Make Minty Bleached Bottle Brush Trees for Christmas!
In this tutorial I am sharing my technique for bleaching bottle brush trees. You will need to use craft trees made of sisal, which can be harder to find than plastic or pvc trees. I use simple household bleach for this project, and I like to stop the bleaching process before they lose all of their green color. The result: an adorable forest of minty vintage style trees for crafts and decorating.
Supplies:
- Sisal Craft Trees
- Standard chlorinated bleach
- Two bowls - metal or glass preferable
- Water
- Tongs
- Paper Towels
- Hair Dryer
Different brands of trees may react differently to the bleaching process, so you'll want to do a test with single tree at first, and adjust the amount of bleach depending on how fast it affects the color. Some require more, some require less, and some trees are difficult to bleach at all.
Step 1: Fill a bowl with two parts cold water, and one part bleach. Warm or hot water may speed up the bleaching process too much, making it difficult to pull the trees out before they lose all their color. Fill a second bowl with cold water, and set it right next to your bleach bowl.
Step 2: Add a tree or two to the bleach solution. Use tongs to agitate the trees. Watch the color closely.
Step 3: Remove the trees from the bleach just before they reach the shade of green you are looking for. Let the bleach drip off of the trees, and place them in the bowl of clean water.
Step 4: Rinse the trees for several minutes to remove any excess bleach.
Step 5: Lay the trees on several layers of paper towels, and use a hair dryer to dry them completely. If left wet for too long, the metal trunks of the trees may rust. They can also be left next to a dehumidifier overnight to remove all of the moisture.
