Vintage Chenille Bump Stems

I saw this flower arrangement at the thrift store for a few weeks now I'm sure.  No one wanted that poor dirty and partially faded arrangement made of chenille bump stems and plastic foliage, no one but me that is.  I got the side eye from hubby on this one, but he'll feel differently later--trust me!

There are red and white flowers, a few stems of white fern gone tan, two sprigs of some white stuff with gold flecks on them, two stems of holly and four stems of some green tuft.  Like most things, they just don't make it like they used to and that includes chenille stems.  Since I had a 20% off coupon in my wallet, I decided this would be the day that I take this arrangement home.  In my eyes, it was a pot of crafting goodies!

I washed up all the plastic stuff, easy enough.  I wasn't sure what might happen to the chenille.  I disassembled one of the white flowers and soaked one piece/petal in warm water with oxygen bleach.  I rinsed it and laid it over a foliage stem so that the water flowed downward.  After letting it air dry for a while, I used the hair dryer to further dry it.  I will let it sit over night and then use a clean toothbrush to fluff it up.  Here's a comparison to before washing and after.

Several of the petals have gold tinsel in the stem!  I didn't realize it until I washed it--what a great surprise! 

Yes, I'm am going to take all the chenille apart and wash it and use it in future vintage projects!  It is tedious, but I have that kind of patience.