Bottle Brush Trees

Bottle brush trees are really popular during this time of year because there are so many ways to customize them. There are various ways of decorating a bottle brush tree, but the most popular style we see are the vintage themed light pinks or blues embellished with shiny baubles and pearls. 

 

Crafted by Melody.

Supplies

• Bottle Brush Trees
• Rit Dye
• Snow-Tex
• Glitter
• Rubber Gloves
• Paintbrush

Melody was making a little Christmas village to display during the holidays, but didn't like that there were only green trees to use, so she dyed them.

These bottle brush trees were originally dark green. Melody bleached them with a solution of 1 part water and 1 part bleach. Be sure to wear gloves or use tongs to remove the trees from the solution and rinse them with water.

The best dye to color your trees are with Rit Dye because the color can be adjusted to however light or bright you want it to be and it's permanent. 

Melody used a permanent ink to dye these trees below, but do you notice the tinge of color in the snow? Even though the trees were completely dry (she let them dry for over 24 hours), the ink still transferred onto the snow resulting in lightly colored snow. So, if you were wondering if you can use ink, the answer is yes, especially if you like the color of the dyed trees pulled into the snow.

Follow the instructions for the Rit Dye to prepare your dye solution. Put your gloves on and dip your tree into the solution but let us warn you that they dye quickly. 

If you want a light color, we suggest letting your tree soak in the solution for about 5 seconds. Pull your tree out and observe the color. If you like the color, rinse the tree thoroughly with water. If you feel the tree could use a little more color, dip it back into the solution. 

For colorfully bright trees, like the ones she made for her Miniature Haunted House, we suggest soaking the trees for a longer time.

After the trees have been dyed to the desired color, be sure to thoroughly rinse them with water and let them dry. 

To add snow, use a paintbrush to paint on either Snow-Tex and sprinkle it with glitter or Glistening Snow-Tex (this one has iridescent glitter). Melody also added artificial snowflakes to some of her trees.

You can use bottle brush trees for projects, such as Christmas villages, or have them displayed individually in candle votives, tea cups, or flower pots. 

Decorate the trees to your liking using smaller items such as rhinestones, baubles, beads, and pearls or even cover them entirely in glitter using Mod Podge. 

Not sure how to design your trees? Check out these bottle brush trees on Pinterest for inspiration!