Contributed by: Tijana McAllister of A Plentiful Life, Salvation Army Thrift Store Creative Expert
This year with two toddlers in the house a holiday mantel with a garland seemed a little dangerous. They would definitely try and pull on it or climb up it. I didn’t want to take a chance on that happening so decided to go in a different direction. Our mantel needs some height as the ceiling is really high and I thought frames would look great. To start, I went to my local Salvation Army Thrift Store to find different sized frames.
Four steps to create a simple and affordable holiday mantel:
STEP 1: Thrift and DIY your frames
Find second-hand frames from the Salvation Army Thrift Store. If you want a cohesive look like I’ve created you can paint the frames. I chose gold and black and chose two frames to paint, with some leftover spray paint.
STEP 2: Gather your images
- Search for vintage free open source images. (There are SO many!) I’ve tagged the ones I used below.
STEP 3: Print your images
- Print images as photos or documents, it’s the least expensive. I used Canva to create the correct sizes and add in the images. Then had everything printed at Staples.
STEP 4: Organize your mantel
- Layout your mantel. I added bottle brush trees I thrifted from the Thrift Store and found the red ones at the dollar store. The large black frame I already owned, but the rest are all thrifted.
FINAL LOOK
I’m in love with how the images look and can easily change each season. I know the fireplace looks a little ridiculous. I thought of editing it then decided to leave it, as this is real life. We have curious toddlers so we boarded up the fireplace for safety. They love the chalkboard and it’s a fun addition to our living space.
Before
After