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: