Large Stick Star Tutorial and Christmas Mantel

You see, I went 8 years of our married life without a single mantel to decorate . . . and I had no idea what I was missing.

Then we moved into our current home 3 years ago, which happens to have a massive mantel. Little did I know how tricky a mantel can be when it comes to decorating.

Whether your mantel is the real deal, a makeshift mantel or even just a shelf, you are sure to come away with plenty of ideas to nail it.

My mantel has been through many seasons of change, and the one thing I’ve learned from mantel decorating is to keep it as simple as possible, without being too dull.

So this Christmas I simply added some fresh looking garland, a few antique jars here and there, and a large stick star, which I’ll show you how easy it is to make in just a minute.

I’m going to sum all that up by saying, just have fun with your mantels! Don’t be afraid to switch around until it feels just right to you.

The type of wood you get all depends on the size you want. I found the craft wood section at Home Depot and found the size that suited me. I’ve also seen people use paint stir sticks, so this can be a very affordable project.

Home Depot will cut your wood to any size you need it, so if you don’t have the ability to do that at home, check with the friendly Home Depot workers first.

I chose to pre-stain my wood pieces first. I used a white wash pickling stain, just to lighten the wood color without taking away the pretty wood grain. I use this stain A LOT!

Once the stain was dry, I played around with the sticks on the floor until I had the desired star shape.

With a hot glue gun, I carefully glued the ends together and held them in place with some wood clamps until it was dry.

Swipe up for more!