DIY: Manzanita Trees

Sorry - I've been MIA for a bit, but with good reason - we are in serious DIY mode and are cranking out projects left and right. I'm going to try to take some time every day to update on what we're working on, and what we've completed.

First up are these great Manzanita Trees we made! 

The trees are part of the cocktail hour decor, which is different (but complementary) to the reception decor. The largest tree will go on a big round table in the cocktail room, which will host the stationary displays. 

These smaller trees will go on the four high-top cocktail tables in the room. These tables will have black linens, and orange pintuck toppers (another DIY project!).

Supplies:

• Branches (we purchased ours from Save-On-Crafts and eBay. I preferred the branches purchased from eBay - they were larger and less expensive, but we combined everything together to make the trees)
• Planters (large orange one was purchased at Home Depot, small black pots are from A.C. Moore)
• Styrofoam cubes, large and small
• Plaster of Paris
• Clear zip ties
• Reindeer Moss (orange moss was also purchased at Save-On-Crafts)
• Floral tape
• Brown & Bronze spray paint 
• Brown kraft paper or newspaper

I'm sorry I didn't take step by step photos of these - FI actually spearheaded this project and got caught up  in making them, but here are the details:

• Step One: Bind the branches together using clear zip ties so all the branches are secure and nothing falls. 
  
• Step Two: Drop a large foam cube into the planter and insert the branches. Make sure the branches are in a few inches and do not sway or move.
• Step Three: Quickly mix and pour the plaster of Paris so that it covers the foam cube and secures the branches in place. Hold the branches in place if needed while the plaster sets (FI used some bungee cords to hold the tree securely).
• Step Four: Once everything is dry, tape brown paper (or newspaper) over the planter, making sure the lip and outside surfaces are covered.
• Step Five: Inspect the branches - if any are loose or broken, use floral tape to wrap them tightly.
• Step Six: Spray the entire tree and plaster with the dark brown spray paint. Wait until that dries, then lightly coat the tree with a bronze spray paint, being careful not to coat the branches heavily, or they will drip.
• Step Seven: Arrange moss to cover plaster.

And viola! You're done! For the smaller trees, we just used the left over branches, repeating the same steps as above on a smaller scale.

Originally, we planned to light the large tree, and purchased small LED pop lights. But, the plaster took up more room than anticipated in the planter, and there wasn't room to pop in the lights. I'm hoping it will look fine regardless! We also thought of adding flowers or crystals to the tree - these can easily be added using floral tape. I even have a whole bag of latex orchid heads that we thought we were going to use. But, in the end, we liked them so much without any additions - clean and simple.