We had fun shooting this video. It's all about making your bottle tree look as good after dark as it does during the day by adding a few strings of craft lights.
We found the bottle tree at Old Home Supply which is a cool salvage store with a bunch of architectural antiques and new things to spice up your yard and home. Located in Fort Worth, TX, it's worth a trip in the DFW area to see what might find a new home at your house. This is my favorite source for vintage, reclaimed windows and claw-foot tubs. If you go, ask for Ralph and tell him Shellie and David sent you.
If you aren't blessed to be in this part of the country, check your local craft fairs and online.
When you find the bottle tree of your dreams, the next step is finding the bottles. Here are a few suggestions:
Wine. That's obvious. Look for fun colors and shapes. I've been known to drink a less than stellar wine just to keep the bottle. (Note, while they are economical, wine boxes will not help you with this project.)
Liquor. This isn't a great source of bottles around our house since it takes 3 years to go through a bottle of whiskey but this might be a good idea for you if you host a good number of cocktail parties.
Hobby stores. Bottles come in all shapes and sizes at super-sized hobby shops. Watch for sales. You know they are coming.
Ebay. Jennifer, a good friend of mine, has scored wonderful vintage bottles via auction for her tree. She says that since the pigment goes all the way through the glass they stay lovelier longer. When Jennifer talks about glass and art, I just accept what she says as truth. (She's a mosaic artist extraordinaire!)
After you assemble your bottles, you choose craft lights - strings of lights that have just a single plug - that are sized for your bottles. The smaller the bottle, the fewer the lights. As the video says, be sure not to damage the wiring as you "install" the bottles over the ends of the sculpture and use wire ties to tidy up your wires as they feed down the base. Hope this blog and video inspire you to add a lit bottle tree (or is that lighted?) to your garden. We've enjoyed ours. Shellie