Sweater Wrapped Christmas Mantel

Well hello! I hope your weekend was just lovely. I had so much to do but gave myself a pass and was totally lazy all weekend -- it was wonderful. I watched at least four movies and got exactly ZERO wrapping done. :) I'll be paying for that this week but it was so worth it.

This year I got some of our Christmas decor up super early (for me) in spaces like our kitchen, but some of the areas I usually tackle first I just recently got to. One of those was our mantel in the family room. I love decorating this spot because our fireplace is so large and spacious since our renovation in this room a couple years ago.

The only cost came from the fresh greenery -- I prefer using it for most areas just because it looks so pretty and there's no storage needed. The only problem is you can't get it too soon or it will really dry out.

I've used these Goodwill glass containers many times over the years and have turned it into a personal mission to see how many ways I can make them over for the holidays. ;) I tend to do this a lot (more on the other looks in a minute) because they are so easy and fun to change up! I've been planning this one for YEARS…I saw this idea forever ago and have been putting away old sweaters for at least four years. I ended up with three stretched out/stained/pilled sweaters that I've saved just for this.

I used the arms of the sweaters for most of the candleholders -- I just stuck it inside the sleeve and then cut them down to size:

When I cut from the shirt part, I used double sided tape to secure them around the top and bottom and meet each end in the back. I absolutely LOVE how they turned out!

I especially love them lit up: 

I started gathering these glass candleholders from Goodwill years ago (most craft stores carry them as well) and they are so versatile!

I piled the trays on the built ins with ornaments and added my free Christmas printables (from Kellie) back in the frames:

I just draped the fresh greenery around the top of the mantel and tucked the sweater candles inside: 

I use ornaments all over the house, not just in the trees! They add nice color and texture. I think the mantel is absolutely beautiful -- by day the white candles look beautiful with the greenery and at night the glow is really soft and pretty. 

We've lived with the TV over the fireplace for a year now and I have to say, I quite like having one focal point in the room. Figuring out how to make the TV and fireplace work all those years was a big frustration and this makes it so much easier. The only time I miss a beautiful mirror over the mantel is at Christmas. ;) 

You can see more about the fireplace tile and how I added that to the surround here. 

Those built ins next to the fireplace are my favorite -- being able to hide away the electronics is fantastic and I love the extra storage: 

The great part is that I can just take the sweater covers off and easily store them for next year!

Here's a look back and the other ways I've transformed these simple glass candleholders over the years -- this one is one of my favorites:

This was the same idea, but the snowflakes were pretty adorable too:

These metal sheeting wrapped holders were super simple and I use them throughout the year: 

The possibilities are endless! The pretty wrapping paper you can find this time of year makes for some beautiful versions. Goodwill seems to have one or two of these holders every time I visit, so keep your eye out if you want to try this as well. :)