How to make a topiary by yourself - 4 instructions for beginners and not only

Topiary ("tree of happiness "European tree") is a decorative small tree decorated with interiors and exteriors, and is also often used for table setting. Topiary are good in that they look very beautiful, and you can do it yourself with your hands literally for 1 evening from improvised materials.

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

In this material you will find 1 basic instruction on how to make a topiary for yourself for beginners, as well as 3 step-by-step master classes in addition to it and 45 photo-ideas for inspiration.

Basic instruction for beginners

The topiary of even the most complex design is done approximately according to the same principle. Having mastered the basic manufacturing technology, you can create a variety of topiary, changing only the materials for decoration.

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

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

Step 1. Design Planning

Topiary can be different not only in design, but also in terms of service life. Before you start to work, think about what you need a "tree of happiness" and where will it live? Appointment and future place of the topiary will determine its style, color scale and even materials for its creation.

If you want to make topiarias for a festive table setting, the materials can be used not too long-term - paper, napkins, candies, fresh flowers, fruits. If you want to make a topiary for a gift or for decorating an interior, 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 get ideas for thematic and celebratory topiariy.

But a selection of photo-examples of design exclusively interior topiary (skip!).

Step 2. Preparation of materials

To make the topiary yourself, you will need:

• Polystyrene ball with a diameter of 8-12 cm(sold in many office and art stores) or a ball of floral foam (sold in shops for gardening and flower shops).

• Crown decor- Depending on your idea, use flowers, satin ribbons, organza, coffee beans, money bills, etc.
• Trunk- it can be made from a dry and clean branch, a simple pencil or any other stick. In addition, the trunk and pot can replace the tall candlestick.
• Decor for the trunk- the trunk can at least be covered with matte varnish or painted. And as a maximum - wrap one or two ribbons.
• Kashpo- it is most convenient to pour the mixture into a clay pot, but any cute cups, mugs, vintage buckets, etc.,
• Fixing mixture- it is best to make a topiary with your own hands a mixture of alabaster, because it quickly freezes, almost does not crack and is cheap. Also you can use a cement-sand mortar, gypsum or putty. However, not only binders can fix the tree in the pot, but also the same foam, floristic foam or stones.
• All for mixing the mixture- capacity, water, stick, etc.
• Decor for masking the fixing mixture- To create an imitation of the soil cover, it is best to use natural materials: dry moss, fine pebbles, expanded clay, sisal fiber. Also suitable artificial moss and stones. In the pots of "edible" topiary, you can impose candy and dragees.
• Adhesive-pistol and several sticks of glue- if necessary, it can be replaced with glue like "Moment but it is best not to do this, as the glue in the gun is more convenient, and most importantly it allows you to remove random "spiders".
• Scissors or cutter.
• Portnevsky pin-studs with a very small hat(not required, used in addition or instead of glue, for example, for fastening beads).
• Side cutters or nippersfor trimming trunks or any decor elements.

At the preparatory stage, divide the decorative details 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 on the ball evenly.

Step 3. Creation of the crown

First, you need to mark the balloon on the balloon - mark the place for attaching the barrel and around it indicate the border, for which up to some time you do not need to go in, pasting the decor. Thanks to this technique, in the future you can easily fix the barrel in a ball without damaging the decor.

As soon as the glue warms up, proceed to decorating the ball in the following order: "fitting" the parts without glue - applying glue to the desired place - fixing the part. Remember that you need to act quickly, so that the glue does not have time to soak into the foam. That is why it is better to first decorate and decorate the decor.

Here are a few more nuances:

• Stick decor on the ball you need from the largest elements and ending with small ones. For example, if you make a topiary from artificial flowers, then first glue the largest buds, then medium 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 it's best to combine cloves with glue.
• If some parts have bases of wire (for example, the same artificial flowers), then from their "tails" you need to leave about 2 cm. Then you can not only paste the decor, but also stick it into the ball.
• That the white ball-base was less visible in the gaps between the pasted parts, it can be painted in the tone of the decor.

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

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

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

How long should it be? Since the trunk deepens both into the pot and into the bowl, its length can be calculated by the following formula:

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

To mount the barrel, it is necessary to make a hole with a depth of about 2-3 cm (depending on its size) at the marking spot with a knife and a knife. When the hole is ready, fill it with a thermo-glue and plant the crown on the stem until it stops. Then continue to hold the trunk and gradually fill the hole with glue around the trunk.

• Keep in mind that the thermo-adhesive melts the foam and further deepens the hole. To prevent the trunk from going deeper into the crown more than 1/3 of its diameter, small pieces of paper can be laid between the layers of glue.

Once the barrel is fixed in the bowl, disguise the place of attachment with the decor.

Step 5. Preparing the binder mix and fixing the wood in the pot

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

• Stepping away from the edge of the pot approximately, cm, put a mark - to this level will be poured mixture. If there is a hole in the bottom of the pot, you need to cover it with adhesive tape or thermo-glue.

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

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

Step 6. Decoration of the soil cover 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 fixing mixture. If you use sisal fiber (see Fig. photo), shells, artificial grass or moss, then they need to be fixed with a small amount of glue.

Master class 1. Topiary made of corrugated paper

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

Materials:

• Bowl base 12 cm in diameter;
• Corrugated (creped paper) of medium density (the master class uses corrugated paper in the form of tape, but you can use conventional rolls);
• Bars of floristic foam and / or any fixing mixture (cf. basic instruction);
• Kashpo or pot for the base of topiary;
• The trunk is about 30 cm long;
• Dry moss for pot decoration;
• Tape for decor trunk;
• The glue gun.

Step 1.Cut the corrugated paper into strips 60 cm long and about -5 cm wide. If the paper is too dense and stiff, remember the strips a little to make them more plastic.

Step 2.Now you need to turn the resulting ribbons into roses buds. This is done very simply, enough pair-three trainings and the principle becomes clear. Take one of the resulting paper strips and tuck it in 1/3 as shown in the photo below.

Then bend one end of the tape diagonally at an angle of 45 degrees and start folding it into a roll. After three turns you will get the heart of the bud. Now free end wrap in the outside, and the core of the rose continue to fold - wow, you got the first petal.

Continue also twisting the roll-bud, while turning the free end of the tape until it ends. At the end, fix the base of the rose with a speller or glue in the gun.

Such roses should be made quite a lot - about 80 pieces, so it's more pleasant to twist them sitting, say, watching a movie.

Step 3.Take the ball-base and mark on it the place for fastening the trunk. Next, start gluing the balloon with flowers.

Step 4.As soon as the crown is covered with roses completely, attach a barrel to it (see p. Step 4 of the Basic Instruction). In this master class, the barrel was previously painted with aerosol paint in white.

Step 5.Next, fill the pot with floral foam (see p. photo) or a fixing mixture (see Fig. Step 5 of the Basic Instruction), and then fix the tree in the base.

Step 6.Dry moss laid on "soil" and glue it in some places on the thermo-glue. Finally, tie a bow on the trunk.

In the next selection of photos are presented other ideas for the design of the topiary, which you can make your own hands on this master class not only from corrugated paper, but also from satin ribbons, paper in silence and etc.

Read also the material: Flowers from paper with their own hands - 4 master classes for beginners.

Master class 2. Topiary of artificial flowers

Topiary of artificial flowers can become a permanent adornment of a dining table, a cabinet-display, a coffee table, a mantelpiece. At what in most cases it is better to do just two identical trees in order to create a sense of symmetry in the interior. And the topiary 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 diameter of 10 cm;
• Acrylic paint in the tone of colors (for painting the ball);
• Foam brush-roller;
• Clay pot;
• The trunk (in this project a trunk and a pot from the factory topiary are used);
• Cotton band with contrasting colors;
• Glue gun;
• Stationery knife or awl;
• Cutter or wire cutter for cutting the wire base of flowers.

Step 1.First paint the balloon with paint in a tone of colors and leave it to dry.

Step 2.While the ball dries, separate the flowers from the "stems".

• If your flower has wire "stems then leave from them tails about 2 cm long. For cutting, use a side cutter or wire cutter.
• If the wire does not have flowers, it does not matter. Cut the "stems" under the root so that in future the flowers can be simply glued.

Step 3.Mark on the ball the place where the trunk will be fastened and begin to paste flowers, maintaining an equal interval between them. It is advisable that the petals go to each other so that the ball under them is practically not visible. The area near the attachment point of the trunk is left without flowers.

• The flowers on the wire should be fastened to the ball in the following sequence: creating a hole for the "stem" - filling the hole with a drop of glue - planting the flower until it stops (see Fig. photo below).

In this master class, the flowers were distributed in a checkerboard pattern with an interval of about, cm.

Step 4.Do in the ball hole for the trunk with an awl / knife, fill it with glue and attach the topiary according to the recommendations of Step # 4 of our Basic Instruction. Next, to the base of the crown, glue one or several leaves at once, as shown in the photo below. In our master class, the hydrangea leaf was additionally fixed in the desired position with a pin.

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

Step 5.Install the topiary in some fixing mixture and zadekoriruyte "soil" (see. Step 5 and Step 6 of the Basic Instruction). The final touch is a bow from a wide cotton ribbon, tied on the trunk under the very crown.

Below are the ideas of decorating with artificial flowers that you can implement with the help of our master class.

Master class 3. Topiary of Satin Ribbons

Topiary from satin ribbons will be especially appropriate on the festive table, for example, on the occasion of the birthday of the child, the New Year or Valentine's Day.

Materials:

• Lots of satin or any other ribbon of different colors;
• Clay pot or any pots;
• Trunk;
• Ball of foam or floristic foam;
• Fixing mixture or floral foam;
• Scissors;
• Portnevsky pin-studs (with small hats);
• Glue gun;
• Materials for decorating the base of topiary.

See also: Flowers from tapes with their own hands - 6 master classes for beginners.

Step 1.Paint the pot with aerosol paint and let it dry.

Step 2.Insert the stick into the ball according to Step 4 of the Basic Instruction.

Step 3.Install the logging in the fixing mixture (see Fig. Step 5 of the Basic Instruction) or floristic foam.

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

Step 5.Take one ribbon and make a loop from it as shown in the photo below. In the place where the ends meet with each other, stick the studs, and then insert it completely into the ball. Repeat these steps until the whole ball is encrusted with ribbons.

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

The following photos show other examples of decorating with tapes.

Read also: How to make a topiary from coffee

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