Do-it-yourself topiary from plastic bottles. How to grow an eyed mushroom

Do-it-yourself topiary is gaining more and more popularity among decorators, interior designers and simple needlewomen.

Initially, a topiary was a garden with ornamental trimmed plants and sculptures created from artistically trimmed trees. Topiary art has a long history. So, even in ancient Egypt and Persia, the ability to give geometric shapes to bushes and trees was appreciated. And the most famous example of a topiary garden is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Babylon - one of the seven wonders of the world.

And now topiary (or European tree) is the name for small original trees, for the manufacture of which natural and artificial materials are used. The topiary is decorative in nature, and it depends only on the author's imagination what it will be made of. And the size of the topiary can be from 10-15 centimeters to half a meter.

Small paper flower topiary

Large artificial flower topiary (Author — Anna Assonova)

Topiary can be a wonderful gift for a wedding or housewarming.

What is topiary made of?

So, if you decide to make a topiary with your own hands, then you should know that the tree consists of several elements:

• the foundation
• trunk
• crown
• pot or stand

Moreover, for each of these elements there are different forms and materials.

Topiary base

The base can be of different shapes. Most often, a ball is used in the manufacture of topiary.

Topiary in the form of a ball

But there are topiaries in the form of a heart, as well as in the form of various figures. Experienced needlewomen create blanks in the form of numbers (if the tree is intended as a gift for a birthday or memorable date), as well as in the form of letters.

Topiary - heart

As a basis for a ball or heart, you can use a foam blank, polyurethane foam or a papier-mâché ball. Curly bases are thick wire, foam or cardboard.

Topiary base - foam ball

Topiary trunk

The barrel can be a thick wire wrapped in twine, floral tape or plastered with plastic.

You can also use an ordinary wooden branch (for reliability, it is better to clean it from the bark and cover it with stain and varnish).

A short, straight trunk is obtained from several sushi sticks or wooden skewers connected together.

Topiary crown

Topiary crown is a huge scope for imagination. You can use absolutely everything: paper (paper napkins, cut out flowers, corrugated paper, quilling paper or folded origami - kusudama), cold porcelain or polymer clay flowers, satin and nylon ribbons, felt or cotton, buttons and beads, coffee, shells , dried leaves and other natural materials, and much, much more.

Topiary in the Kanzashi technique from the remnants of fabric (author - Tatyana Babikova)

Topiary made of corrugated paper and natural materials

Corrugated paper and organza topiary (author - Tatyana Kovaleva)

Topiary from natural materials (leaves, apples, acorns)

Topiary of flowers (origami - kusudama)

Topiary stand

Depending on the idea and size of the tree, an ordinary flower pot, an iron bucket (painted or decorated using decoupage technique), a beautiful flat stone or a shell can become a stand. You can decorate the stand with fabric or lace. Or maybe it will be a nice cup? You decide.

Shell topiary stand

Topiary stand decorated with fabric and cinnamon sticks

Topiary stands (left to right): flowerpot, crocheted jar, cloth-covered bowl

Stand for topiary from a ceramic mug

Preparation of the necessary materials

Before you start working on a topiary, carefully consider the idea and all the materials used. The idea will depend on the purpose of the tree and the hobbies of its future owner. Gather materials. Attach the elements of the crown to the workpiece. Decide what decorative items you will take.

Beads of different sizes and decorative dragonflies were used as decor for the topiary.

Beads, braid, sisal and a decorative watering can were used as decor for the topiary.

Making a trunk

The next step is to prepare the trunk. As already mentioned, depending on the material, it must be wrapped with twine or varnished.

We attach the base of the tree to one end of the trunk. The ball can be simply inserted, and it is better to fix some curly base with glue.

The other end of the barrel is inserted into the prepared vessel. Usually it is attached with foam, which is then poured with alabaster or cement.

The trunk of the topiary is glued to the foam

At first, it will be difficult to guess the consistency: if the solution is too liquid, then it will dry for a very long time. And if you make it thick, then it will not fill all the empty space between the pot and the foam.

Experienced needlewomen are advised to achieve the consistency of store-bought sour cream: not very liquid, but slipping off a spoon and easily changing shape.

Pour the solution into the prepared form, smooth the top and leave to dry completely.

We decorate the crown

While the base dries, you can make crown elements: leaves, flowers.

Let me remind you once again that they must be fixed after the base has completely dried.

Depending on the base material, the flowers can be attached with hot glue or stuck in with small skewers or wire.

Garden topiary is an opportunity to bring original, romantic or funny notes to the space surrounding the house, but not to disturb the natural harmony.

There are real masterpieces of this art, the creation of which requires special knowledge, skills and materials, but you can make a simple do-it-yourself topiary for your garden, and it can be very impressive. For example, here is such a funny mushroom - in a hat and with eyes. By the way, garden figurines with eyes are a special topic. They are always interesting, funny, enliven any site. In you can see examples, and also make sure that the eyes for garden crafts and even plants are not so difficult to create. another example.

How to grow an eyed mushroom

Form for a figurine for a garden. In stores, as well as plant nurseries, many types of metal mesh topiary molds are now sold, including mushrooms. But if you could not find just such a form, make it yourself. Firstly, the grid is not such a shortage; you can also use a used one. Secondly, the shape of the mushroom is simple, it is unlikely that you will not be able to cope with the task. Thirdly, the mesh can be replaced with something, for example, make a mushroom frame from rods, and put a regular polypropylene packaging bag inside - bulk materials (cereals, sugar, building materials) are sold in such bags. In the bag, you need to make holes, slots in which we will sow / plant plants. In principle, if you tightly fill the polypropylene bag with earth, then the frame may not be needed.

Soil for garden topiary. If you have good fertilized and loose earth on your site, then you can safely take it to create such a figurine for the garden. If the soil in the beds and in the garden leaves much to be desired, just prepare the mixture. Add peat, humus (can be leafy) to the garden soil, add rotted manure and complex mineral fertilizer. If there is no manure on the farm, you can get by with only mineral. It is very important for the topiary that the earth be nutritious - then the plants will develop well, and the garden figurine will not have “bald spots”.

Plants for a figurine for a garden

For the garden figurine-topiary, we use low ground cover plants, which, when growing on the surface of the soil, form green, and at times, flowering "rugs". There may be beautiful berries. There are a lot of plants in this group, you can choose: sedums, stonecrops, silver zelenchuk, Indian dushenia, yaskolka (felt or Bibirshtein), evening primrose, creeping tenacious, saxifrage, young, small speedwell, etc.

It is only important to plant / sow plants either completely on the whole plant, or one species - on a separate element. For example, a mushroom stem can be made from lawn grass, and a hat can be elegant, made from a rocky rose. Of course, even though these plants are low, their “growth” is still different, and if you combine several types of greens in one topiary, then special attention will have to be paid to pruning: either to equalize all plants under the “one comb”, or to cut, given the shape. So, on a mushroom cap, plants can be longer, etc.

You can easily update the interior of the room, bring notes of dreaminess and tenderness into it - by making a do-it-yourself topiary for beginners from natural or decorative materials. You will have to work a little on the tree of happiness, but the result is definitely worth it. The craft will perfectly decorate any room, it will be a good holiday gift for a friend or relative. For newlyweds, you can make a Bird's Nest topiary - a real tree of happiness, symbolizing a cozy family nest. It is not necessary to act on a grand scale and make a large topiary - small topiaries look no less decorative, and will fit on any shelf or desktop.

You can easily update the interior of the room, add notes of dreaminess and tenderness to it - by making a do-it-yourself topiary

Initially, figuratively trimmed trees and green shrubs in the yards of wealthy people were called topiaries. Over time, this art has changed. Now everyone can decorate their home with such cute decor. The size of a tree often does not exceed half a meter, and the variety of its shapes, colors and materials used to make it is almost limitless - at home they are made step by step from fabric and banknotes, coins and coffee beans, autumn leaves and dried flowers, even sweets and chocolates - everything do not list. See examples of topiary in the gallery below.

To create this craft, modern needlewomen use almost everything.

Here is just a small list of the most popular items for decoration:

• Artificial flowers from foamiram, satin and rapeseed ribbons, salt dough, plastic, napkins, organza and so on.
• Decorative berries, twigs, leaves.
• Large and small beads, beads, buttons.
• Coins of various denominations.
• Souvenir paper money.
• Old gears, bolts, scissors and other small tools.
• Thread pom-poms.
• Balls for decorating Christmas trees.
• Paper squares and more.

Synthetic little things, of course, make it possible to make topiaries of delightful beauty that do not lose their appearance for a long time, retaining their attractiveness for many years. But no less interesting are products made from natural, natural materials, such as:

• Cones, chestnuts, nuts, pistachio shells, acorns.
• Sea pebbles, shells, sand.
• Dried slices of citrus fruits, roses made from their peels.
• Rowan berries, physalis inflorescences, yellow leaves of any trees.
• Coffee beans, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves and other herbs.

The choice remains only with the needlewoman and her imagination. In each craft, no matter what it is made of, there is a special sincerity and warmth that fills the interior with harmony.

Gallery: do-it-yourself topiary (25 photos)

Classic tree of happiness: master class (video)

How to make the easiest do-it-yourself bead topiary: instructions

Of the many options, the wish tree made of beads or imitation pearls is undoubtedly the easiest to execute. Consider a detailed master class on its creation.

It turns out very nice

What you need to have:

• Foam base ball.
• A bunch of beads, pearls of one or more colors. In needlework stores, you can buy several low beads at once, so as not to glue them one by one.
• Two pieces of strong steel wire of the desired length, to which the depth of the pot and half the diameter of the ball are added, since the stem of the tree will enter the base by half, and into the pot - to the very bottom.
• Satin ribbons, preferably thin, matching the main colors.
• Satin roses, a little felt to decorate the bottom of the pot.
• Corrugated paper, organza, satin or rapeseed ribbon of medium thickness.
• Quick dry glue or glue gun.
• Stones for filling the pot, gypsum for pouring.
• Paint and pebbles for decorating the ground.
• Plastic pot.

Let's start making the simplest wish tree

1. We start by making holes in the ball for attaching steel wires, trying them on. We wrap the flight wire so that at the top it is close to the ball, and at the bottom - 5 cm below the expected ground height. Put aside.
2. Then we take a low bead and carefully, starting from the very top exactly above the holes for the trunk, fasten the first bead. Then we apply transparent glue in stages and immediately fix the beads without removing them from the thread. When only a couple of three turns remain before the holes, we insert the wires for the barrel, preliminarily lubricating them with plenty of glue, and finish the winding, tightly closing the entire ball.
3. Let's start working on the pot. We wrap it with corrugated paper, cover it with organza on top and grab it with tape. We glue the joints. At the bottom we glue a circle of felt.
4. Now planting a tree. First, put the stem in the pot. We fall asleep pebbles and immediately fill it with prepared gypsum. Please note that gypsum expands when it dries, so do not fill it to the very top, leave some space. It will dry out within a few minutes.
5. It remains only to decorate at your own discretion the ball itself, its bottom and the surface of the gypsum in the pot. It's so simple, beauty is created with your own hands.

Options may vary

Tip for a beginner: when making, it is most convenient to use a heat gun. The glue in it is always transparent, dries very quickly and holds securely.

Topiary from natural materials: a step-by-step master class

Beginning needlewomen can also easily cope with working on a tree made of cones, acorns, chestnuts, walnuts or hazelnuts. This is a great idea for a lesson with a child, allowing you to teach your little one to see beauty even in the most ordinary and simple things. In addition, many children love to collect such things while walking on the street. For the stem, you can even take an ordinary twig, which will give even more naturalness, environmental friendliness.

Beginning needlewomen can also easily cope with working on a tree of cones, acorns, chestnuts, walnuts or hazelnuts.

What you need:

• Styrofoam ball for the base.
• Cones, chestnuts or other nuts.
• Wire or strong twig for the trunk.
• A container in which we will plant a tree.
• Stones and plaster.
• Glue gun or dragon type glue.
• Acrylic colorless varnish, available in hardware stores.
• Decorations on request.

How to make a topiary from cones

As in the previous MK, first of all we pierce a hole under the barrel, try it on and decorate it. If you took a simple branch, then you can leave it unchanged.

1. We take the base and glue the selected nuts or cones on it, tightly attaching them next to each other.
2. Shortly before the end of the work, we insert the barrel into the hole and finish the ball. If you cover pine cones with artificial snow, then a wonderful New Year's option will come out.
3. Chestnuts and acorns are perfectly complemented by autumn leaves. And walnuts and hazelnuts look better if they are combined together and decorated with bright rowan berries.
4. The last step is planting a tree in a prepared container, for example, a brown flower pot would be very appropriate here.

Tip for a beginner: for durability, finished walnut crafts should be coated with acrylic varnish or paint. Best suited gold and silver colors.

Memories of the sea or what to do with shells brought from vacation

The craft made of shells and burlap with elements of twine looks very aesthetically pleasing. She will embody the dreams of a new trip to the endless sea. Reminds me of a good time. And the collected gifts of the deep sea will not lie idle.

For marine topiary you need:

• Foam base: balloon or heart.
• Porcelain white or transparent cup, vase, glass.
• Steel wire.
• Thermal gun.
• Shells, sea pebbles.
• Pearls are artificial.
• Burlap, twine.
• Gypsum or pebbles to fill the container.

A craft made of shells and burlap with twine elements looks very aesthetically pleasing.

Detailed instructions for creating a simple and straightforward:

1. We determine the center of the base and make the usual hole for the trunk. We try on the wire, decorate it with twine, put it aside for a while.
2. Carefully and carefully glue the foam base with shells, pebbles and pearls in random order. We make flowers, simple or lush bows from twine. We cling them between the main details. We insert the finished trunk into place and draw up the bottom of the base.
3. We place the craft in a cup or a vase, fill it with plaster. We sprinkle the gypsum that has not yet hardened with sea or decorative sand. We decorate the container with several turns of twine. Another option is to wrap it completely with burlap and fasten it with a satin ribbon in pastel, light colors.
4. If there is no desire to use gypsum, and the topiary itself is small in size and weight, it is preferable to plant it in a transparent glass or cup, filling it with the remaining pebbles and shells. Thus, a delicate decorative element is obtained, which at any time will remind you of summer holidays, charge you with positive and energy.

Today, DIY is a fairly popular activity, and craftsmen often choose materials that can be called garbage, such as used plastic bottles. You can just throw them in the trash, or you can turn them into something beautiful.

Flowers from plastic bottles can become a decoration of a personal plot, a playground and even a home interior. For such a handmade, you do not need to purchase expensive fixtures and materials, and the result can be a real delight.

This bulbous plant, common among gardeners, blooms with a beautiful lush raceme consisting of many small fragrant flowers.

Of course, you can’t make fragrant hyacinth from bottles, but you can create a magnificent copy, it’s enough to have materials at hand, desire and step-by-step instructions:

Using the same method, you can make as many luxurious plastic hyacinths as you want - for the garden, home or other needs.

bright sunflowers

Perhaps the large, sunny inflorescences of sunflowers are the most summer flowers - mini-suns. And if you make a flower out of plastic, then it will delight with its brightness all year round.

You will need the following materials:

Making a sunflower is quite simple, the instructions will help you navigate the process:

1. A plastic bottle is cut into 3 parts - the neck and bottom are cut off.
2. The remaining part is cut into large petals, but not completely.
3. After all the petals are bent so that the product takes the shape of a flower.
4. Then they need to be painted on the outside and inside - you can use acrylic or spray paint.
5. The same must be done with the remaining plastic bottles.
6. When all the parts are dry, they must be assembled like a nesting doll - one part is inserted into another, and glued together.
7. After that, a core is inserted into the middle of the flower - the bottom from a dark bottle and is also glued.

In order for such crafts from plastic bottles to become full-fledged flowers, you need to make a stem from metal rods. In conclusion, it is necessary to paint it with a green tint, attach a few leaves - and that's it, the decoration for the garden or home is ready!

Lush chrysanthemum

Another luxurious flower looks no less impressive from plastic - a chrysanthemum. To build similar flowers from plastic bottles with your own hands step by step is within the power of beginners, you should prepare the following in advance:

Chrysanthemums - flowers from plastic bottles master class:

1. It is necessary to cut a cylinder (about 11 cm in size) from the bottle, using its lower part.
2. The walls of the cylinder are cut into narrow strips - 4-6 mm wide and up to 9 cm long.
3. Improvised petals are bent outward, and then twisted inward with the help of 2 pencils to make spirals.

The result is fluffy chrysanthemums, not yet very similar to real ones. You can “revive” them using acrylic paints or nail polish - in color they turn out to be very bright and beautiful.

But the masters of maid-made have more than one way to make flowers from plastic bottles. For example, you can apply another method:

1. The neck and bottom are cut off from the plastic bottle.
2. The cylinder is cut into narrow rings - about 6 mm wide - how many parts you get depends on how fluffy the chrysanthemum head turns out.
3. One tiny hole is made on each ringlet (not wider than 1 mm).
4. 2 small holes are made in the bottom of the bottle, and a fishing line is passed through them. It is tied in a knot on the inside.
5. All plastic rings are strung on the fishing line, and the latter is tightly shifted to the base. Fluffy petals will turn out of them, and the chrysanthemum will be magnificent.
6. The petals are fixed with a paper clip, and the end of the fishing line is tied into a knot.

You can make several flowers and collect them into a magnificent bouquet.

Bottle pots and vases

A plastic bottle is a versatile ornamental material from which a variety of things are made, in addition to flowers - weave baskets, build flower beds, seedling boxes, garden displays, and so on.

You can also make a great flower pot from a plastic bottle if you need it, but there is no free one nearby. The easiest way is to build a pot using a plastic bottle and a disc - CD or DVD. In addition, you will need a hot glue gun and paint.

The manufacturing process consists of the following steps:

1. Make marks on the bottle so that it is evenly cut into 2 parts. Also, the edges can be made wavy or triangular. If you do this with a soldering iron, the edges will turn out smooth.
2. From one bottle, two products are obtained - a pot from a part with a bottom, the other - from a disk and a part of the bottle.
3. Using a glue gun, the disc is glued to the bottle neck with the middle.

Each flower pot can be decorated as you wish - you can cover them with paint, make an ornament with a stencil, glue them with artificial pebbles, shells or other materials.

In addition, beautiful vases are obtained from bottles, in order to make a nice product, you should prepare:

When everything is ready, you can start making a vase:

• the upper part is cut off from the bottle;
• the edges of the part are glued with electrical tape so that they do not cut the flowers;
• in order for the paint to better lie on the surface of the future vase, it is necessary to cover it with a primer;
• when the primer dries, you can apply a coat of paint;
• if there is a desire to show imagination, then you can gradually paint the vase in several colors - first cover it with one layer of paint, let it dry and glue some areas with electrical tape, and paint over the rest (the tape can be removed only when the paint dries well!).

Plastic vases can also be decorated to your heart's content or left untouched. In addition, whole compositions can be made from them, using several products of different sizes, but made in the same style and color.

Products made from waste material, including plastic bottles, sometimes attract admiring glances, they are so elegant and neat. Flowers can be a real decoration, it is enough to make a minimum of effort and use a creative approach.

Topiary is a hearth decoration loved by many needlewomen. A decorative tree is made out of coffee beans, napkins, fabrics and other materials. I will show an example of creating a topiary from plastic bottles and pine cones.

For Cooking:
- glue for plastic
- the actual bottles (mandatory green and brown)
- small cones (up to 10 pieces)
- a candle (gas burner).