DIY Friday: Valentine Mantel

Hello all! I know Valentine's day is still awhile away but Pinterest and other bloggers have me wanting to decorate!! So I'm doing it darn it!!

Valentine's Day is not really something my husband and I care that much about. My birthday is 2 days before so it all just gets wrapped into one. Which is fine. But I am a sucker for all the pretty holiday decorations that are out there!

For this project I decided to make a mantel display. I saw the idea for this garland on Pinterest and you can buy a fancy one like it on Etsy but I decided to make my own!

For the garland you will need:
Ribbon (I used 3 kinds but you could use as many or as few as you wanted)
A deck of playing cards
A hole punch

First thing I did was go through the deck and get all the heart cards out. Next I punched two holes at the top of the card. I couldn't find a standard hole punch in any store I went to (don't ask me why we don't have one) so I just used a heart shaped one! The hearts were upside down but it doesn't really matter!

Next, I secured one end of my ribbon to the mantel. I used tape but whatever works to keep it up there go for it! I begain stringing my cards onto the ribbon leaving a little space between them. I then measured how much I wanted the garland to hang and cut off the ribbon and taped it down to the other side! I made my fairly short because we have little hands that grab!

Next, I cut the other two ribbon into about 7in sections. 10 of each color. I tied them in a knot in the space between the cards. And voila! The garland is done!! You could use a lot more ribbon to make it more full if you choose but I liked this look.

For on top of the mantel I didn't want to go too crazy or expensive so I just decided to go with candles. I filled the holders with festive candy. You could use any kind you want! I placed a ribbon on the bottom of each candle holder to tie them in with the garland!

So, how much did this all cost? The ribbon was on sale at $1 each and the playing cards came from the dollar store so they were, you guessed it, a dollar! So the garland cost me $4! The candles and candle holders came from the dollar store also! The candy was $3.19. Kinda expensive since I am not going to be eating them but oh well. I tried to find something cheaper that I liked but nothing really looked right. So, my candles cost me $9.19! All told, the project cost mea little over $13! Not bad if you ask me!!

Here is a picture of the whole mantel! Don't mind the cords. We are trying to figure out a way to hide those better. But I did tie some ribbon around them!!

I hope you liked this week's DIY!! Hope you all have an awesome weekend!!