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| I finally got around to making a Christmas bottle tree in the front yard. It's built around a garden obelisk, but could be made on a sturdy upside down tomato cage, windmill base or anything else that would support it. It's 58 inches tall, not counting the top bottle.
The next photo shows it almost half finished. I wired one string of bottles at a time, twisting the wire in between bottles, then put the 'skirt' of bottles around the obelisk, starting at the bottom. They're blue beer bottles, which are the easiest to find a bunch of. There's a blue flower pot upside down at the top to hide the wire on the bottles and a wine bottle just sitting on top. We strung some different sets of lights around it without good results, so have to experiment more with lights.
Linda |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Wow! Very cool!! |
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- Posted by marlene_2008 7 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 20:58
| You are the QUEEN of blue bottle decorating! What a great looking tree!! Fantastic job! |
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- Posted by nanatricia (My Page) on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 21:16
| Yes so so cool!!!! |
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- Posted by tinfoilhat AZ (My Page) on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 22:29
| I like that, it would work on a frame like I built for my Cowboy Christmas Tree. I'm going to have to try that in green bottles next year. An idea that might work for lighting that is put a clear or white light bulb inside your tree with a small fan blade on top of it. The heat from the bulb turns the fan blade giving it a flickering effect. I can't remember where I saw that but I think it was on a fake fireplace or Christmas decoration somewhere. Might be worth a try. |
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- Posted by shades_of_idaho z4/5 (My Page) on Thu, Dec 13, 12 at 1:22
| Wow. Amazing. So Beautiful. |
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- Posted by indigosunshine z4 west WI (My Page) on Thu, Dec 13, 12 at 10:35
| Oh my! I'll have to recruit the husband and kids to abandon the home brew and switch to the blue bottle kind! Thank you so much for sharing! Hope you don't mind copycats?! |
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| WOW!!! Way cool :) |
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| That is awesome. Gonna be on the look out for a base. I'm giddy with excitement, friends and family have been saving blue bottles for me and didn't really know what I was gonna do with them.....THANK YOU for sharing |
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- Posted by ohtobedone (My Page) on Thu, Dec 13, 12 at 19:26
| That is so cool!! I love the idea! |
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| Beautiful in the sunshine & hope tinfoil hat's idea will work for a night time glow! Lots of work but so worth it! Jan |
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- Posted by marylee_2010 (My Page) on Fri, Dec 14, 12 at 22:49
| Your tree is really neat. I like it. |
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- Posted by toomuchglass 5 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 16:34
| OMG ........... I want one so bad now ...! Are they Bud light ? Those bottles are so thin ,I'd end up breaking them all . How many are there ? I just started drinking Skyy Vodka because of the blue bottles ....LOL I have 2 so far. I wonder if my liver can take another 100 bottles or so ... |
This post was edited by toomuchglass on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 16:37
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- Posted by shades_of_idaho z4/5 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 19:47
| lindasewandsew , Toomuchglass brings up the question if they are the Bud beer bottles. If they are how did you get the labels off of them? I was trying to see what was all the blue bottles in the background of your picture. Found your Fence Is Done post. Chris |
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- Posted by lindasewandsew So Cal 9 (My Page) on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 22:06
| Thanks for the nice comments. They are Bud bottles. Beer and Vodka are not my favorite drinks, but a neighbor drinks green bottle beer and gives the bottles to an older retired neighbor so he can recycle them. I give him a dime for each one (they're worth a nickel at the recycle place) then take them to the recycle place and trade them straight across for blue ones. The guy at the recyle place gets a soda for doing it. Most bars will give you their empty blues if you ask. Tell everyone you know that you want blue ones. They'll start coming to you. Bud and Skyy use the same kind of clear labels. I give them a quick scrape over a trash can with a straight razor blade to get rid of most of the clear label, then do it again with hot soapy water to remove the little bit of glue that's left. The vodka bottle labels sometimes just peel right off clean, but if they don't, just do the same as the Bud bottles. If the bottles have the letters baked right into the glass, just hang them at a distance and they'll read blue. Indigo, Can your home brewer switch to blue bottles? They're likely to be available online. Have fun being copycats! Part of the fun on this forum is to see what people do with other people's ideas. Most of the photos below have been posted before, but here they are again. Linda http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/lindasewandsew/back yard/201 00102006.jpg
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- Posted by shades_of_idaho z4/5 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 16, 12 at 1:43
| WOW Thanks for the inspiration. I only have one blue totem and a few blue bottles. Will see about getting the labels off of them. I can not drink beer either. Will see if the bar people will save me some. Now I am finally retired I am going to have more time to get myself in trouble. LOL Really appreciate your pictures . Kitten helping me to type NOT!!!GGGRRRR |
Here is a link that might be useful: Cobalt Lily
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| I love the Christmas Tree and all of your other blue bottle creations! You are such an inspiration! |
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| Reisling wines usually come in blue bottles, too. A lot more fun to drink than beer and vodka, IMO! That's where I get mine! Sandy |
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- Posted by jeannespines 4 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 19, 12 at 6:57
| They'll be no 'Blue Christmas without you,' sewandsew! Wow, you did an awesome job on the Christmas tree! TFS the 'how-to's' (as you so graciously do for us all)! Any kind of 'lights' even nearby will reflect off the bottles ...I was thinking of a 'floor lamp' or something like that 'underneath' the tree. Great recycling! Jeanne S. ***oh & I always love seeing your other project pics, too! |
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| I KNOW that I posted on this before-LOL but something happened and it is not here. This is a most wonderful tree. I love all the blue bottle things, and have 83 bottles on my 4x4 bottle tree. I asked the question before 'How do you keep rain water out of your bottles?' Mine are all upside down. I have coffee, arizona tea, water, vodka, and of course, the bud bottles. I bought a BUNCH of them and a friend drank the beer. My son-in-law brings the vodka bottles from the people who work in his office. Wish I could post pictures! |
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- Posted by concretenprimroses 4B NH (My Page) on Wed, Dec 19, 12 at 22:33
| It flows like a beautiful glass skirt. I love it. thank you for showing the technique, I think I could actually do this if i got the right center. Kathy |
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- Posted by laurastheme (My Page) on Sun, Dec 30, 12 at 23:48
| Absolutely AWESOME!!! |
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- Posted by lindasewandsew So Cal 9 (My Page) on Mon, Dec 31, 12 at 3:34
| Thanks again for the nice comments. Nona, Sorry, my computer was on the fritz for about a week. The bottles on this tree are somewhat protected from water, since each level of bottles protects the one below it. A lot of the bottles here are upside down on old wrought iron fences, daybeds, pieces of rebar, etc. The bottles in the trees have to be turned upside down. We do get a little rain here in So Cal, in spite of the reputation, lol. If this photo shows up, it's a new experiment with bottles on some old metal pieces. |
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| Thanks, and love the new experiment-anything with blue! |
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| Love all the blue ideas. Have never seen succulants planted in the tiny opening of the bricks before.......what a clever idea. And the little flower pots nestled together for an edging is neat! |
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- Posted by luvstocraft (My Page) on Wed, Jan 2, 13 at 22:11
| Love your new bottle tree! You have been busy making all those creations for sure. Love the flower pot border too. Luvs |
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- Posted by tracey_nj6 6 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 17:11
| Wow, that Christmas tree is insanely gorgeous! |
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- Posted by concretenprimroses 4B NH (My Page) on Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 20:03
| I just looked at all of these again. Your garden is amazing, not just for the blue bottles. It looks like a magical place. Kathy |
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