One of the new house perks is that we have a real fireplace with a real mantle –> I haven’t had one of those since high school.  I can’t stop pinning ideas for Christmas decorations (it’s my 4th biggest board) and a lot of those center around a mantle.  Well, what good is a mantle if you can’t hang your stockings from it?

DIY Wooden Stocking Holders

What you’ll need:

• 2″ x 4″ of wood, cut into 6″ pieces, 2 per holder
• Chop saw (or helpful neighbor)
• Wood stain
• Paint brush
• Chalkboard paint
• 2.5″ wood screws, 2 per holder
• Screwdriver / drill
• Hook with screws, 1 per holder
• Paint pen

I found this cool pin by HGTV, but the pin I found didn’t take me to directions to make it.. so I winged it, and made my own version!  First figure out how many stocking holders you’ll need, and then multiple the # of wood pieces, screws, and hooks by that number.  I’m making three — yes, my cat Cleo gets a stocking.

Cut the 2×4 piece of wood into 6″ segments, 2 per stocking holder –> I needed 6 pieces total for my 3 holders.  Luckily my boss has lots of saws and lives nearby, so we headed to his house and he let us use his chop saw to finish this part.  Looks like Hunter wants another tool…

Once your pieces are cut, stain them.  I bought Rustoleum’s wood stain in the driftwood finish (surprised?).  Paint all sides of the wood, and wipe off the excess stain.  Let them dry overnight, and do another coat if the color isn’t quite right.

When the wood is dry from being stained, it’s time to add chalkboard paint for the names.  Paint one of the bigger sides of the wood with the chalkboard paint –> only one side, on 1 piece of wood painted per stocking holder.

Usually chalkboard paint requires 2 layers and 24 hours to cure.  After everything was painted / stained, I sanded the edges to give it a little bit of a rustic feel.

Once the wood is completely stained, painted, and dried, screw the pieces together.  Ultimately you will be drilling two screws through the base and into the top piece to make a 90 degree angle.  I measured the wood and made pilot holes ~2″ and 4″ across the length, and completely through the base.  Pilot holes will help make sure the wood doesn’t splinter when you screw into it.

Once the pilot holes were in, we held the top piece to the bottom piece, and screwed them together, from the bottom of the base.  The screws should be all the way in the wood so the holder sits flat and doesn’t wobble.  The final product should look like an L.

Almost done with the “building” part:  Screw the hook on the front of the base, in the middle.

Finally, just write the names on the chalkboard paint with a paint pen.  Your stocking holders are done!

These can turn out a number of ways depending on the stain or paint color and the types of hooks you choose, so completely custom to your Christmas look!  Now onto finishing our tree…