Christmas Tree Terrarium DIY

Hello Friends!

On the first day of “Blogmas” I present to you…

A Christmas Tree Terrarium DIY

Seriously how adorable are these unique display jars? Originally I came across this idea from a chic boutique in Leawood, Kansas called Pink Antlers. I have not had the chance to visit their store, However (I’m not gonna lie), I “heavily” stalk their Instagram @pinkantlers. For the holiday they have a collection of brilliant colored bristle brush trees. Check out their Instagram feed for ways to style the trees in a traditional holiday decor or for adding a modern twist to your table display. The whimsical, colorful trees really spoke to me. I may have a borderline obsession with them TBH and have been collecting them everywhere I can put my fingers on them.  Target’s dollar section, Walmart’s Christmas aisles, half off at Hobby Lobby, and even Savers had a few for the picking. 

We all know that I am a girl who is balling on a budget, so $17 for one yellow bristle brush tree was obviously not in my future. Thankfully I have Martha Stewart post prison in life (my mom) and she told me that I could actually make them myself. What would I do without her?

We purged Hobby Lobby and Walmart for some cheaper trees, then bleached and dyed them. The thrift store had glass jars to display them in for $3.99 each. I also saw great cookie jars with lids at Walmart for $9.99.

This whole DIY was accomplished in under $20 — and we made 11 trees total. #thriftyqueens

Here’s how we did it.

What you’ll need:

• Bristle Brush Trees
• Bleach
• White Glitter
• A Large Jar
• Different Colors of Re-Inker Dye (it comes in a small sprayable bottle, but you can also use paint and mix it with water)
• A pair of tongs and an old bowl to use for bleaching

Directions:

1. For removing the color:

• Pour 2 parts water to 1 part bleach. I eyeballed it. The more bleach the faster it removes the color.
• Place your green tree in the bleach/water mix and swish around with tongs. The color will start coming off the tree. Before the tree is completely white or the desired color, then remove it.
• Rinse with cold water to remove all the bleach and allow it to air dry.
• Tip: Do a sample run. You will notice that the tree continues to lose color when rinsing with water so that’s why you want to remove it from bleach mixture before it gets too light.

2. Adding color:

• Layer paper towels on a cookie sheet.
• Place tree on cookie sheet and spray with Re-Inker.
• You can make your own dye with paint and water mixture. I think the dye tablets in an Easter egg kit would make great dye for the trees by putting it in a spray bottle.
• The Re-Inker I used came in little spray bottles. They are from the rubber stamp section in a craft store. Their purpose is to re-ink stamp pads or to spray on a rubber stamp and make a print with it.
• Coat the tree with the desired color of Re-Inker and allow to dry. I used a hairdryer to speed things up.
• If you use too much ink, then simply rinse it off in sink while it is still wet.

3. To create a scene in the jar

• Add glitter to the bottom of your jar. Place trees in jar with perhaps a little house, cars, or a few miniature animals.
• Close lid and find the perfect place to display your holiday decor.

If bleaching or dying is simply not for you, no worries.  I was in Anthropologie over the weekend and they had jars with little trees and small ornament trucks inside.  The ideas are endless.  Hope you run with it and capture a little holiday spirit.  Maybe tuck a favorite Christmas photo and some glitter in the base.  Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post!