Showing posts with label bottle brush trees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bottle brush trees. Show all posts

Sunday, December 16, 2012

What Is It About Vintage-Style Bottle Brush Trees?


What is it that's so appealing about bottle brush trees? 

Maybe it's that they take many of us back to our childhood when our mothers decorated with small bottle brush trees, often handed down from their mothers.

Maybe it's that they're easy to work with. Because the more contemporary versions come in so many colors and sizes (from large to teeny tiny), they can make a nice addition to almost any holiday vignette.

Maybe it's that they're simplistic. Nothing fancy, even when embellished with fake snow, glitter or a few vintage glass balls.

Whatever the reason, I've grown to love this versatile addition to my holiday decor and thought I'd share some of my bottle brush trees with you.

On the buffet, accompanied by vintage glass ornaments and tree toppers . . .



A nice grouping of three creates a simple, peaceful scene sprouting from among vintage silver ornaments in a large blue Mason jar . . .


This one was among a shoebox full of trees I picked up at an estate sale. It started out a hideous blue-green color. I doused it in Clorox before giving it and some of its cohorts a home on the family room mantel alongside my eclectic group of snowmen . . .


Some of my trees are tucked inside drawers around the house  . . .



Some are planted in vintage aluminum molds on the basement hearth and in a vintage wooden cheese box on the Hoosier cabinet  . . .




And some are nestled in glassware . . . 


If you're looking for something simple to tie things together in your holiday decor, try using a few vintage-style bottle brush trees. You can find them at any craft store. And, if you prefer to decorate in shades of white, go ahead and buy the green craft store trees. Drop them in a bucket of bleach until the color is gone, rinse, let them dry and you're set to go.

Make it a great day!
Knick of Time Tuesday

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

So, What's on Your Mantel for the Holidays?

At Christmas, I decorate each room with a different theme.

For example, the dining room is the Snowbabies room.


The living room is Santa Claus themed.


The family room is where all the wacky snowmen frolic, atop a lighted fireplace mantel and surrounded by bottle brush trees and vintage ornaments.


I love how our lightbox-style mantel creates a soft glow about everything we display on  it, but the light certainly makes it difficult to photograph. Believe me, it looks much better in person.



The lighting underneath makes the little snowmen glow so nicely.




And, because I'm linking up toThe Mantel Link Party at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, my husband insisted I also include a most famous mantle in my post. The Mick's appearance here was short-lived, however.



Make it a great day!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Thanks for Adding the Pizzazz

Recently, I posted about my dining room buffet display created from estate sale bottle brush trees and bargain glassware I had picked up at thrift stores.



Many of your were kind enough to give me suggestions to enhance this collection. Thank you for taking the time to help me out. You provided lots of excellent feedback. I played around with the display, taking into consideration your wonderful suggestions, until I found something I really liked.


I added acrylic ice and clear gemstones I already had, vintage ornaments that my husband's mother gave us and put it all on a vintage white damask tablecloth that I picked up at an estate sale years ago.



It's not dramatically different. But, I believe the enhancements make it more cohesive and give it more punch. What do you think?

Make it a great day!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Nothing Clear About This Glass


Over the past year, I've gathered a number of glass containers and covers: a cloche, hurricanes, vases, a vintage storage jar with lid. All are thrift store finds. The most expensive was the cloche, which I purchased for  a whopping $2.98. The others set me back 49 cents to 98 cents each.


When I recently found a box of various sized bottle brush trees at an estate sale ($4 for 16 trees), I knew what I wanted to do with them. So, I pulled out some of the glass containers, disassembled the fall display on the dining room buffet and went to work.


Soon, a glass "tree-nagerie" took the place of the amber waves of glassware.


The holiday display sparkles in the candlelight, looks interesting on the vintage etched glass mirror and blends interesting shapes and sizes.

So why am I so ambivalent about it? Help!

My husband, who has good design sense, but whose style is more about simplicity, clean lines and symmetry than my style, actually suggested "froufing" it up a bit--making the arrangement more opulent. But, he said he liked the vignette the way it is, too.

When I envisioned what I'd do with the bottle brush trees, I really thought I'd love the simplicity of the display. Now, I just don't know. I don't dislike it, but it doesn't knock my socks off.

Judging from the photographs, what's your opinion?

Should I "frouf" it up?

Should I consider bleaching the green trees as Faye at Wild Rose Vintage did?

Or should I tear it apart and create a completely different vignette?

Thoughts, anyone?


Make it a great day!