More stuff on easy Christmas decorating . . .

I had a few more notes about decorating the mantel . . . easily.

I was going to say simply, but it’s not really simple. But it is easy.

Easy, because you just cram the stuff in there.

Easy, because you use what you have, and make it work.

But, simple? Uh, not exactly.

You have to look at this . . .

and this . . .

. . . and know that some of this -

and some of that -

- will look okay together.

(This is the door of the TV armoire. I took a picture with the doors closed, but who am I kidding. They’re always open.)

And it wasn’t simple because to get to this -

and this -

I had to scale a wrought iron fence.

Okay, so the fence is only a little over 3’ tall. But I still had to straddle it, climb down the hill and snatch some lower branches without being noticed.

I was thrilled to find this in the garage.

That was easy, too.

As it turned out, the branches were kind of a bronze color anyway and the paint didn’t make that much difference.

Cram it all in there, and it’s pretty easy.

As a little side note:

Through the years I’ve had people ask me why I use artificial decorations so much. It’s simple, really.

They’re cheaper! They’re easier to work with!

That being said, though, I always try and add some live foliage, flowers, or – in this case, twigs.

It just depends upon the client’s budget . . . and their backyard.