DIY Evergreen + Feather Wreath

Living lakeside in the country has definitely changed my aesthetic, and I find myself turning to nature more and more for inspiration.  I put together a DIY evergreen wreath tutorial for Hello Holiday that has such an organic, earthy feel to it that I surprised myself! 
 

You can see the full how-to on Hello Yellow but this was pretty straightforward to make.  Once I gathered armfuls of evergreen branches (using pruning sheers for a clean cut), I cut down the branches into smaller piece.  I grabbed bunches of these trimmings, fanned them out, and affixed them to my wreath form using green floral wire.  Easy!  Then I just worked my way around the wreath, layering on the boughs.

Once I got into the rhythm of it, making this evergreen wreath was actually really simple!  The trickiest part was creating a nice balance and keeping a round shape.  I wanted a really natural looking wreath so I kept the arrangement loose, but I had to be careful because it went really wild looking very easily.  I tried my best to tame it!

 

When I was finished with the wreath, I accented it with feathers.  I picked up a zillion Canada goose feathers from the yard one day and I was so enraged by their constant presence.  For some reason, vowing to make something pretty with their feathers seemed like the perfect revenge (I do not understand my logic).  I actually wanted to make something like Britt Bass' arrow art, but then I found adorable clip-on birds at the craft store and decided that an earthy wreath would be an even better use!  Take that, geese.  Ha!

After collecting them, I cleaned the goose feathers.  First I popped them all in a ziploc bag and placed it in the freezer for a few days (to kill any bugs), then I gently washed them in dish soap, rinsed, and let them air dry.  I mixed them with some shimmering faux foliage stems and a handful of teal feathers from the craft store for some subtle colour, inspired by the lake and it's moody, grey blues this time of year.  A dab of hot glue is all that was required to affix them.

The wreath is so full and lush - and smells amazing.  I love that it is huge because it makes such a statement on my walls. 

You can see this wreath - and tons of other holiday crafts, DIY projects and decorating ideas - in Hello Holiday!  And, if you missed my other modern holiday decorating ideas, check out my DIY agate wreath and DIY dyed bottle brush trees. 

DIY Dyed Bottle Brush Trees + Styling a Narrow Mantle

In addition to contributing some holiday DIY projects (like my agate wreath), I also styled my mantle for Hello Holiday.  My mantle is super narrow and has two unsightly vents that impede any efforts to make it look good, which is why I normally "style" it with a collection of rocks and call it a day!  But I was up for the challenge of styling a narrow mantle because I knew this would be a perfect excuse to go crazy with DIY dyed bottle brush trees, which are small enough to spruce up (see what I did there?) even the skimpiest mantle.

I bleached and dyed most of the bottle brush trees various shades of mint and teal, but I left a few of the trees green.  I clipped some real evergreen branches and arranged them in my huge West German pottery floor vase. 

The DIY dyed bottle brush trees turned out so well and the project was so simple!

Supplies:

• Lemax Pine trees (I used two packages of 21)*
• Bleach (I used a low splash variety from Target)
• Rit Dye (I used teal and aquamarine, and mixed them)
• Rubber gloves (I only wish mine were this pretty)
• Bucket
• Old towel 
• Stiff bristle brush 

How to bleach + dye bottle brush trees

*I ordered the plain bottle brush trees but was accidentally mailed the snow-covered ones, with no time to return them.  The bleach removed the "snow" from some, but not all of the trees.  If you try this, definitely get the plain bottle brush trees - which is what I linked to.  I have heard good things about the Tim Holz bottle brush trees, which already come bleached with a pretty wood base, but I liked having variety in the sizes.



My packages of Lemax trees were a little rough around the edges.  I didn't worry about re-shaping them until after the bleaching and dyeing, but I did do a lot of trimming because mine had some rogue branches:

 
Once I was done fussing, I put on my rubber gloves and grubby clothes and got to work.  I poured some bleach into a small container and started dunking my trees in, one at a time, until all of the colour was removed.  Eventually the bleach would get sludgey and murky, so I'd dump it and start fresh.  Some people dilute the bleach, but full strength worked just fine for me.  After bleaching, I gave each tree a rinse and set it aside.

I mixed up two buckets of concentrated Rit dye, using only about half the water recommended by the manufacturer.  I dunked a tree and set it aside to dry upright (with a towel to protect the surface from dye) - no rinsing required.  Then I dunked another tree in the dye mix, but let it soak for a few minutes, then removed and let dry.  I played around with each tree, letting each one absorb the dye for a different period of time.  Sometimes I dunked a tree in both dye mixes.  Near the end, I mixed the two dyes together and kept dunking trees.  I only used two colours of dye, but ended up with a lot of variety with this method.

I spent a couple of hours bleaching and dyeing these trees, and sequestered myself in the laundry room because it did make a bit of a mess.  When all of the trees were dyed and dried (over night), I brushed them with a stiff bristle brush to restore any wonky branches to their proper shape.  Unfortunately, some of the ones that arrived really smooshed never bounced back, but once they're on the mantle in a grouping, they look fine.

I love the vintage feel of the pastel hues - and how they really pop against my dark grey fireplace.

The candle holders are a thrift store find, which I cleaned, lightly sanded and spray painted a cheery mint.  They have the same shape as the trees, so I thought they would be a perfect way to add some height and interest - plus the mantle looks so cozy when the candles are lit!

Behind the trees are two DIY painted "skies," inspired by the moonlit look of my teal bottle brush trees.  I grabbed two scraps of wood from my wood pile and painted them black and teal, to mimic the Northern Lights we see over the lake.  I added specks of white acrylic paint to look like stars - or falling snow.  These paintings hide the vents successfully, but they also add some drama to my mantle decor.

Last year my light up celebrate sign hid the vents, so this is clearly going to be an annual challenge!

I'm really pleased with my foray into styling our narrow mantle - it's definitely doable!  Plus I can check "dye bottle brush trees" from my every-growing DIY to try list... 

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The Secret Project - Hello Holiday!

I've been hinting at some serious crafting happening in the lakehouse and I'm excited to finally be able to spill the beans about what I've been making!

By now you know that Leon's Furniture launched a great new blog this year.  Hello Yellow features DIY projects, room makeovers, renovation stories, practical tips (like how to care for your appliances), and so much more.  I've been contributing posts, along with a group of fabulously talented bloggers.

For the holidays, Leon's launched something special: Hello Holiday, a digital guide with 92 (!) pages of inspiration: crafts, recipes, holiday decorating ideas, and a peek at some gorgeous furniture!  You can find the whole magazine by clicking here.  If you see a project or room you like, just click on the image and it will take you to the full how-to post on Hello Yellow!

Here's a taste:

DIY Sequin Wreath

Guest Room Makeover

Felt Wreath Pillow

Holiday Party Appetizers

This week I'll be sharing a closer look at the four projects I contributed, with some behind the scenes details and links to the full posts - in case you didn't spot them in the guide!

I'd love to know what you think about Hello Holiday.  I'm incredibly proud to have played even a small role in such a great holiday guide.  It seems the holidays came so early this year (seriously - Christmas ornaments before Halloween?!?) and I'm totally resenting the Christmas music already playing in stores, but so many of the ideas in Hello Holiday are perfectly wintry and cozy so the timing feels just right!  I'm going to be trying out some of the recipes just to snack on - forget holiday entertaining!

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DIY Walnut Storage Bins with a Mid-Century Modern Feel

The bedside tables in our bedroom were welded at the same time my Grandfather made the headboard I designed.  We had some leftover materials and he just whipped them up!  We had glass shelves custom cut, but the whole project was really inexpensive.  I loved the airy look of the shelves, but I hated the messy look of piles of books and magazines that accumulated, so I bought two vinyl mock croc storage bins.  I've never love the look of the bins, but they fit really well - and they solved our storage problem!

Over time, those poor boxes started to disintegrate and I decided that I wanted to make something a little bit more solid.  Wandering around my local lumber yard - looking for supplies for the more complicated slatted storage bin idea I had - I stumbled across a really thin sheet of walnut plywood and fell in love!

Because the plywood was so thin, Handy Hubby and I were able to make really sizable boxes that are still lightweight - perfect for our glass tables. 

The instructions are over at Hello Yellow - you can click here to see the whole process.  Among the supplies required, you will need a kitty, for box approval:

Once the box is completed, it will look really chalky and pale:

I used Danish Oil to bring out the warmth, but I needed puppy approval first (the smell lures 'em!):

The last step was adding hardware.  I wanted something brushed silver, because I am the last person on the planet to favor brushed silver over brushed gold in my home.  I also wanted something oversize and modern, so it didn't look like a kitchen drawer pull.  I found these at Lee Valley - they're 10 5/8" long! 

I just love the scale!

After eight years of living with those vinyl bins (two of which were spent trying to repair peeling vinyl), it feels so good to have something new!  These bins are simple and do the trick, but they have such a great mid-century feel.  I didn't intend to make them quite so tall, but we wanted to maximize how much grain we could show off.

Check out the full tutorial on Hello Yellow, but first here's another look at the finished product!

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