Countdown to Disney Mantel

Our trip to Disney World is fast approaching and we have come up with a fun way to keep track of the days left.  If you have kids, then you know a countdown calendar for big events is helpful.  Who am I kidding, they are helpful for adults too!  🙂  We wanted to do something a little “out of the box” for a countdown calendar.  I love to change up the mantel in our living room for different holidays and seasons, so why not for a vacation?  We thought it would be a lot of fun to incorporate some Disney decorations on the mantel before our big trip.  So we merged the two ideas into one and thus was born our countdown to Disney mantel!

Of course we needed something to actually count down the days so we looked on Pinterest for some ideas and came across these super cute “days ‘til Disney” blocks.  We knew it was a DIY project we could handle so we got to work.  These were actually made before I started blogging so unfortunately there is no tutorial.  Mr. Wonderful cut out some blocks of wood and we first painted them black so we could sand down the next coat of red and yellow to give them a more distressed look.  

The mickey head was painted on with chalk paint using a stencil.  Making it a chalkboard would make it easy to change each day!  After the other blocks were painted, sanded and sealed we applied the words that we cut out of vinyl using our Cricut.

If you have been to Disney World you will recognize this statue as the same one in front of Cinderella’s castle.  We bought this pewter statue on one of our previous Disney trips.  We like to get one “big” souvenir from our trips instead of buying a lot of little things.  It helps to save money because all those little things add up quickly and we know we will actually display or use our big purchases.

Of course, you really can’t have a Disney mantel without the big cheese himself.  After all, it all started with a mouse!  We don’t usually buy a lot of stuffed animals, but this is one we have had around for a while.  I think he actually sang songs along with a little piano it came with. 🙂  He just happened to work perfectly into the mantel propped up on some red and yellow books.

This red lantern reminded us of the red phone booths in UK at Epcot.  It came from Hobby Lobby.  Here is a fun fact about those phone booths in Epcot.  Once upon a time, you could actually call them!  We were once walking by one and it was ringing so we answered it.  There was a real person on the other end and we had a nice conversation!  LOL  🙂  Too bad they do not take calls anymore, it was a fun little bonus to our day.

I love this chalkboard!  I found the picture of the design online but could not track down a source.  This chalkboard was a bit of a challenge to do since it was very detailed but I powered through it.  The nice thing is that Mr. Wonderful made a storage system for my chalkboards so I can keep them around.  That makes the time spent on them well worth it!  Check my tutorial if you are interested in how to make a chalkboard.

To add a little more color, I made a couple pennant banners to hang from the mantel.  These were easy DIY projects and I was able to use fabric that I had on hand so it was free!  

Of course, my pillows have to match my mantel.   Luckily I already had the colors I needed in my pillow cover stash.  🙂  

I hope this inspires you to have a little fun with your next trip!  You could use this idea for going anywhere, it doesn’t have to be Walt Disney World.  The main objective is to build excitement!  🙂

Have a wonderful week!