Ribbon Topiary:)

Spring Ribbon Topiary

The inspiration for / instructions you will need to re-create the ribbon sphere portion of this craft is going to be found by reading up on how I make my ribbon wreaths: here.

The list of supplies and other steps in making this topiary can be found below.

Supplies:

1. Small styrofoam ball (I honestly don't remember what size I got, it was so long ago! I'm sorry!- about 2x the size of a baseball).

2. Various ribbon in whatever theme/colors you'd like. Grosgrain ribbon is best and I recommend you avoid sheer ribbon. 

3. Mini pail / decorative container for the base of your topiary. Mine is a $1 metal bucket from the dollar bin at Target.

4. Fake grass, paper or plastic - this was easy to find around Easter.

5. Wooden dowel, 5/8'' or 1/2'' thick and about one foot in length (can be cut to your needs).

6. Acrylic paint and a medium size brush

7. Styrofoam block (enough to stick in the container you have chosen).

8. Super glue

9. Dressmaker pins

Instructions

1. Take the wooden dowel and poke a hole in the bottom center of your styrofoam ball. Take the dowel out of the hole. 

2. Follow the technique for creating the ribbon loops (4'' long) and pinning them on the ball by referencing my previous post: here. Do not cover the hole that you made.

3. Use desired acrylic paint to paint your wooden dowel and let it dry.

4. When ball is covered, put a couple drops of super glue in the hole and push the wooden dowel into the hole.

5. Cut your styrofoam block to fit snugly inside your pail / canister / base for your topiary. 

6. Put some super glue in the bottom of the container and push the block on top of the glue. Let dry for one minute.

7. Take the dowel (with ball already attached on other end) and push a hole into the center of your styrofoam base. You may remove the dowel and put some glue inside there before putting the dowel back in permanently.

8. Use fake grass to hide styrofoam / fill your canister and give it the look of grass at the base of your topiary. 

 

Spring Tulle Wreath - SO Colorful!

Yes I know, another wreath. But I did take a wreath break for awhile, so hopefully you're feeling ready for another. :) Once again, I found the original idea for this on Pinterest - I really liked how this one came out, and thought the DIY was very easy to follow. See the post that inspired my spring wreath by going here.

This one was fairly easy compared to the other wreaths I've made. I decided this one would showcase colors that I felt represent spring and Easter. As usual, the post is organized as follows: a photo of the final project; a list of necessary supplies; step-by-step DIY guide and then photos that I took at various stages of the project.

Supplies:

• 6" rolls of tulle. I had six total rolls - some were 15 yards and some were 25 yards. I ended up having plenty leftover.
• 10" styrofoam wreath. The tulle really expands the size of your wreath, so an 8 or 10 inch wreath is going to yield a good size wreath (mine ended up being about 14'').
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Ribbon to hang your finished wreath

Instructions:

1. Cut your tulle at the desired length. If you like the size of my wreath, I cut each piece of tulle at about 22 inches long. I would cut 4 pieces of each color (except my glitter tulle- for that I only did two at a time). 

2. Fold your piece of tulle in half. Loop this piece of tulle around your wreath and pull the loose ends through the loop. The original DIY can explain this better than I see to be able to word it; hopefully you can tell how I did it by looking at the photos, too.

3. Repeat, repeat, repeat. 

4. Push your tulle as close together as you'd like. I liked mine to be really full, so I definitely pushed the tulle very tightly as I went around the wreath.

5. Choose a coordinating ribbon and loop around the top of the wreath - knot and tie a bow!

TIP: Do NOT buy glitter tulle unless you are prepared to have a HUGE mess. I'm not joking - the glitter got EVERYWHERE. I will not be using it if I make another tulle wreath.

Simple, right?? Do any combination of colors for the season or a specific holiday- you could also jazz it up by adding embellishments. Be creative with it and I think you'll like the end product!

5 Minute, $5 Spring Craft!

This one is simple and cheap - can't beat that! To add a nice pop of color and floral cheer to your home, make one or several to display on tabletops.

Painted Mason Jar with Faux Flowers

Supplies:
-Mason Jar or similar (mine was purchased at the Dollar Tree)

-Acrylic paint (as shown; from craft store this was 87 cents)

- Faux flowers (I chose hydrangeas from the craft store and used a coupon. They often have choices of fake flowers at a dollar store that you could use)

-Newspaper

-Optional: foam brush and hair dryer.

Instructions:
Steps are shown in the photographs at the bottom of this blog entry.

1. Take off the jar of the lid. You won't be needing it; you can save it for something else if you want but I discarded.

2. Squeeze acrylic paint in your mason jar. Once a thin later covers the bottom, stop squeezing.

3. Slowly turn the jar upside down, sideways and around to coat the inside of the jar. The paint is thick and moves slowly, so be patient. You may need to add more, but really give it a chance to get coated with that first small amount you put in before you add more. Too much paint makes a mess later.

4. Once the jar is fully coated inside, turn it upside down on the newspaper. Wait about a minute.

5. Lift the jar from the newspaper and use the foam brush (or a wet paper towel, or your finger) to wipe the excess paint that has dripped along the rim. If you see a lot of paint pooling in the bottom of your jar, you need to repeat this step until there is barely any that drips out when you hold it upside down (this is why I said less is more for the paint :))

6. If you'd like, you can blow dry the inside of the jar for a couple of minutes. It starts the drying process, but would take a very long time to dry it this way completely. Because....

7. You will need to set it right-side up for about 24 hours until it's completely dry. When the paint has coated the inside and the rim is free of any excess paint drips (AND you don't have a pool of paint hanging out in the bottom)- THEN you are ready for this step.

8. When the jar is dry inside, place your faux flowers inside and find a spot to show off your work!

OK, so technically this project takes a day before it's done...but the actual work does only take about 5 minutes. The rest is letting paint dry (exciting). I think I'll make another with lavender paint for the main floor bathroom. Let me know if you enjoy this craft and if you do one, please share pictures with us! Happy spring!