Sunday, September 19, 2010

Fall Topiary's Tutorial

I was on a creative kick one day, and since I've been "holding on" to this idea for some time, I decided that today was the day to 'get 'er done'!
I love the colors of fall, and the beauty of the earth as it prepares to slumber until spring, so I wanted to bring a bit of that indoors...
(My tutorial is linked to It's A Blog Party Fall Get Together hop on over there for fabulous fall idea's, recipes, inspirations and more!)

*My Fall Topiary's*
 
It's a very simple project, so first gather your supplies together. You will need:
  • 1- 36" wood dowel
  • 2- Styrofoam balls, about 6" in diameter
  • 2- terracotta pots
  • Crafting foam to place inside pots
  • Assorted leaves
  • A glue Gun
  • Some moss
  • Spray paint if desired (I used oil rub bronze that I purchased at my local Lowe's store)
The first thing I did was to spray paint my terracotta pots and the wood dowel.  I then cut the dowel to measure a 12"  piece and a 16" piece.
I had a square piece of crafters foam that I purchased at the dollar store, so I simply took a kitchen knife and cut it to fit inside the 2 pots very snugly.  I then placed the Styrofoam balls on 1 end of a dowel, and then pushed the other end into the foam.  I secured that with a little hot glue.

From there it is just a matter of cutting placing your leaves on the Styrofoam balls, by either gluing them in place or by pushing the wire stems into the foam.  I did a bit of both.
Keep working until you are satisfied with the coverage of the Styrofoam, then go to work on the base.  I simply placed some glue on the Styrofoam and pressed moss onto it (be very careful doing this so that you don't burn you fingers-my lesson learned- I cut a piece from a paper plate and used it to press the moss down).

Then I added a few more leaves and tiny cat tails to the base, and I was finished!!

EASY PEASY!
It took me about an hour to assemble these (not counting spray painting/drying time), and because I had some extra leaves left over from past projects, these cost me approximately $16.00 for the set.
YAY!
 Here are a few pictures of my competed topiary's, and where I've placed them in my home.  The picture hanging above them was taken by my little brother!




UndertheTableandDreaming

8 comments:

Summer Miller said...

Beautiful and inspiring!

Amanda Miller said...

Thank you for the inspiration! I've been wanting topiaries for my entryway but could not make myself spend the $$ on them! These look easy & a lot of fun to make!

Jaedyn said...

These are beautiful and look very doable. :) Thanks for the inspiration!

ClassyGal said...

I love these topiaries, what a great idea!

Kari said...

Gorgeous! I love them! Your whole area there is stunning!

Melissa said...

Very cute!
Melissa
http://www.burstsofcreativity.blogspot.com/

Jessa said...

They are wonderful! Love all the twig accents. I am going to have to try this one. Thanks for the great idea.

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hello...

I'm just coming over from Jessa's Autumn Holiday party! My friend, you are certainly a very creative and talented lady! I just love how your autumn topiaries turned out! They're absolutely gorgeous sitting on that pretty black table! I have been wanting to try my hand at making an autumn topiary and just haven't gotten around to doing it! Your topiaries and great tutorial has certainly inspired me...I just need to "get er done" as you said! Hehe! I also love that beautiful piece of art that your brother made for you...it's lovely and sooo perfect with your beautiful autumn vignette! Thank you so much for sharing your talents, your tutorial, and your fabulous topiaries with us!!!

Warmest autumn wishes,
Chari @Happy To Design