Bleaching Bottle Brush Trees

Little forest of bleached bottle brush trees....

I planned to try this last year but never had the time.

I found out it is so easy and fast!

I used an old plastic dish tub with about 1 cup of bleach and enough warm water to cover the trees. (more trees...use more bleach) Wear rubber gloves to save your hands from the bleach.

You can see the bleached trees which only took about 1 hour or less to lose their green color. I was happy with the results so I tossed in a few more trees.

When they lost all the green color I rinsed them under the faucet and then I filled a container with fresh water and about 1/2 cup of vinegar (the vinegar will neutralize the bleach). Swished them around in that and rinsed again. Let stand overnight to air dry.

If after about 2 hours there is still a little green left in the trees, pour out the water and start with fresh warm water and bleach.

As you can see the little trees pull out of the white plastic stand, very easily.
I like the 'snow' that is already on them but it does flake off easily after the bleaching process so I handled them carefully.

I used a dab of poster putty to secure inside the spools which were wrapped with a strip of vintage music paper or...

...an old door knob as a base.

I love how they turned out so I'm on my way to pick up another bag of trees (any craft store and I bet dollar stores have them).  And I'll keep my eyes open for anything else vintage that may make a good base.

Two days later....I can't stop!!!! Here are a few more that have bleached and dried. I keep finding little things around the house to use as holders. A tarnished silver cup, glass door knob, an old coffee cup with wheat, a spool of crochet thread, an old bean pot and I wrapped a couple more spools with old tatting and lace.

My info on dying the trees here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to;

Faded Charm for White Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
From My front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
2805 for Potpourri Friday
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday