Winter Trees...HELP!!!!

[winter_wonderland]

Ok one of my ideas for wedding decorations was to take tree branches and make them look like small trees. Paint them white, put glitter on them, and shine some light on them. So here is the problem...
The lady who is doing my hair, as well as the rest of my girls(and she is doing it as a gift to me), also happens to be the lady who cleans up in the church. She is begging me not to put glitter on my tree's because she says it wont come out of the carpet. This is sad because I really wanted those trees to sparkle. I already bought all the stuff the paint, glitter....
So how do I make those trees pretty and not plain.... and do it cheaply?

[kgvettegirl]

what about if after you put the sparkle on them you spray them with a coat of polyurathane (sp) that would make them sparkle more and keepit from falling off

[winter_wonderland]

ok.. where do i find polyurethane spray

[TangoWedding]

That's a great idea!!

You can buy it at any Lowes or Home Depot. Just go to the paint department, tell them what you're doing, and they'll show you which can to get.

:geek:

[EarlyBird]

The truth is even with that.. there will still be sparkles :) Is there anyway to just spray it with the white "snow" kind of stuff.. That way its minimal glitter

[winter_wonderland]

snow spray doesnt sound half bad... cept i have 10 cans of white spray paint. I dont think those are returnable hahah

[EarlyBird]

as long as they are not opened, they should be able to be returned or exchanged.. Call the store.

Another idea is they have that white TEXTURED SPRAY paint... you could use that and maybe add VERY little sparkle :) gives the illusion with texture that there is more sparkle

[SunnyAB]

I think the snow spray would be just as bad as the glitter (for cleaning purposes I mean). How many trees are you going to have? I just bought some wired garland that is made of pearls and opalescent beads and you could wind something like this around the branches (not the garland that is made of tiny crystals glued on to wire - those things would be all over too), these are bigger beads with a hole in the center that you thread the wire though. Now is the time to look for that stuff one sale! :) If you can't find anything, you could get crystals and thread them on to silver wire - a bit more labor intensive, but no mess at all. Even the cheaper plastic beads sparkle from far - you dont need to get Swarovski or anything (unless you can afford them). :D Good luck.

ETA - Ooops.. just noticed your wedding date. I hope you can find some ready made garland!

[kgvettegirl]

Check out Michaels or AC Moore Home Depot or Lowes anyone with paint supplies. You might even be able to find pearlized paint.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Check out Michaels or AC Moore Home Depot or Lowes anyone with paint supplies. You might even be able to find pearlized paint.

That's what I was thinking. Base coat your branches with the paint that you have already bought.
Then then get some pearlized or frost paint .... you can get it in spray form

http://www.refinishfurniture.com/images/spray_paint/pearl.jpg

or in liquid form

http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/270136076885_1.jpg

Spray or brush on a few touches here and there. Then, hit the boxing day sales and pick up some glittery snow flake ornaments to add to the branches.

http://image.orientaltrading.com/otcimg/4_2652.jpg

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/95/33/23263395.jpg

[Kfancii]

You can buy a glitter spray that has super fine glitter pieces in the adhesive mixture. It won't flake off the way regular glitter would, but I think using a poly sealer would still be a good idea.

I am a party planner for The University of Texas and just finished up a iced branches themed Holiday party this past December. I used the glitter spray on our invitations after they were printed for just a little bit of sparkle.

I also bought birch branches and made centerpieces out them using the following "ice" that I got from Sav-On Crafts.

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/icedbranches.html

I put them in these vases

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/smlava73ea4o.html

which I painted with a crystalizing glass paint from here:

http://jurgeninc.com/cracklepaint.htm (I used the Crystal Clear)

and tied a pretty sparkly white bow on the neck of the vase

They turned out fabulous and everyone loved them. I will try to get you some pictures if I can figure out how to post them.

One word of caution if you decide to ice your branches as above- those little pellets of plastic do pop off the branches too, but there were easy to get up with the vac. I also sprayed the branches with an acrylic sealer after they were iced.

My favorite part of the whole project was the vases. They started out as ugly $2.50 glass vases and with the crackle paint became a work of art everyone was enchanted with. You do have to use the paint in a well ventilated area though because it will make you loopy if you don't!

[Kfancii]

Here are my centerpieces from the holiday party I did this past December for work:

Across the Room:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w196/Kfancii/Branches3.jpg

Single Arrangement:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w196/Kfancii/Branches2.jpg

Up Close:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w196/Kfancii/Branches.jpg

[Kfancii]

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w196/Kfancii/CocktailTable.jpg