A Christmas Mantel with Nutcrackers

Our fireplace mantel is ready for the holidays and I can’t wait to show you how cute it looks! It’s a Christmas mantel with nutcrackers!

I had to do a quick DIY project to give the nutcrackers a new look, but that’s part of the fun, right? Remember this blue Nutcracker I painted? It’s nothing like that! And this opulent red and gold Christmas mantel from last year? Nothing like that either!

This year’s Christmas mantle has a simpler, cleaner, and more modern look. The nutcrackers all look the same, painted to have a faux brass finish.

Creating an Army of Faux Brass Nutcrackers

I searched for plain, undecorated nutcrackers and found a sweet deal on 12-inch ones in shades of pink and white. They came in packs of three. ( I bought three packs).

For a bit of variety, I added six small ones that are about four inches tall.

Pink and white wooden nutcrackers ready to be spray painted black

The easiest way would have been to spray them with gold paint, but I wanted them to have a little dimension than just one flat color.

1

I used a flat black primer to spray all the nutcrackers. It took a few rounds to reach all the nooks and crannies.

2

To give the nutcrackers their gold finish, I applied Rub n Buff (antique gold) over the black base color.

Applying gold colored rub n buff metallic wax to black painted nutcrackers.

3

I brushed the gold wax over most of the black paint but didn’t work it into the carved details around the knees, wrists, waist, etc. After they were buffed, they looked even better than I imagined!

Dressing the Mantel

This year’s mantel is really minimalistic compared to last year’s. No foam covered with chicken wire stuffed with a gazillion picks and stems and wrapped in several garlands. I used only two pieces of garland!

Draping green garland over a fireplace mantel

The first garland curves loosely on top of the mantel as a base for the nutcrackers’ feet.

Adding clear hooks to a mantel to hang green garland on.

The second garland is pre-lit with a few warm white lights, and I wanted it to cover the mantel’s edge. I used small, clear command hooks to keep it in place.

After pulling the front garland straight to cover the edge, I pulled the garland in the back forward to fill the gaps between the golden soldiers.

Don’t they look amazing? With their shiny gold finish and a little black showing in places, you could almost think they were made of brass! I adore this faux brass finish!