they were really simple, and were in
these pretty mercury glass cachepots.
i really wanted a pair of each.
the cachepots were $16 each and the
topiaries were around $20 each.
a little more than i wanted to spend...
so, i bought the cachepots.
they were just too darn cute to pass up,
and i figured i would have a go at
making the topiaries myself.
and poured it equally into two paper cups
i also cut two strips as ties.
here's what i bought
2 styrafoam balls @ $3 each
1 yard burlap $3
1 tub pottery paster $4
1 bag moss $5
moss colored thread $1
two sticks from my yard-free
total: $19
(i bought 2 bags of moss, but only used 1/2 of 1 bag!)
i mixed up the plaster in
a disposable container
and poured it equally into two paper cups
next, i stuck my sticks into the paster.
i held them for about 2 minutes...until i could feel the
plaster beginning to set.
then i made a hole in the styrafoam ball,
and hot glued the moss onto the ball.
the moss is very forgiving...
then, i wrapped the ball over and over with the thread.
this will hold the moss on better, and
make it "shed" less.
by the time i finished with the balls, the
plaster was set.
i trimmed the cups.
and used a large bowl as a template
to cut two large circles out of the burlap.
i also cut two strips as ties.
this is what it will look like if you wrap it in burlap
i thought it looked nice nestled among some ornaments and pine cones...
but, in the end, i decided to surround them
with spanish moss and put them in the cachepots.
the best thing about these moss topiaries,
is that they can be used all year!
UPDATE:
the topiaries i saw were not available at all online.
the smaller moss balls above are sold out,
and the larger ones are $29.
$29?!
save yourself some $$ and make your own!
each topiary i made cost about $9,
and i have enough moss and plaster to make
at least two more.
Very nice and what a great tutorial!
ReplyDeleteDonna
yes, two please
ReplyDeleteGreat job. I love topiaries. You did a great job explaining each step, thanks for the info. MERRY CHRISTMAS
ReplyDeleteLove this idea. Thanks for sharing it. I'm a huge topiary fan. I've never tried to make one though.
ReplyDelete♥ Joy
Thanks for the great step-by-step. Love these. Just found your great blog :)
ReplyDeleteYours look fab but were a lot of work. I bought my moss balls at Michael's for 3.00 and 4.00 respectively for the 8" and 10" ball sizes and I did not have any burned fingers to boot!
ReplyDeletethanks for the tutorial... did mine using moss i bought at the dollar store and instead of styrafoam balls i just made balls out of newspaper and tape (to hold the shape)... I am very happy withe the result...
ReplyDelete