Finals: Giveaway Winner and Mantel

I  wanted to share a few “finals”. I finally went Christmas shopping Saturday and I think finally learned not to wait, for whatever reason, to the last minute! My first New Years Resolution is going to be “Prioritize and Plan”!! Christmas 2011…I will be ready!! So now that it’s in print, I’m committed, right?
Moving on to the final that everyone is really interested in, how about the final winner in the CSN giveaway? I finally remembered that I needed to choose one! Using Random.org (what would we do without it?) I chose a winner.
AND THE WINNER IS:

#27….Courtney, from Living a Bona Fide Life!
Congrats Courtney! If you don’t have that last 33 % of your shopping done, maybe this will help! I’ll be sending you and email.
Courtney has a fun, faith-filled, frugal and encouraging blog. Check it out!
Thank you  all who  entered and followed! I hope you will continue to find a reason to come back, from sharing creative projects to future giveaways! I do have  a few lined up for after the first of the year! I truly enjoy sharing what I’ve made and I love your comments and feedback!
Now, my final final. I received some feedback on what I should do with my new faux-mantel shelf and I got to work! I had my Christmas Tree Word Art and Joy-full frame but couldn’t decide which one to use. Sunny and Jenn suggested using both! Kristin voted for the red one, but I already had the mantel done! I’m new to the layered, rule of thirds, kind of decorating. I’ve always been a “balanced and centered” kind of girl, but I took the plunge…

I put the red frame on the end on an angle and the joy frame slightly overlapping. The vase holding the assortment of odds and ends ornaments is a DIY Dollar Tree Hurricane, yet another copycat project! :-) I was able to find some pretty pine, cedar and holly at a friends so the greenery REAL! The candle is a flameless LED from Dollar Tree. I painted it red with some craft paint. I can’t believe that I haven’t seen any projects using those candles. I bought several and have all kinds of ideas bouncing around in my head, but NO time yet!
Some close-ups:   
  
What do you think?
And finally, good night!

PS I'm going to show off my first try at this at these fun parties! Come along and check out some inspiring ideas!