DIY: Sparkly Snow Covered Bottle Brush Christmas Trees

I found myself needing a couple days off from making jewelry this weekend and of course I couldn't sit around doing nothing. So I decided to indulge my obsession with bottle brush Christmas trees and tried to make some myself.

I had bought 2 cute Cody Foster white & blue trees last year and they looked so adorable with my sparkly cardboard houses that I had to add to my collection and what better way than to make my own!

Here is a step by step guide on how to make your own sparkly snow covered Christmas bottle brush trees.

 

Step 1.

First you need your supplies. You will need the following:

Bottle Brush Trees

Snow-Tex

Diamond Dust

Mod Podge

2-3 Paintbrushes

Assorted beads & baubles for decorating

Hot Glue Gun & Glue

Optional: Garland & other miniature Christmas decorations, spray glue/adhesive, coloured glitter

& Mod Podge Finishing Spray

I picked up all of these supplies at Michaels. I also bought some higher quality bottle brush trees at Target, they were a little pricier $5 & $8 instead of $1-$3. I found that the more expensive trees had nicer bristles and looked more expensive once I was finished.

 

Step 2.

Now is the messy part! You will want to lay down some newspaper or a plastic table covering to keep from getting snow-tex & glitter everywhere. 

1. Water down the Snow-tex a little bit in a plastic container until it is the consistency of white glue. That way it will be easier to paint onto all of the bristles on the tree. 

2.Start painting the Snow-tex in sections. I prefer to start from the bottom and then work my way up to the top so that I can hold onto the top of the tree while I am painting.

3. After you paint each section of the tree you will then sprinkle the Diamond Dust onto the wet Snow-tex. This will allow the Diamond Dust to stick to the Snow-tex creating a sparkly snow like texture onto the tree. Don't forget to work in sections so that you can sprinkle the glitter onto the wet snow, you don't want it to dry before you have the chance to glitter it up!

4. Let it dry for at least an hour. The Snow-tex container suggests 3 hours but I am not that patient. You could always do this part in the morning and then finish them later in the day or after dinner. 

5. Decorating! The funnest part of all. Before you decorate make sure to turn your tree upside down and shake it gently to get rid of any excess Diamond Dust. 

6. Get your glue gun ready and start gluing your decorations onto your tree. Have fun and be as creative as you like. You can also use a small thin garland to wrap around your tree (I couldn't find any that I liked in store and ended up buying some online and will be adding it to some of them once it arrives).

7. If you chose some pearls like I did (I picked up some .99 cent strands at Michaels) you can then use the Mod Podge to add more glitter to them. I painted the beads individually in sections and then sprinkled Diamond Dust onto them for a frosty appearance.

{ALTERNATIVE}

If you would like to create a different appearance on your trees you can choose a different method other than the Snow-Tex. Glitter! Take a container of spray adhesive and spray your tree really well. Then roll it in your glitter so that you cover the entire surface of every bristle. Once your glitter is dried you can then decorate it with your glue gun. 

 

TaDa! And there you have it, gorgeous glittery festive Christmas trees! Made by you to decorate and love for years to come.

 I love how my trees look with all of my little glitter houses!

The small white tree with blue & silver ornaments is from Target and comes with a battery pack that lights up the LED lights around the tree. My houses also light up and look so pretty at night. 

I just ordered some DIY cardboard houses and will be blogging about my journey for you once I am done, can't wait! I hope you have fun decorating your own trees!

Brooke xoxo