How to make a topiary with your own hands - 4 instructions for beginners and not only

Topiary (“tree of happiness”, “European tree”) is a small decorative tree that is used to decorate interiors and exteriors, and is also often used for table setting. Topiary are good because they look very beautiful, and you can make them with your own hands literally in 1 evening from improvised materials.

• This means that you can make several decorations at once, for example, one pair - for the New Year's serving, another - for the Easter one, and a couple more for the mantelpiece.

In this article you will find 1 basic instructions on how to make a topiary for beginners with your own hands, as well as 3 step-by-step workshops in addition to it and 45 photo ideas for inspiration.

Basic instructions for beginners

Topiary even the most complex design are made about the same principle. Having mastered the basic manufacturing technology, you can create a variety of topiary, changing only the materials for the decor.

So, to make a mini-tree with your own hands, you need to create it:

• Krona;
• Trunk;
• The base of the tree.

Step 1. Design planning

Topiary can be different not only in design, but also in service life. Before you get to work, think about why you need a “tree of happiness” and where will it live? The purpose and future place of topiary will determine its style, colors and even materials for its creation.

If you want to do topiary for festive table setting, the materials can be used not too long-term - paper, napkins, candy, fresh flowers, fruit. If you want to make a topiary as a gift or for interior decoration, it is better to use a more reliable decor - cones, artificial flowers, coffee beans, ribbons, organza, etc.

In the next selection of photos you can learn ideas for the design of thematic and festive topiary.

But a selection of photo examples of design exclusively interior topiary (scroll through!).

Step 2. Preparation of materials

To make your own topiary, you will need:

• Foam ball with a diameter of 8-12 cm (sold in many stationery and art stores) or a ball of floristic foam (sold in garden stores and flower shops).

• Crown Decor - depending on your idea, use flowers, satin ribbons, organza, coffee beans, banknotes, etc.
• Trunk - it can be made from a dry and clean branch, a simple pencil or any other stick. In addition, the trunk and the pot can replace a high candlestick.
• Barrel decor - the barrel can at least be covered with matte varnish or painted. And at most - wrap one or two tapes.
• Cache-pot - It is most convenient to pour the mixture into a clay pot, but any nice cups, mugs, vintage buckets, etc. will also do.
• Fixing mixture - the best for the manufacture of topiriya do it yourself fit a mixture of alabaster, as it quickly hardens, almost no cracking and cheap. You can also use a cement-sand mortar, gypsum or putty. However, not only binding mixtures can fix a tree in a pot, but all the same foam, floristic foam or stones.
• Everything for mixing the mixture - capacity, water, stick, etc.
• Decor for masking fixation mixture - to create an imitation of soil cover, it is best to use natural materials: dry moss, small pebbles, expanded clay, sisal fiber. Also artificial moss and stones will do. Candies and dragees can be put into the pots of “edible” topiary.
• Glue gun and several glue sticks - if necessary, it can be replaced with glue like "Moment", but the best thing to do is not to do this, since the glue in the gun is more convenient, and most importantly, it allows you to remove random "webs".
• Scissors or cutter.
• Tailor-studs with a very small hat (optional, used in addition to or instead of glue, for example, for fastening beads).
• Side cutters or wire cutters for trimming the trunk or any decorative elements.

At the preparatory stage, divide the decorative parts for the crown into groups - for example, large, medium and small. So it will be more convenient for you to alternate the decor and distribute it evenly over the ball.

Step 3. Create the crown

First, you need to mark up on the ball - mark the place for fastening the trunk and around it mark the border, beyond which, for some time, you do not need to enter, pasting the decor. Thanks to this technique, in the future you will be able to easily fix the barrel in the ball, without spoiling the decor.

As soon as the glue warms up, proceed to the design of the ball in the following order: “fitting” the part without glue — applying glue to the right place — fixing the part. Remember that you need to act quickly, so that the glue does not have time to be absorbed into the foam. That is why the decor is better to first apply and try on.

Here are a few more details:

• It is necessary to stick a decor on a sphere since large elements and finishing small. For example, if you make a topiary of artificial flowers, then first glue the largest buds on the ball, then the middle ones and only then small flowers and additional beads.
• Some decor can be fixed on the ball with the help of tailor pins-studs. But the best way to combine cloves with glue.
• If some parts have bases from wire (for example, the same artificial flowers), then their “tails” should be left about 2 cm. Then you can not only stick the decor, but also stick it into the ball.
• To make the white base ball less noticeable in the gaps between the pasted parts, it can be painted to match the decor.

Step 4. The trunk decor and its attachment to the crown

Now we need to work with the barrel. As already mentioned, making it yourself is not at all difficult from a branch, pencil or any stick.

If you use a branch, then you can not paint it, but only cover it with a matte varnish so that the natural beauty of the tree can be seen. If you use a wooden stick, it can only be slightly toned, artificially aged, etc. If you want to completely disguise the surface of the trunk, you can wrap satin ribbons, cloth, paper, rope around it, or paint it completely.

How long should it be? Since the barrel deepens in both the pot and the ball, its length can be calculated using the following formula:

• Barrel length = 1/3 of the ball's diameter + pot height + desired barrel length between the crown and the pot.

To fasten the barrel, you need to make a hole in the ball about 2-3 cm deep in the ball on the marking area with an awl and knife (depending on its size). When the hole is ready, fill its bottom with thermo-glue and push the crown onto the barrel until it stops. Then continue to hold the barrel and gradually fill the hole with glue around the barrel.

• Keep in mind that thermo glue will melt the foam and deepen the hole even more. In order to prevent the barrel from penetrating into the crown more than 1/3 of its diameter, small pieces of paper can be laid between the layers of glue.

As soon as the trunk is fixed in the ball, disguise the place of fastening with the decor.

Step 5. Preparation of the binding mixture and fixing the tree in the pot

It is time to plant the resulting tree in a pot. For this you need:

• Departing from the edge of the pot about 2.5 cm, put a mark - to this level will be poured the mixture. If there is a hole at the bottom of the pot, you need to close it with scotch tape or thermal glue.

• Dilute the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions and fill the pot with it.
• Align and fix the topiary in a pot, holding its stem until the mixture hardens.
• Leave the mixture overnight-to-dry.

Hint: As already noted, it is best to use alabaster as a binder mixture. To fill 1 medium pot, dilute about 1 kg of alabaster with 600 ml of water. The mixture is kneaded for about 1-2 minutes to the consistency of thick cream, and then quickly poured into the pot and topiary is fixed in it for 2-3 minutes.

Step 6. Dressing the cover of the "soil" and the pot

Hooray! The topiary is almost ready, it remains only to create an imitation of the soil in the pot and mask the fixative mixture. If you use sisal fiber (see photo), shells, artificial grass or moss, then they need to be fixed with a small amount of glue.

Master class 1. Corrugated paper topiary

Topiary with paper flowers is especially suitable for decorating a festive table or festive interior decoration. For example, this topiary of roses was made for Valentine's Day.

Materials:

• Ball base with a diameter of 12 cm;
• Corrugated (crepe paper) of medium density (the master class uses corrugated paper in the form of a ribbon, but you can use regular rolls);
• Floral foam bars and / or any fixative mixture (see basic instructions);
• Cache pot or pot for topiary base;
• The barrel length is about 30 cm;
• Dry moss for pot decoration;
• Tape for the decor of the trunk;
• Glue gun.

Step 1. Cut corrugated paper into strips 60 cm long and about 4.5-5 cm wide. If the paper is too thick and stiff, remember the stripes a little so that they become softer.

Step 2. Now you need to turn the resulting ribbon into rosebuds. This is done very simply, quite a couple of trainings and the principle becomes clear. Take one of the resulting paper tapes and tuck it 1/3 as shown in the photo below.

Then bend one end of the tape at a diagonal at a 45-degree angle and start folding it into a roll.After three turns, you get the heart of the bud. Now wrap the free end to the outside, and continue to fold the heart of the rose - woo-ala, you have the first petal.

Continue to twist the roll-bud as well, turning up the free end of the tape until it ends. At the end, fasten the base of the rose with a speller or glue in a pistol.

There are quite a few such roses to be made - about 80 pieces, so it’s more pleasant to twist them while sitting, say, watching a movie.

Step 3. Take the ball-based and mark on it a place for mounting the trunk. Next, start pasting the ball with flowers.

Step 4. Once the crown is completely covered with roses, attach a trunk to it (see Step 4 Basic instructions). In this master class, the barrel was pre-sprayed white.

Step 5. Next, fill the pot with floral foam (see photo) or fixing mixture (see Step 5 Basic instructions), and then fix the tree at the base.

Step 6. Lay dry moss on the "soil" and glue it in some places on thermo-glue. Finally, knit a bow on the trunk.

In the next selection of photos, there are other topiary design ideas that can be made with your own hands on this master class not only of corrugated paper, but also of satin ribbons, paper, quietness, etc.

Read also the material: DIY paper flowers - 4 workshops for beginners.

Master class 2. Topiary from artificial flowers

Topiary made of artificial flowers can be a permanent decoration of the dining table, wardrobe, coffee table, mantelpiece. Moreover, in most cases it is better to do two identical trees at once, in order to create a feeling of symmetry in the interior. And also topiary made of artificial flowers is a great idea for a gift or a wedding decoration.

Materials:

• 2 pcs. artificial hydrangeas or several other colors;
• Ball base with a diameter of 10 cm;
• Acrylic paint to match the colors (for painting the ball);
• Foam roller brush;
• Clay pot;
• Barrel (this project uses the barrel and pot from the factory topiary);
• Tape cotton contrasting colors;
• Glue gun;
• Office knife or awl;
• Side cutter or pliers for cutting the wire base colors.

Step 1. First paint the ball with the paint to match the colors and let it dry.

Step 2. While the ball is drying, separate the flowers from the “stems”.

• If your flower has wire “stems”, then leave their tails about 2 cm long. For cutting, use a side cutter or wire cutter.
• If the wire has no flowers, it doesn't matter. Cut the "stems" at the root, so that in the future the flowers can be simply pasted.

Step 3. Mark on the ball the place where the trunk will be attached and start sticking flowers, keeping an equal interval between them. It is desirable that the petals come over each other so that the ball beneath them is practically invisible. Leave the area near the place of fastening of the trunk without flowers.

• Fasten the flowers on the wire to the ball in the following sequence: creating a hole under the “stem” - filling the hole with a drop of glue - planting the flower until it stops (see photo below).

In this master class, flowers were staggered at an interval of about 2.5 cm.

Step 4. Make a hole in the ball for the barrel with an awl / knife, fill it with glue and attach the topiary as recommended Step 4 our basic instructions. Next to the base of the crown, glue one or several leaves as shown in the photo below. In our master class, a sheet of hydrangea was additionally fixed in the desired position with a pin.

After that, empty the area near the trunk decorate with flowers.

Step 5. Place the topiary in any fixative mixture and decorate the “soil” (see Step 5 and Step 6 Basic instructions). The final touch is a bow of wide cotton ribbon tied on the trunk right under the crown.

Below are the ideas of topiary design with artificial flowers that you can realize with the help of our master class.

Master Class 3. Satin Ribbon Topiary

Satin ribbon topiary will be especially appropriate on a festive table, for example, on the occasion Birthday baby, New Year or Valentine's Day.

Materials:

• MANY satin or any other ribbon of different colors;
• Clay pot or any pots;
• Trunk;
• Ball of foam or floral foam;
• Fixing mixture or floristic foam;
• Scissors;
• Tailor-studs (with small hats);
• Glue gun;
• Materials for decoration topiary.

See also the material: Flowers from ribbons do it yourself - 6 workshops for beginners.

Step 1. Spray paint the pot and let it dry.

Step 2. Insert the stick into the ball according Step 4 Basic instructions.

Step 3. Install the wood harvest into the fixative mixture (see Step 5 Basic instructions) or floristic foam.

Step 4. Cut a bundle of ribbon into a variety of 7-8 cm long ribbons. To save time, cut the ribbon by folding it in several layers. Tapes of different colors are better not to mix, so that later it would be easier for you to distribute them over the ball evenly.

Step 5. Take one ribbon and make a loop out of it as shown in the photo below. In a place where the ends fit together, stick a carnation, and then insert it completely into the ball. Repeat these steps until the whole ball is decorated with ribbons.

Step 6. As soon as the crown of the topiary is framed, put candy, paper, paper, stones or any other decor into the pot.

The following photos show other examples of topiary ribbons.

See also: How to make a coffee topiary

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