DIY Bottle Brush Trees

Learn how to make these DIY bottle brush trees to decorate your home for the holidays. In just a few steps you can have your very own Christmas forest!

There is no doubt that bottle brush trees are a hot Christmas item these days. You can find bottle brush trees in all sorts of shapes and sizes and colors. Some are flocked or covered in glitter and others are beautifully simple. You can find vintage ones (click here to see my tips on how to determine if a bottle brush tree is vintage) and new ones and I love them alI. I just think they are all so charming.

I have a rather huge collection of both old and new ones but somehow I find myself always wanting more. With that in mind, I decided to make my own DIY bottle brush trees. With just a few steps, I was able to create my very own Christmas Tree Farm.

Supplies:

sources at the end of the post

• Green Sisal In Various Colors
• Floral Wire: I Used 20 Gauge
• Wire Cutters
• Scissors
• Two Round Vintage Clothes Pins
• Base For The Tree (see suggestions below)

The Process:

1. Begin by taking the sisal out of the package and unrolling it. Simply spread it out on a table and work it into a thin, even layer. Use a comb to take out any big tangles or knots. You may even need to cut out a big clump or two depending on how the sisal arrives at your house.
   
   

2. Once the sisal is ready, cut a section of it between 6 and 8 inches wide – or what ever length you desire. Set the sisal aside.

3. Next, you will want to prepare your wire. Before cutting it, determine how tall you want your tree to be and then double that length and add another extra few inches. Then, snip your wire.

4. Take your wire section and bend it in half. Next, wrap the middle ‘point’ around a clothespin. Twist the wire a few times to secure it around the clothespin. NOTE: You don’t have to use a clothes pin. You could substitute any sort of rounded object such as a pencil or a thick dowel rod.

5. Working with the opposite side, take the two loose ends of wire and twist a few times to create a loop and then slide in the second clothes pin. Twist until the wire is tight around that clothes pin.

6. Next you want to slide the sisal into the center of the wire ‘circle.’ Using your fingers, spread out the sisal so that the layer is even in density and so that it is also even on both sides of the wire. NOTE: I recommend using thinner layers of sisal to create your tress. I tried a thick layer of sisal and it did NOT turn out well.

7. After you have the sisal inside the wires, you will want to lift up the whole thing and begin twisting the two clothespins – in an opposite direction from one another. This motion creates a twist in the wire and that is what will hold the sisal in place.

8. After the first several twists, stop and use your fingers to separate and fluff the sisal. This will prevent the fibers from getting tangled and will also help to keep the tree looking full and even. Do this often while you are twisting and tightening the wires. You will find that a lot of the fibers will fall out during this entire process and that is alright!

9. Continue to twist the wires until all of the fibers are secured. Then, once you have determined that the sisal will not fall out, you can snip the extra wire at the top of the tree and at the bottom of the tree. NOTE: Make sure to leave extra wire at the bottom of the tree. That will be the ‘tree trunk’ and that extra bit of wire will be inserted into a ‘base.’

• 

• 

10. Now it is time to use your scissors to shape the tree. I really do like the wispy feel of the trees when they are not trimmed. But, I found that giving each tree a little trim really helped to make them look more like bottle brush trees. Starting from the bottom and spinning them as I went, I trimmed up each side of each tree to form a tree shape.

Choose A Base

There are so many things that you could use for a tree base. I really enjoyed using old antique door knobs but you could also use spools of thread, sections of wood, or even small creamers or crocks. The possibilities are endless. NOTE: You will more than likely need to secure each tree to its base. You can used hot glue to do that.

Color Variations:

One of my favorite DIY bottle brush trees was created by using several colors of sisal together. Simply layer the colors on top of one another and use your fingers to work the colors ‘into’ each other. Proceed with the rest of the steps to complete this tree.

Closing

There is no doubt that Christmas is a holiday that is filled with whimsy and cheer. And these DIY bottle brush trees are defiantly full of both whimsy and cheer. While these are a little more difficult to make, they are indeed worth the effort. I could not wait to share these with you all. I hope that this little blog post will inspire you to create your own whimsical forest!

Special Thanks:

I want to thank my friend Rob over at Pocket Full of Rye for suggesting this DIY and for coming down to my home to help make these bottle brush trees. It was such fun!

Sources:

*this post includes affiliate links

Sisal can be found here
20 Gauge Floral wire can be found here