I have spent the last delightful week at FH's house. We have been amazingly productive! NWR, but I have been looking for a job that will allow me to relocate to FH's town, and I spoke with three different prospects, and was offered a position by my #1 choice! The position is not permanent (yet) but it's a start! FH and I will be taking a leap of faith and moving in together once school lets out this summer. Eeeek! So excited and terrified at the same time!!!!
And in other news....
We went on a terribly long hike back up the side of the mountain where our crystal tree branches grow. We selected two beautiful specimen. Once back at home however, we were getting overwhelmed with trying to figure out sizes of the trees, and methods of securing them to a base. The branches just all seemed too big and awkward and we couldn't decide on height or dimensions. At one point FH decided to give up on having crystal tree centerpieces. :(:(:( So this morning I sat down and VERY carefully read over the directions on how to make a crystal tree. I made some notes, got out my measuring tape, and tried again.
And we were successful!!! Here is what we did:
- our containers are 5" slate cubes
-our branches are 4' tall. We made sure that 2' of the branches are stem (so it wouldn't obstruct our guests' view, and the other 2' are branches for the crystals)
- we secured the branches with rocks and expanding spray foam. BTW, the website says that the stuff sets in 15 minutes. FALSE!!! We sat there holding the branches for over 45 minutes until the foam set solid enough for us to walk away.
The pics of the trees are only half finished, but I was so excited I wanted to post anyways. We still need to trim the back to the level of the base containers and cover it with something pretty. We will be spray painting the branches to be a metallic/pearlescent colour. You will notice that the branches are covered with ribbon. Odd, I know, but a very useful step! We weren't sure how many strands of crystals we would need so we hung ribbons in place. Each ribbon is one foot in length. The tree we hung with brown ribbon used 31 length, and the silver ribbon tree used 50 one foot lengths. Quite a difference! I am glad we did it this way so I know about how many strands of crystals to order. The website I referenced suggested 20 - 25 one foot strands, so I am glad I double checked because this many would be WAY too few for my taste.
In summary:
Our trees are 4' tall and each will hold on average 40 one foot lengths of 16mm crystals.
My advice:
Use 4' tall trees for table top centerpieces. Anything smaller just looks too small.
Use gloves when using spray foam to secure the branches. Ruins the manicure. Believe me. :(
15 minute drying time is just a guideline. Expect to be sitting there for longer.
Spray foam cans are usually just a one time use. Either be prepared to do all your trees at once or to toss the can.
Use ribbons to help you determine how many strands of crystals you will need.
