Hello friends! I just can’t believe Christmas is almost here and I still have so much to share! From now until Christmas I am going to be posting as much holiday inspiration as I can before the season passes us by. Today I am excited to show you my DIY quick salvaged porch post “peppermint stick.” *This post contains affiliate links.

You might have noticed the post in my recent Christmas Dining Room Tour that I shared as part of the Christmas Home Tours hosted by Marty of A Stroll Thru Life.  The giant peppermint stick is displayed as part of my favorite Christmas corner this year.

A few years ago I came across a couple of old perfectly imperfect salvaged porch posts at an estate sale for $3.00 a piece. When I first got them I painted each one with a quick coat of Kilz primer to encapsulate any dirt and mold. I had intended to paint them with chalk paint but never got around to it until last week. Here is how one of the posts looked before I painted it with chalk paint.

For the past few years I have kept the posts in the corner of the music room. I originally had the idea to paint them with red stripes to make peppermint sticks or “North Poles” for Christmas, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to paint them, since then they would only be able to be used as Christmas decor.

A few weeks ago I came across this fantastic French-farmhouse style red striped ribbon at a local craft supply shop. I knew it would be perfect for wrapping up the posts to make a temporary peppermint sticks to use throughout the Christmas season. I only had enough to do one post but I am going to stop back by the shop this week to buy enough to do up the other post too.

Here is how the post looked after painting it with Dixie Bell Chalk Paint in “Drop Cloth.” I also distressed it a bit with sandpaper. 

Dixie Belle Paint Company Chalk Finish Furniture Paint (Drop Cloth)

To make a temporary peppermint stick I simply used some Scotch tape to secure one end of the ribbon at the bottom of the post and then twisted the ribbon up the post, spacing it as evenly apart as possible to resemble peppermint stripes. Packing tape would probably have been a better choice but so far the Scotch tape is working fine. Even if you don’t have an old porch post you can make a similar peppermint stick with any kind of post or stick painted white with ribbon wrapped around it.  Simply use smaller ribbon for a smaller stick, spindle or any other kind of “peppermint stick” you can come up with.

White/Red Tri-Striped Wired Ribbon

Grosgrain Ribbon – Red and White Stripes – 3/8″ Wide

There is a wide variety of red and white striped ribbon in all sizes available on Amazon.

I absolutely love how this quick and easy salvaged porch post peppermint stick turned out and I can’t wait to wrap up the other one with more pretty striped ribbon. After Christmas I can simply remove the ribbon and use the posts elsewhere in my home.

I tucked the peppermint stick into my favorite French basket with some pretty wrapping paper and a couple of favorite vintage signs. I just love this little Christmas corner in the dining room! I will be using the other peppermint stick in the kitchen. Hopefully I will get a chance to finish it up in time to take some photos later this week to share with you.

Looks like I’m not the only one who loves this giant peppermint stick! 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how I transformed an old salvaged porch post into a peppermint stick in no time using paint, tape and ribbon. Perhaps you have an old salvaged piece of wood or even chair spindles that you could use to make mini-peppermint sticks simply by wrapping some red ribbon around them.

Will you still  be decorating and Christmas crafting all the way up until Christmas like I do? I love hearing from you, dear readers! Thanks for visiting today!

Amber

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