Sunday, December 29, 2013

Bottle Brush Trees

Who says that everything at Christmas has to be red and green?  I personally like a color scheme that's a bit more neutral (think cream, greys, beige, silver, and pale blues).

Every year I find myself swooning over colored bottle brush trees on Etsy and every year I have to list the reason why I should not buy them, but should try to bleach and color some of my own.  This year I finally did it!

I got a set of assorted bottle brush trees from Michaels during one of their pre-Christmas sales.  I hauled out an old plastic container I no longer needed and schlepped out the bleach.  I used a 20qt container with a 1/4 cup of bleach and filled it half way with searing hot water.    Just drop the trees in, put the container is a safe, place (where dogs and kids can't get to them) and walk away for a few hours!

Below are the pictures and how long they were in before I got to the finished product.

Time Zero:

Two Minutes In:

Ten Minutes In:

Thirty Minutes In:

                                                                      One Hour In:
 

All Done:

Warning: Some of the flocking came off during the bleaching process, but if this doesn't bother you, then no need to worry!

I was going to pick out the ones that didn't get bleached quite as well and dye them a light blue and light grey with some Rit but I think I might just leave them these natural colors for the time being.  I'll be sure to post an update if they've been dyed or if I decide to jazz 'em up with some glitter or other embellishments.  This was ridiculously simple, so if you are a fan of colored bottle brush trees, I highly suggest trying this one!

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