12/4

Bottle Brush Trees (They Really Do Work!)

Celebrate, Crafts, D.I.Y. Project, Happy Holidays, Home Decor, Renter Friendly
By Laura Gummerman

Bottle brush tree abeautifulmess.comHey everyone, it’s Laura! Ok, ok, I know by now you’ve probably seen the colorful bottle brush trees that are all over Pinterest (like here and here). I love how these little guys look, but I’ve heard mixed reviews on if the process actually works or not. Nevertheless, I just had to see if it was possible to make my mini tree dreams come true. They are just too darn cute not to give it a try!

Bottle brush tree abeautifulmess.com Supplies: Bottle brush trees in various sizes, bleach, bucket, rubber gloves, and fabric dye in several shades.

1. Fill a bucket halfway with a mixture of bleach and hot water and soak your trees in the hot water until they are off-white in color. Some tutorials suggest using a 50/50 ratio of bleach and water, but a few people said that their trees started to melt once dipped in the bleach/water mixture, so I used a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part bleach just to be on the safe side.

2. Once the color has been bleached off the trees, mix your dye with hot water and dip your trees into the dye. To get a variety of colored trees, I mixed 5 different shades of blue and green dyes and let the trees soak for different lengths of time (ranging from a quick dunk to letting it soak for a few minutes).

3. Place your dyed trees on an old towel or piece of cardboard to dry.

4. Once the trees are dry, use a stiff bristle brush to comb out any clumps of stuck together bristles.

Bottle brush tree abeautifulmess.com Bottle brush tree abeautifulmess.com Bottle brush tree abeautifulmess.com So adorable, right? Of course the color possibilities are endless, but I love the mix of blues and greens for this enchanted forest. I’m so glad that I took a chance and decided to go for it. Are you planning on making any tiny trees this year? xo. Laura

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman

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