My Christmas Tree and Mantel

Hello friends,

I thought I'd share some pictures of my Christmas tree and mantel.   First of all, this is the smallest tree we've had in a very long time.  There's only so much space in my living room now that we've moved, so we had to get a smaller tree.  It's also scrawnier.  This tree was not my first choice when we were hunting for a tree last Saturday.  I wanted to walk through more fields and find the perfect tree, but hubby and the kids out-voted me.  So this little tree came home with us. 

Now that it's decorated, it doesn't look too bad at all!  My tree is an odd assortment of ornaments that tell a special story of our family through 27 years of marriage.  Of course, some of the ornaments are alot older!  The Santa (below) was made by me when I was 11 years old.  It's the oldest and most treasured ornament I own.

Here are some birdhouses I made this year.  The tutorial is from Marion Smith over at A Piece of Craft dot com. 

What I was more excited to decorate this year was the mantel.  I've never had a fireplace before and I've always admired the beautiful mantels I've seen in mags and on line.  I have  a very long mantel--9 feet!  So, it can be difficult.  This is what I did, but I need your input.  Is it too much?  Should I just do a smaller area with fewer decorations?  I plan on adding lights to my greenery in the basket over the weekend.  I also want to put up a wreath over the fireplace.  

So far this is as far as I've gotten with my decorating.  Considering we've only been in the house for two weeks, I haven't done too bad!   Thanks for stopping by. 

Wishing a great day (or night)