How to make topiary “Flowers of Paradise” – DIY tree of happiness, step-by-step photos of creating topiary from corrugated paper, napkins and foamiran

January 24, 2018 handmadebase

Hand made crafts are becoming more and more popular every daymore popular. Why decorate your life with things that almost everyone has and that can be bought in hundreds of shops? It is much more interesting to make them with your own hands. These are the things that give the house a unique atmosphere and become excellent gifts, because they retain a piece of the creative energy of the craftswoman. Recently, more and more houses are decorated with topiaries - small crafts that are also called European trees of happiness. In fact, the history of topiaries is very old. And it originates in Ancient Rome. This is what they called special slave gardeners who were responsible for a certain area of the garden - topia. They trimmed trees, giving their cones the correct geometric shape. Modern topiaries are beautiful miniature artificial trees made from various materials for handicrafts: corrugated paper, ribbons, felt and much more. Beads, rhinestones, buttons, organza, glitter, in general, everything you like are used for decoration. In this article, we will offer several master classes on creating beautiful flower topiaries with detailed instructions and step-by-step photos. We will tell you about the options and techniques for making flowers and decorations. Many techniques are used to create flowers that decorate topiaries. One of them is quilling. The history of this technique for creating various crafts is very old. Even the ancient Egyptians twisted small figures from papyrus. The word itself is derived from English, which can be translated as "bird feather". This name did not appear by chance. Small blanks from which crafts are made really resemble bird feathers. In the Middle Ages, monks began to use the quilling technique, and bird feathers were used to twist paper strips. Around the 15th century, this handicraft came to Europe. Italian and French monks used quilling to decorate icon frames as an inexpensive alternative to gold and silver decor options. Paper was an expensive pleasure at that time, so only the richest people could afford to create crafts. In England, quilling was very popular among noble ladies. Over time, even magazines were published that offered patterns for creating crafts using the quilling technique. Many amazing things are created from twisted strips of paper: boxes, baskets, picture frames, Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of George II, once gave her doctor a screen made using the quilling technique. Such celebrities as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters were fond of this handicraft. Now many crafts are created using this technique, and one of them can be the following charming topiary. A bright topiary with daisies made using the quilling technique.Materials and tools:

Styrofoam or foam;
Rod for the trunk;
Pot (any container in which you can “plant” the topiary);
Glue gun and hot glue;
PVA glue;
Paper (pink, yellow, purple, orange and white);
Scissors;
Toothpicks;
Paint acrylic and brush;
Elements for decoration (ribbons, artificial moss).

First you need to make a round base forTopiary. You can use a foam or penoplex ball for these purposes. They are sold in florist shops. You can also cut it yourself from the same materials or make it from a wad of paper, rewound with threads and pasted with tape. Now you need to cut the paper into strips of different thicknesses. Thick strips for petals, thin ones for cores. Now the strips with a greater thickness must be cut with a fringe on one edge. Now glue a thin one to the even edge of the strip cut with fringe. Coat the thin strip and the bottom of the thick one with glue. Now start twisting it into a washer, starting from the edge of the narrow strip. You get blanks like these. Now all that remains is to straighten the fringe in the form of petals.It is necessary to make many, many of these daisies of different colors and shades.Using a glue gun and hot glue, we attach our daisies to the base ball.It is necessary to leave a small area free where we will attach the ball to the branch-trunk. Make a recess there where you can apply glue.We take a pot and put a piece of foam plastic cut to the shape of the container in it. Using hot glue, we fix a shelf for the stem in the pot. We fix the flower ball on the branch.Let's start decorating.To do this, paint the pot with acrylic paint, decorate the foam in it with moss, and tie a bow of ribbons to the trunk. Of course, you can choose completely different decorations and decorative elements. Topiary with pink rosesMaterials and tools:

Corrugated paper (light pink, you can take white);
Ball base;
Glue gun and hot glue;
Organza in the same tone as the paper (in this master class, “snow” and “midge” were used);
Flat cable 1 cm wide with white insulation;
A thin wire;
A pot;
Satin ribbon of white color with a golden border of 0.5 cm;
Candle or lighter;
Toothpicks;
Golden ribbon 0,7 cm;
Acrylic paint of white color;
Alabaster or gypsum;
Decorative elements (in this master class - hearts made of beads, a string of gold beads of different sizes and gold half-beads on canvas).

Before you start creating a topiary,It is necessary to prepare roses from corrugated paper. First, draw and cut out the petal template. From those proposed in this master class, you will get a flower approximately 3 x 6 cm. The photo shows the sizes of the petals. For convenience and to speed up the cutting process, you can fold the paper several times. Cut out 3 of the largest ones for one rose, the other 5 types - 2 pieces each. Twist the upper edges of the smallest petals with a toothpick on the right and left, as shown in photos 7 and 8. Twist the second largest petals from the top once, and then gently stretch them in the middle with your fingers so that the petal acquires a convex-concave shape.Those petals whose top part is cut outWe form a heart in this way: twist the parts of the heart on a toothpick, as in photo 15. In the middle, we move the petals apart, holding the twisted sides with our fingers. The photo below shows in detail how to form the largest petals. They will turn out more textured. For the core of the flower, you will need a piece of wire and scraps of corrugated paper left over from cutting out the petals. We twist the wire, forming a loop. We take a piece of paper and, focusing on photo 19 and the arrows on it, wrap the wire. The black dot indicates the location of the wire loop. The edges of the paper scrap must be glued so that the core does not unfold. And now the most beautiful stage begins - assembly. It is necessary to apply a little PVA to the edges of the paper. We glue the petals overlapping in a checkerboard pattern from small to large. In the photo the color of the paper is chocolate, but following the instructions you can make flowers of any shade. Now that all the roses are ready, it's time to create the topiary itself.Small slits need to be made on the base,where we will attach the flowers and one deeper one for the trunk. Apply a little hot glue to these recesses and insert the roses. They should be arranged symmetrically, in a checkerboard pattern. To make the trunk, take a piece of cable in white insulation. Make a loop at one end and unfold it perpendicular to the rest of the part. Use glue to attach the other end to a hole specially cut for this purpose. Now you need to make additional decorative details from two types of organza. They will mask the distances and gaps between the flowers and enliven the topiary. Cut a thin white ribbon into pieces approximately 40 - 45 cm long. Melt the edges over the fire so that they do not fluff up. You will need more than 40 pieces. Cut both types of organza into squares. Put two different pieces together so that the corners do not match. Now you need to fold the workpiece first in half, and then several more times, holding the center, to get a bag as in the photo. Take a piece of ribbon and secure the middle of the bag. Form a bow with several loops from it. Glue the gold ribbon along the trunk, creating an additional gold accent. To decorate the pot, you need to glue hearts made of beads to it in several rows diagonally, following the lines of the pot itself. When all the elements are glued, we proceed to "planting" the topiary in the pot. To do this, mix the alabaster with water until it has a creamy consistency. Place the topiary in the pot with the wire loop down and fill it. Wait until it hardens, having first installed supports so that the tree does not lean in different directions. Then cover the layer of alabaster with white paint. When it dries, apply glue to this surface and a round blank made of half beads. Glue. Now you need to decorate the trunk at the base with a rose, several bows made of ribbon. The final touch. Place a string of golden beads of different sizes along the perimeter of the topiary crown. Find the most beautiful placement and glue some beads to the organza and flowers with drops of hot glue. Topiary from napkinsMaterials and tools:

Multi-layer napkins of several shades;
Stapler;
A circle of thick paper as a template;
Scissors;
Glue;
Newspaper to create the basis;
Rod for the trunk;
A pot;
Styrofoam;
Yarn;
Decor elements (ribbons).

First, let's make a spherical base for the topiary. It's very simple. You need to wrap a newspaper ball with threads so that they hold their shape and glue napkins of a suitable color on top.To make flowers you will neednapkins of two shades - darker and lighter. Fold them in four. The light ones need to be placed on top of the dark ones. Fasten them in the middle with a stapler. Cut out a circle from our blank. You can make a template from thick paper in advance. Now all that remains is to lift the napkins up layer by layer. It should look like in the photo.Now you need to make a hole in the basetrunk. Wrap it with tape and fix it in the recess. Glue the rest of the spherical surface with fluffy flowers. Cut out several leaves from a green napkin and glue them between the flowers.Now you need to cut it out of foam plastica blank slightly smaller than the pot so that it fits tightly into the container. Glue the foam blank to the pot. Now insert and glue the tree into it. From the divided napkin, make grass in about the same way as flowers. But cut the edges of the napkins in a zigzag. Glue the grass to the foam. The topiary is ready. Every self-respecting needlewoman and fan of elegant and original hand made things follows the emergence of new materials for creativity. One of them is foamiran. It consists of foamed ethylene vinyl acetate. It is soft multi-colored sheets 1 mm thick. Needlewomen appreciate this material because after deformation, foamiran is able to remember the shape and retain it. Delicate topiary with foamiran flowersMaterials and tools:

A container where you can “plant” a topiary (for example, a flower pot);
Rod for the trunk;
Ball-shaped base of foam or penopolx;
Glue gun and hot glue;
Foam sheets;
Pastel;
Iron;
Elements of decor (beads, lace, ribbons, roses from silk).

First you need to make roses, whichwill decorate our topiary. From foamiran sheets, we cut out petal blanks of two sizes. For a medium-sized flower, you will need 10 smaller ones and 18 larger ones. When all the petals are cut out, you need to tint them with pastel. If you have hard pastel, use a damp cloth to apply the paint. Just rub it into the edges of the petals. If you have chosen liquid paint, then it is most convenient to apply it with a foam sponge. When all the blanks are painted, we begin to give them shape. Heat the iron and apply the petals to it. When its edges begin to curl. Now you need to fold the blank like an accordion and twist it. Then straighten it and bend it a little, make it convex. It should turn out something like this.Now we take a large bead and wrap it insquare of foamiran. This will be the core of the rose. Now wrap the first small petal around the bead and secure it with glue. Next, start wrapping the core first in small petals, and then in large petals (see photo). Carefully glue the petals so that in the end you get a beautiful flower.When the required quantity is maderoses, let's start creating a topiary. Glue the foam ball to the stick. To do this, you can make a depression in it. Attach the other end of the stem to the pot. To make the stick hold more firmly, you can use the recommendations from the master classes above. Use foam or pour more glue.We mask the top of the pot with satin ribbons. Now we glue the roses to the ball, generously smearing them with hot glue.When the entire surface is covered with flowers, decorate the topiary with beads, ribbons, silk flowers and other decorative elements to your taste.

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