Do it yourself

DIY New Year's Topiary: decorating a house for the holiday

New Year's Topiary

On the eve of the New Year holidays, many begin to pick up festive decor. Some are limited to a Christmas tree with balls and a wreath on the doors. For others, this is a great occasion to realize their bold ideas and fantasies when creating jewelry with their own hands. Products that are in the handmade category can be made exclusively "for themselves" and are suitable for the role of a present to friends and relatives. In recent years, classic Christmas trees (even artificial ones) are gradually becoming a thing of the past. They are replaced with all kinds of creative counterparts, one of which was the New Year's topiary. Let us get to know this unusual element of decor closer and consider a series of step-by-step workshops on making unusual jewelry.

Topiary: a gift and bright decor

Topiary called curly-cut trees. These plantations became genuine works of art, striking the perfection of the shape of the crowns. Trees and bushes were sheared since ancient times. In those days, the beauty of the gardens of crowned spirits and wealthy families was especially highly valued. Garden design has been divided into two major areas.

  • Floristics
  • Plant architecture.

The second direction gained particular popularity at the end of the 16th century. In Russia, this type of garden art appeared late for a couple of centuries. Skilful hands of gardeners turned bushes and crowns of trees into bizarre figures of animals, birds, people. The most elegant and luxurious in terms of design are the gardens and living labyrinths of France. In England, the art of cutting trees and bushes is also developed at a fairly high level, but laconicism and restraint are more valued here. Even today, garden architecture is widespread in many countries. Initially, the word "topiary" meant a tree with a perfectly smooth trunk and a crown in the shape of a ball. To give such a configuration to stubborn twigs is very difficult, therefore, a haircut was considered the top skill of the garden designer. Although the meaning of the word has not changed, now it is increasingly used to refer to crafts - artificially created imitations of living vegetation, which are decorated with numerous trinkets, bows, ribbons, beads. Topiary can simultaneously replace indoor plants and bouquets of flowers. In comparison with the “live” analogue, the craft has several advantages:

  • Suitable for those who are allergic to pollen.
  • Topiary is easy to care for. It does not require watering, transplanting, pruning.
  • The topiary will become not only a stylish and creative decoration of the house, but also will be suitable as an original presentation for a holiday, which is not a shame to give.

New Year Topiary

The only drawback of the topiary can be considered the complexity of the work to create it. The craft can be divided into the following components:

  • The foundation. For her, usually used light material (polystyrene), having the shape of a ball.
  • Trunk. It is made of wire, which is subsequently decorated.
  • Crown. It is created from all kinds of improvised materials: coffee beans, coins, threads, Christmas balls, artificial flowers, acorns, cones, dry twigs.
  • The pot. As a rule, it is filled with gypsum, in which the trunk is placed before solidification. Sprinkle it on top with decorative materials: pebbles, cones, chopped wood bark. The pot provides stability to the entire structure.
  • Additional decor. It is selected at the discretion of the master.

When making New Year's topiary, they often deviate from the classical standards and give the Christmas tree the traditional form of crafts.

Experienced handmade craftsmen recommend not to put crafts on the window, as some materials may fade in the sun over time. Faded topiary is difficult to return the color, so you have to make a new one.

Rooster under the tree Balls and Tinsel Crown of nuts Christmas tree star A tree with a bright crown

Topiary Shape

Although the ball is considered the classic form of the topiary, the craft can imitate a real Christmas tree. For the New Year, this configuration will be symbolic and eliminate the need to additionally dress up an artificial or natural green beauty to maintain the "spirit of the holiday." Masters of their craft sometimes make very complex figures: numbers, hearts, stars, rings, houses, fruits, animals. The creation of a topiary with a crown in the shape of an animal can be dated to the symbol of the coming year according to the Eastern calendar.

New Year's topiary of various shapes

Round

The following materials can be used as a basis for a round crown:

  • Styrofoam. If there is no sheet of the required thickness, then the residues from the packaging of household appliances are glued together. The finished base is cut with a clerical knife to give it the desired shape. The complexity of the work lies in the fact that the foam is crumbling heavily. Use only special glue, since ordinary can corrode the surface of the material.
  • Polyurethane foam. It is poured into a ball-shaped container. After the composition has hardened, the finished base, if necessary, is cut with a clerical knife to remove excess layers.
  • Papier mache. To work, you will need a balloon, PVA glue and old newspapers or toilet paper. Sheets are torn into small pieces. Then they are poured with glue and given a good soak. After that, the resulting mass is applied in layers to the ball. When the base hardens, the ball must be pierced with a needle. By a similar principle, you can work with threads. They are pre-moistened thoroughly in glue and wrapped around the ball. By itself, such a foundation already serves as a stylish decoration.

Also, foam balls, game balls (tennis, volleyball), balls with yarn are suitable for the base. Some even use wood.

Round New Year's Topiary

Christmas tree shaped

The basis in the form of a simplified Christmas tree is made from the same materials as for the spherical crown. It is more difficult to make such a configuration, since the original tree consists of several truncated and one full cone at the apex, which are erected on top of each other. Finding any object or container matching in shape is almost impossible. Beginners should resort to the laconic ideas of minimalism and use one cone, which will symbolize the Christmas tree. The form is easy to make from ordinary cardboard, which is subsequently wrapped in layers of paper dipped in adhesive.Also for such crafts festive caps are suitable, which guests usually put on their heads.

Christmas tree shaped topiary

Necessary materials and tools

To give an exhaustive list of tools and materials for the manufacture of New Year's topiary is quite difficult. The complexity of the task lies in the variety of techniques and original ideas that the master can use in the process of creating the composition. Here is a list of tools and materials that can be considered "common" for all types of work.

Crown

The following materials and tools will be required to make the crown:

  • The foundation. Depending on the manufacturing method, glue, paper, balloons, cardboard samples, a stationery knife or a blade may be attached to it.
  • Outdoor decor.

The main thing in topiary is its appearance. The decor based on is fixed in three ways:

  • Using a needle and thread. This is a complex, laborious process.
  • Using glue. The method is suitable for small decor, which cannot be pierced and planted on a thread or wire. For example, coffee beans, acorns, coins are fixed with glue.
  • With the help of a wire onto which decorations are strung. They pierce the base. The option is more suitable for balls of polyurethane foam or foam. Since the materials are sufficiently dense and easy to pierce, they are able to hold the wire firmly if it is “driven” deep enough.

As for the decor itself, its list is too extensive. Christmas balls, flowers made of polymer clay, small branches of spruce or pine, cones, tinsel, bells, sweets are more suitable for the New Year's topiary.

Crohn's New Year's Topiary

Trunk

For the manufacture of the barrel, you can use a wire subsequently wrapped with threads, tinsel, strips of fabric, ribbons. To trim it, you will need special scissors. If you want to bring the topiary as close as possible to a natural tree, then even a real fat knot will do.The wood also spreads a pleasant specific smell, which can be complemented by the classic mandarin aroma for the New Year.

Topiary trunk

Base

To make the base you will need:

  • The pot. You can use a disposable container for flowers or seedlings, a cup, an old teapot, a baby bucket.
  • Gypsum. Although it is possible to fill the pot with any material that lays down quite tightly and ensures stability to the topiary, we will consider gypsum. It is most reliable and is only afraid of moisture.
  • Decor The pot can be painted, covered with glitter, wrapped in a bright cloth, glued with jute or Christmas tinsel.

The set of tools for work can vary greatly depending on which decor the master will use. The standard list includes:

  • Scissors;
  • Brush; glue;
  • Paints;
  • Needles and threads.

The most “lazy" masters simply wrap a pot of tinsel in the pot to cover it with a completely non-festive surface.

Topiary base

Ideas for making Christmas trees

Decorative trees for the New Year can be made from any improvised materials. Cuttings, pieces of paper, old tinsel, sweets, real fruits, Christmas decorations, acorns, cones, crepe paper, satin ribbons, polymer clay or foamiran flowers will be used. The list of materials can be continued indefinitely. Consider some of the most popular workshops.

New Year trees

Christmas tree topiary

Work should begin with the manufacture of the base. We will use a foam ball. Since Christmas tree decorations can have different shapes and it will not work to fit them together, it is necessary to drape the base. To do this, use tinsel, rain, foil or scraps of shiny fabric, craft paper. You can fix the material with glue. For rain, ordinary tape is suitable. Excess material is trimmed so that the base looks neat.From the variety of Christmas tree decorations, it is better to choose the cheapest of plastic. Firstly, glass balls are heavy, and additional loads for the topiary trunk are undesirable. Secondly, decorations need to be trimmed so that different-sized toys do not stand out against the general background. To cut plastic, you only need scissors. For small balls, it is enough to remove only the “tail”, to which the cap with a ribbon for hanging is attached. After the decorations are prepared, they are fixed on the base with glue.

The balls must be correctly combined in the composition so that large gaps do not form between them. For this, we need toys of different sizes. So that the topiary does not look monotonous, it is additionally decorated with twigs covered with glitter. Such "greens" can be purchased in specialized stores. As an option, real spruce or thuja branches are dipped in glue and sprinkled with sparkles. After the crown of the topiary is formed, the glue needs to be given time to “grasp”. In parallel, begin to work on the trunk. To make it, you need two pieces of thick wire. First, they are wrapped with satin ribbons of different colors (the ends are fixed with glue). After this, the wire scraps are wrapped around each other to get a beautiful weave, like in a DNA molecule. Excess ends are not cut, but bent and in this form are “planted” in a pot with gypsum. The crown is mounted on a wire trunk and the topiary of Christmas-tree decorations is ready.

Necessary materials Insert the needle into the foam Stringing christmas balls Stir large balls into the base, then smaller ones Decorate the topChristmas tree topiary

Topiary made from natural materials

Topiary made from natural materials is an excellent addition to the interior, designed according to the principles of eco-style. For work, cones, acorns, coffee beans and pumpkin seeds, small twigs, dry leaves, physalis boxes, hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts, pieces of moss, tangerine skins and pistachio shells are used. The most interesting application of the last two decor elements.Fresh peel from tangerines or oranges is cut into strips, which are twisted with a spiral and fixed in such a way that they do not unfold. The topiary detail should dry. As you know, the peel hardens after two or three days and the “spiral” will keep its shape perfectly. On the one hand it is pricked on a wire, and then fixed on a foam base. The shell from the pistachios is used to create the original "blossoming buds." The halves are glued to each other at the bases so that an imitation of the petals is obtained.

Topiary made of natural materials is additionally decorated with burlap, jute and "balls" of yarn, which are made using the same technology as the base for the composition of threads (using a balloon).

Topiary made from natural materials

Tangerine tree

For crafts you will need:

  • Small tangerines.
  • A ball of yarn (preferably gray).
  • Spruce twigs.
  • Dry curved branch as a trunk.
  • Salt or sugar as artificial snow.
  • Glitter for decorating a pot.
  • Old flower pot.
  • Skein of thin wire or skewer.
  • Piaflor. Special floristic sponge.

Styrofoam can also be used as a base, but tangerines are quite heavy, so not every ball will withstand such a load, and a floral sponge will cope with this task. First, a ball or cone is cut out of piaflora, depending on the shape of the future tree. Then each mandarin duck is wrapped with gray yarn. This is necessary in order to mask the wire on which the details of the topiary will be held. Wire segments are also wrapped around mandarins according to a cross pattern. Ponytails are twisted into one thick tip, which is subsequently threaded into the base of piaflora. The gaps between the tangerines are decorated with twigs. They are moistened in clerical glue and sprinkled with large grains of salt or sugar to create an imitation of snow.A second piece of piaflora, shaped in shape, is placed in the pot. A dry branch is inserted into it, which will act as a trunk.

The pot itself is greased with glue and sprinkled with silver glitter. Piaflor under the barrel can be sprinkled with spirals made of tangerine peel, the manufacture of which has already been mentioned above. So that the base of the tree does not look too bare, a couple more pine branches are “planted” in it. If you moisten the floristic sponge, then they will stand for a long time.

Branches, tangerines and a pot Making the foundation We fix tangerines Decorate with ribbons Apply glue to the twigs for the base and sprinkle with chopped tinselMandarin Topiary

Candy Topiary

For topiary, it is better to choose round or cone-shaped sweets. In the composition, they will look organic. Crohn from sweets is supplemented with fresh fruits (apples, tangerines, lemons), if you need to focus on naturalness. In more delicate, romantic compositions, candies are decorated in such a way that they become the core of flower buds. For the manufacture of petals using crepe paper, foil, fabric. Fasten sweets, usually on skewers. For the composition, it is better to use a foam base.

Candy Topiary

Coffee Bean Topiary

For the topiary of coffee beans take a foam base, a perfect round shape. The decor on it is fixed with glue. The simplest composition is made from natural brown grains. For more complex options, the grains are pre-sorted and each part is painted in several shades or covered with glitter of different colors. From such elements, you can collect an abstract crown or spend more time and lay out the original pattern.

Coffee beans are often supplemented with coins, burlap leaves, satin ribbons and jute bows. The original variation of the money tree will be the topiary, in which part of the crown is covered with coffee beans, and the other half - with coins peeping from the “opened” pocket. It is easy to make from an old zipper from a jacket or trousers by gluing it to the base.

Glue the grain to the ball Leave to dry Wrap the trunk Fill Alabaster Apply glueFasten the crown

Fabric topiary

Topiary is created either from dense fabric, which perfectly holds its shape (felt), or from thin, airy matter (organza, veil). Separately, sisal is a fiber of plant origin, which is obtained from agave. It cannot be attributed to fabrics, but thick, dense threads are very often used in such crafts. Usually they are wound into neat balls of different sizes, which decorate the topiary. To make the decoration festive, sisal is covered with sparkles. The crown can be decorated with fabric buds or decorate with trimmings of organza or napkins. The material is cut into squares, after which each of them is pinned to the foam base using sewing pins. The edges of the trimming of the fabric are as if pulled so that they become lush. This delicate decor is complemented by large beads and satin ribbon bows.

New Year's fabric topiary

New Year's topiary from different materials

New Year's topiary can be made of any materials that are somehow involved in the festive preparations. Any elements of a small decor, which usually decorate the room and accent areas by the fireplace, near the Christmas tree, on the doors, can be used. The crown is decorated with miniature gifts wrapped in bright film, flowers from rain and fluffy tinsel, figures of animals, bells with gold and silver dusting, bright red buds that so organically contrast with sparkles, bead strings and satin bows. Materials can be organically combined with each other. For example, a topiary made of natural details (cones, acorns, nuts) and artificial Christmas tree decorations (balls, bells, floral foliage) will look great. They can be divided by a conditional strip, held exactly in the middle of the crown, or bizarrely intervened, having received an unusual potpourri. To emphasize the festive nature of the composition, it is advisable to stick a couple of real spruce branches in the base of the ball or in the pot near the trunk.How to cover them with artificial snow has already been mentioned above. Although you can buy a finished composition, which is sold in cans and sprayed on the surface.

New Year's topiary from different materials

Topiary - Christmas tree made from tinsel and Christmas toys

Topiary made of Christmas toys and tinsel in the shape of a Christmas tree is made using the same technology as the composition of similar materials with a round crown. The difference is only in the configuration of the base. To create a Christmas tree, a piece of polystyrene foam is needed. Cardboard or papier-mâché hollow inside can be used. Balls are attached to it with glue. The base must be covered with tinsel or foil before decoration, so that there are no gaps between the toys. Alternatively, the surface can be painted or coated with glitter.

Christmas trees made of tinsel and balls

Woolen thread background

To create a Christmas tree from yarn, the following tools and materials will be required:

  • Threads (green for a classic Christmas tree);
  • A sheet of thick cardboard for the base;
  • Scissors, glue;
  • Pins
  • A pot;
  • Decor

First you need to make the base in the form of a cone from a cardboard sheet. Then they begin to grease it with thick PVA glue and glue the yarn in even rows, starting from the top of the Christmas tree. The threads fit tightly to each other so that there are no gaps. It is necessary to process sequentially on one site. You can use a combination of yarn in different colors. When the glue is seized and the threads are fixed on the base, the tree begins to decorate. To do this, use tiny balls of yarn of a different color, large beads, bright bows, buttons, miniature ceramic angels, tinsel, pompons and felt figures. From the same material it is easy to cut a small top-star. You can make a creative Christmas tree and after gluing the yarn to separate it from the base. Get a translucent tree, which is illuminated by a garland from the inside.

Thread, cardboard and scotch tape Cooking cardboard Paste it with tape Turn into a cone Align the edgesNotch cloves Bend We spread glue Take the thread At the end we make a knotApply glue to the cone We blot the threads in the glue and wrap the cone After drying, cut off the lower part of the cone to which the threads were attached Glue beads Woolen thread background

Conclusion

The topiary is perfect for cramped apartments, where there is simply no place even for a small real or artificial Christmas tree. A composition in a pot on the window, in the center of the festive table or on the mantelpiece will look beautiful. The same option is suitable for the New Year's office design. You can make a small tree the size of a cactus and put it on your desktop. Just one touch will give a feeling of anticipation of the holiday and everyday life will not seem as gray and monotonous as usual. Candy topiary or tangerine is a wonderful New Year's gift, especially for sweet tooth. If you use a ring-shaped base, then using the same technology you can make a festive wreath on the door. This western tradition of decorating the entrance is spreading more and more in our country. The materials used are the same: tinsel, cones, spruce branches, red satin bows, threads with golden beads.



I love needlework and everything connected with it. Especially home-made furnishings are my passion!


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