Holiday Iced Branches

First, gather your supplies. You will need:

Tacky glue

cheap foam brush

paper plate

bare branches

Colorfill Diamond Vase Filler (I used a 1lb bag and had leftovers)

Newspaper to cover your work area

The paper plate and glue I had on hand, the branches I got on sale at Hobby Lobby, the foam brush I had but it came from the Dollar Store and the Crystals I bought online. The crystals were the most expensive, not because they cost that much but because I had to have them shipped and they weigh a lb, literally. So, if you can find some locally it might be a better deal. Still, total project cost was between $15-$20.

Step one: Pour out your crystals on the newspaper

Step two: "Paint" the glue onto your branches. This glue is really thick and kind of hard to spread but do your best to spread it evenly over the branches - no big clumpies! 

Step 3: Lay the glue covered branches onto the crystals and roll and press them to stick. I found that, sometimes, it helped if I held a handful and pressed them to the branch if it was a particularly "bendy" area that was hard to cover.

Allow to dry on the newspaper for at least 45 minutes.

Here is a close up of what the branches looked like when they were all dry.

And this is the final product displayed! I picked up the ball ornaments at the Dollar Store ($1 for 7) to use as a base to balance the branches in my apothycary jar. I am really pleased with how they turned out and think they add some winter elegance to my decor! I love how the light reflects off of them and am thinking about getting some of the little battery powered tea lights to hide down in the jar to light it from underneath. I can't decide if having to digg to turn them on would be worth it or not!

Anyway, hope you like my Wintery craft!