Whimsical Woodlands

Hi everyone!
I'm here today sharing a kooky idea to manicure the Woodland Trees into something from Whoville.  Woodlands come in a set like this, or in separate packs of 5 large trees or 5 small trees.  Doesn't matter what set you have, just depends on how many trees you want.  I'm gonna warn you now, this was a little additive.

Take your Kushgrip scissors (because why would you use anything else?) to make a line in the tree, by spinning it while you hold the scissors in place.  This will give you a reference point for cutting all the branches below.  Now common sense would tell you not to cut your tree in half, right?  I thought so.

Time to give your Woodland tree a haircut.  Start by cutting the outer branches and working your way to the center.  This is about as far as I could get before moving on to the next step.

The core of the tree is made from twisted wire.  If you turn the base and untwist the wire just a bit, it will open the wire enough to allow you to pull out the little tufts that are left.  If your base comes off when you are twisting (mine didn't) you can just re-attach it with a hot glue gun.

Once the bottom of the tree is cleaned out, turn the base again to twist the wire and tighten it up like this.

Okay, next up is to decide what color to dye your tree.  This was a hard choice because the new Distress Spray Stains have so many colors to choose from!  I had a few small trees saved from other projects so I had some fun testing a few colors.  The trees here are Iced Spruce, Crushed Olive, Worn Lipstick, Evergreen Bough, and Tumbled Glass.  Can you pick out which is which?

I ended up choosing a color pallet of Crushed Olive, Tumbled Glass and Evergreen Bough.  Colors I never would have chosen to put together if I had not done the test run.

I like to spray trees on a paper towel to try and control the over spray.  Mostly because my desk is messy when I'm working so control is good.  I know I could use a box, but I never have one handy!
NOTE: Remember to shake up the Distress Spray before use and wipe off the nozzle when your done to prevent clogging.

While my trees are drying, I decided to paint a Letterpress word for my tree display.  Super quick to use the dabber top of the Distress Paint bottle.

I wanted a bit a variation to the gold paint finish so of course I used Alcohol ink.  Just a couple pounces of the Blending tool = instant aging.

I can hear you thinking to yourself...does she ever use any other color of Alcohol Ink?  Well...sometimes.

I also painted the wire and the base of each tree in the Tarnished Brass paint.

I decided to gather my little group of trees and make an arrangement in a glass dome I could keep out for Christmas (and maybe a bit beyond).  Since there is only one size large Woodland Tree (5"), I decided to raise the one in the back so it would be taller.  You could use a vintage spool of thread or a wood block.  I used a vintage rubber stamp wheel I bought at a flea market in Paris a few years back.

Just a side note - I found the glass dome at a garage sale.  It had an shiny wood base and a tired 80's flower arrangement that included a bird (enough said).  I paid $3 for it (bird and all).  Brought it home, painted the base black, sanded it and now it's like I bought it at Pottery Barn.  Sometimes garage sales do pay off, you just have to look past some of that "80's ugly" to see the potential.

I started arranging the trees on the base.  I decided to use a tape runner to adhere the trees so they could be removed at a later date.

I made a simple arrangement on the base and bent a couple of the trees to look a little whimsical.

In my Christmas stash I had a Wendy Addison Glass Glitter stand.  Luckily the dome base fit perfectly.  If you don't have a stand or even a glass dome you could use a vintage china plate, a silver tray or a small cake stand.  None, of those?  How about a stack of old books?

 

It's hard to photograph the display with the glass dome, but here it is.  More items can be added...a sparkly little deer, small mercury glass beads...even silver ornaments in the trees would be darling.  I'm keeping this one simple, but I can think of 10 ideas to change it up to look totally different, yet just as cute.

Addictive I tell you, addictive.
I gotta get some more Woodlands!
now carry on,
paula

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