Sunday, December 4, 2011

Christmas Copycat ~ Bottlebrush Trees

Joann’s had a great sale over Black Friday weekend and I picked up lots of things on sale.  Included in that was this package of green trees ~ originally $19.99 for the package they were 60% off and cost me $7.99!   That’s a lot of trees for $7.99!

DSC04101_3396

I decided to take some in varying sizes and try my hand at bleaching and decorating them. 

DSC04102_3397

DSC04103_3398

This is not a quick project.  It took an hour for the first two trees to reach this point and they are the smallest ones!

DSC04104_3399

After two hours, all the trees were in varying stages of, what would you call it? Bleachedness? 

DSC04106_3401

I went through a bunch of supplies I had on hand to see what I could dress them up with and came up with this stuff.   Beaded garland! 

DSC04142_3413

I found this picture at Country Living for inspiration.

Bottlebrush-Trees.countryliving

I cut some of the beads off to do two trees and one I cut into a small garland.  I very carefully put a little hot glue on the actual beads and stuck them into the tree.

DSC04144_3405

DSC04145_3406

DSC04146_3407

Now I have a new mantel display! 

DSC04150_3411

I used three little ones under my mini cloches in my master bedroom.  

DSC04176_3436

I added “Peace”, “Joy” and “Love” banners, and used some Epsom Salts in the base of the cloches for snow.

DSC04171_3431

DSC04172_3432

DSC04173_3433

I could see making more of these; decorating them is definitely the fun part! 

Linking up with

Holiday Copycat at Debbie Doo’s Blogging & Blabbing

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On The Porch

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Kathy

33 comments:

Our Hopeful Home said...

I've been dying to do this, bought that same package of trees last year! Yours are gorgeous, great idea to use the beaded garland directly on the trees!

Jane@Cottage at the Crossroads said...

I love your trees, especially the ones under the little cloches! I just bought one last week. It was already decorated. It never occurred to me to make my own.

Patty & Kenneth said...

I love your idea! Really love your mini cloches! Super cute!

Okio B Designs said...

They are so cute! I didn't know you had to bleach them! I always wondered where you would find them in those lighter colors. Aside from Home Goods, I only ever seen the little green ones.

J

Anonymous said...

Love these! You did a great job! I haven't tried bleaching bottle brush trees yet, but your trees are inspiring me to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

Kathy I love them! Especially the ones with the little tags under the cloches!! Great idea. Martina

Donna, The Decorated House said...

Hi Kathy~
Those turned out so cute! Along with the cloches, they are perfect.

Debbiedoos said...

Well it is absolutely adorable Kathy. You are very patient there my friend, but I see your patience paid off. Thanks so much for sharing with the holiday copy cat challenge.

Sharing with Sherri said...

Kathy, these turned out adorable! I didn't know you could bleach those little trees like that! Did you just use full strength liquid bleach?

Debbie said...

Those are wonderful! I love the fact that they are so small yet so detailed when you finished with them.

Marsha said...

Great deal! I got mine at Michael's for $10.00. Mine didn't take that long to bleach though.

I like the little ones under the cloches, too cute!!

xxoo
Marsha

Ruby Jean said...

Okay... You know what I am buying... :) I have the White Tree's but I LOVE The off white and Antique fill these have....Those little one's you put in your room are ADORABLE!!!

Sonny G said...

those are so dang sweet Kathy.. they made me smile~!

Content Director - Strong Female Leaders said...

way to dress up the little trees. They look adorable.
http://www.thegirlieblog.com

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

Hi Kathy, The little trees are just adorable! I love the way you decorated them and they look wonderful inside the cloches. I bought some last year and left them in bleach for three days and they were still green.
Hugs,
Sherry

Stitchfork said...

Bleaching?! Who knew? You did - brilliant!
xo Cathy

Sue said...

I must have bought plastic ones because they did NOT bleach out! Love the end result of yours! They look just like the ones I saw in Newark! :-)

Gail said...

Your little trees Kathy are just adorable! I'm not sure I would have had that much patience to decorate them. I love your mini cloches!!!

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

Fabulous copycat Kathy! Thanks so much for the tutorial!

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Hi Kathy,
These are so darn cute! I tried bleaching some and they wouldn't bleach! So, maybe I'll try again. It's probably the brand or dye.

Love how you decked them out with pretty beads, so pretty. You got it goin on girl!!!

hugs
Sissie

DIYbyDesign said...

What a great idea. I would never have thought of bleaching them. Looks beautiful. Great copy cat challenge project.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

They turned out wonderful!!

Marie said...

Your creativity never ceases to amaze me. :)

Kim said...

Kathy what a great idea! I never would have thought to do that but they came out beautiful! I'm loving all of the white trees I'm seeing this year.
xoxo,
Kim

Anonymous said...

I love the look of your trees. I tried bleaching some trees I ordered last year. They were very large trees and they just would not take the bleach. I was so disappointed. Happy copy catting. :)

Judy said...

Your trees are adorable. I love the ivory color they took on after bleaching, so much more vintage looking than the bright white. Your beautiful decorations fit the look of the vintage trees perfectly. I'm anxious to try this!

Molly said...

Oh my! You are brilliant!!! I have looked for some trees like yours to put under cliches but those white ones are pricey!!! Those turned out perfectly-I had no idea you could bleach those! Thanks for showing your trick!

Ricki Treleaven said...

:D These are AH-dorable! I am linking from Debbiedoos.

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

Hi Kathy,

Your mini trees are adorable. I never thought about bleaching them. cool!

Dee

Shenita @ Embellishments by SLR said...

Kathy, these little trees are so cute!! I have enjoyed going back and looking at all of your holiday projects and decor! You are so creative! Thanks for sharing!

Rose Petal Hollow said...

I love these... they are on my "to do" list!
MaryAnn

Cottage and Broome said...

Love how your bottle brushes turned out! Laura

Miss Kitty said...

I love the colors that your bleached trees turned out. They look very vintage and have a "collected over time" look. Thanks so much for sharing how you made these. I saw your post over at " Savvy Southern Style".

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...