggled with the sides and am still not sure if I've got it. I wanted them simple so the tree was the star of the show.  I tried about a million different options, taking photos of the variations and then showing my husband and having him see which ones he liked best.  This one came up as the winner.

The mantel is all that is finished around our home.  Lots more decorating to be done.  How is your Christmas decorating going?

Linked to A Homespun Christmas at Savvy Southern Style,
DIY Holiday Highlights at DIY Showoff,
Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming,
Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas Link Party at The Lettered Cottage