Topiary is an artificial tree. In some cultures, it is believed to bring happiness. This is true, because creativity is also happiness, and if as a result you get a product that can decorate your apartment or the house of your friends, everyone will be happy. The tree must be "planted" in a pot, and can be decorated with shells, coffee beans, ribbons.
The pot is the basis of the composition
The tree of happiness has a long trunk and a round crown. The topiary is in a pot, and it is from it that you need to start picking up materials. Take a walk to your nearest flower shop and choose a beautiful pot with a wide top. But the pot can be made with your own hands, it will be even better. For this, for example, a large glass or plastic jar is suitable. It can be covered or decoupage made, that is, you can apply fabric soaked in PVA glue with paint and putty with beautiful folds. A pattern is applied to the fabric and smaller elements made of beads or sequins are glued, and on top the surface is covered with varnish, best of all with acrylic. Other options are possible - for example, a skillfully made papier-mâché pot looks good.
Wrinkles can be accentuated with darker or lighter paint, as well as gold and silver lines.
Making a ball
The crown of the topiary has the shape of a ball. Such a ball can be made in different ways:
- cut from thick foam;
- to form from crumpled paper;
- to make using the papier-mâché technique;
- made from foam rubber bands or synthetic twine.
Grinding foam parts is a rather laborious task. Paper is much easier to process. Crumple up a large sheet of loose paper (such as newsprint), roll up a ball and brush over with paste. Then wrap the ball with thread, and glue the torn pieces of newspaper onto the surface. After the crown dries, it must be painted with spray paint. To make a papier-mâché crown, soak several egg cartons in water, then shape them into a ball and let dry. The surface will turn out to be uneven, so it is not necessary to glue additional "branches". The crown will also look interesting from foam rubber bands. You can buy them at a hardware store - they are often used to insulate windows. It is better to pre-paint the ribbons. The crown of the topiary is made in the same way as a regular pompom. Green synthetic twine is also suitable as a material. The latter option is especially good for small trees.
Both a plastic ball and a rubber ball are suitable as the basis for the crown.
Trunk
Pick up a stick for the trunk. Its size depends on how the crown and the pot look. The crown will need to be fixed, so that it does not fall off. The whole structure must be stable, which can only be achieved if the trunk reaches the bottom of the pot. How to decorate the trunk? Well, here, as they say, his own hand is the lord. It can be painted, pasted over with cloth or paper, just varnished. Decorative elements made of small foam balls, beads, etc. are also acceptable. How to attach the crown depends on its design. A ball of foam rubber strips can be simply tied, for faithfulness, dropping a few drops of universal glue into the attachment point. The trunk is glued into the crown made of foam or paper. As for the pot, you can fill it with real earth, clay, or even plasticine. The main thing is that the structure is stable.
Getting started decorating
How to decorate the tree of happiness? Dig into your craft box, there are sure to be a lot of interesting things that are very suitable for your purpose. It's great if there is a beautiful, but not too heavy shell. It is she who can become the center of the composition. How to fix it depends on your capabilities. You can glue it, you can drill a hole, stretch a foam rubber "branch" into it and tie a knot. Is there a thin ribbon? Fine, cut it into pieces about 10 cm long, tie some bows and glue them to the crown. You can stick coffee beans, varnished pumpkin seeds, make flowers from threads or ribbons.
