Bottle Brush Tree Tutorial

I have admired bottlebrush trees for years, and decided this was the year to make some of my own. It was much easier than I thought it would be, and I want to share my method with you today!

The thing that is great about bottlebrush trees is that you take regular old green mini trees, and can dye them to any color you want, and whatever fits into the decor of your home. I love fuchsia and teal, so I went with those colors for my trees.

I love the way it sets off the cute little dollar store house I painted.

You will need:

Trees - from Michael's they work great. A whole bag of 21 is around $12 on sale.

Bleach

Rit Dye - from the craft store or the grocery store.

Tongs

Rubber Gloves to protect your hands from the bleach (not pictured).

Pour bleach in a bowl, and add hot tap water. Use about 80% bleach, and 20% water.

They will start to change immediately. Swish them around, and you will see the color fade. When they are mostly free of the green, remove them from the bleach mixture, and plunge into warm soapy water. Massage the bleach and the last of the color out with your hands. They will look like this.

Now for the dye. You will want your trees to be wet. I started with 90% water, and 10% dye, and added dye as I saw fit. You can add more if you want the color to darken. You can also leave the trees in longer to soak up more color. Use your tongs to remove them. Try to get as much of the excess dye off as you can, and set them right on paper towels. I started with a plastic bin, and moved to using a cookie sheet lined with paper towels. It was easier to set the trees up that way. 

You can see the color variation. Leave them to dry over night. Wipe down the bases after the branches are dry.

See that cute little house that is surrounded by the fun trees? 

It is from the dollar store. 

I spray painted it white. 

I felt like I wanted a little more variation, so I hit it with a little metallic craft paint, but left the snow sections white. I then painted mod podge on the snow sections, and poured glitter on them. I did the same to the base of each window. 

The sweet little deer are from Michael's. You can also pick them up at Hobby Lobby. I like the style of Michael's better. The fake snow is from Wal-mart. 

I LOVE how it turned out!

Come back to see more fun things I have done with my daring bottle brush trees! I also have a free printable for you!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Christmas Tree in my Kitchen

 So, my husband got the potted trees out that used to be on my porch, and the bottom half of one of them didn't work. We both tried to get it to work, and it never would light up, so I had just one. I like my porch to be symmetrical, so decided not to put it there. I put this tree in my kitchen for fun, and decided to keep it. I found a bunting that I made last year, and wrapped the tree up (an idea I saw on pinterest just this morning), but it still needed more.

I stuck some wooden spoons in, but I still needed more.

 So, I got out my holiday cookie cutters. (I have no idea why I have so many!) Maybe because my mom always made sugar cookies with us as kids, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy?

I think it turned out cute for a kitchen Christmas tree. We'll see how my toddler does with it. The good thing about it, is he can't hurt it. And, it really brightens up my kitchen!

I have six additional trees in my house, and I will show them to you in the next little while.

Hope you are doing something fun today! Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa