Topiary is a popular interior decoration made in the form of a decorative tree, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. The simplest, but graceful and elegant topiary can be made with your own hands from cosmetic cotton pads.
Any topiary or "tree of happiness" consists of three parts: crown, trunk and base. Any container can serve as the base of the tree: a flower pot, a beautiful cup, salad bowl, etc. Suitable for the trunk are barbecue skewers, tree branches, pieces of wire wrapped in decorative paper. The easiest way to make a crown in the form of graceful rose flowers is from cotton pads.
Making the frame of the topiary
A foam ball or a papier-mâché ball can serve as a frame for the crown of a tree. A simpler blank is made from crumpled newspaper, tied with threads to maintain its shape. It is advisable to paint the finished ball with white paint or use a white sheet of paper on top of a newspaper layer. The trunk of the future tree is inserted into the center of the ball and fixed with hot melt glue.
Making the base
In the absence of decorative containers for attaching a tree, a very effective base can be made from a simple glass jar. White office paper is cut into several strips, and each of them, starting obliquely from the corner, is wound on a thin knitting needle. The resulting tubes are coated with PVA glue so that they do not unwind and, if necessary, are painted with gouache or acrylic paints in the desired color.
A layer of glue is carefully applied to the entire surface of the jar and 2-3 layers of white paper napkins are glued. Prepared and painted tubes, if necessary, are cut to the desired length and glued tightly to the jar. The pasted jar can be decorated with a decorative bow.
Cement, plaster or alabaster can be used to secure the trunk to a prepared and decorated base. The mixture is poured into a base container, diluted with water to the consistency of thick sour cream, the topiary's trunk is inserted into the solution and left until completely solidified. As an alternative to cement or gypsum, polyurethane foam can be used.
Making a crown
Cosmetic cotton pads can be either white or any other color - for this, each disc is dipped in paint diluted with water and left to dry completely. To make a rose flower, fold the edges of the disc towards the center, with one edge narrower and the other slightly wider. In the center, the resulting tube is tied with a thread or fastened with a stapler.
The tube is turned outward, from its narrow part, the core of the rose is obtained, from the wide part - the petals. Having prepared the required number of flowers, they begin to fix them on a paper frame. Starting from the top of the future crown, the paper ball is tightly pasted over with roses from cotton pads, trying not to leave gaps between the flowers. Leaves cut from green corrugated paper or painted cotton pads are glued between the buds.
The trunk of a tree can be wrapped with a string of pearls, and rose petals can be decorated with individual pearls. The surface of the base is greased with PVA glue and covered with a small layer of beads or small beads of a suitable color.
