Chestnut topiary is such an original and interesting craft that it can be used to decorate any room. Making it is a fun and creative process that all family members can take part in. It is better to plan this event in the fall, when the ground is strewn with fallen fruits. Before you make a topiary, you need to carefully consider its design. You don’t have to limit yourself to chestnuts alone. You can make topiary using a wide variety of natural and artificial materials. You are offered a master class on making crafts from scrap materials with your own hands.
Chestnut topiary is such an original and interesting craft that it can be used to decorate any room
Tools and materials
Before making topiary from chestnuts, it makes sense to draw up a sketch of the future product. This will allow you to choose the most optimal option. In addition, thoughtful planning involves preparing the necessary art supplies.
To make topiary from chestnuts with your own hands you will need:
- glue gun;
- chestnuts of various sizes and configurations;
- acorns;
- roasted coffee beans;
- scissors;
- material for creating the base of topiary;
- thick wire;
- strong branch;
- pot or vase for stand;
- plaster or putty;
- strong thread of any color;
- bronze or golden paint;
- cord or braid for finishing the barrel.
DIY souvenirs
The fashion for handmade things has ceased to be the preserve of a select few, but has become a trend among everyone. Knitting, embroidery, decoupage, artistic processing of glass, metal - all this has become available to everyone.
Thanks to the abundance of information and numerous opportunities to purchase any creative material, mastering any technique is easy even for a beginner. To create a beautiful thing with your own hands, you just need to be patient, study the instructions, purchase everything you need and start creating.
However, there is one problem. You can buy almost anything, but the price of some art materials is very high. If you want to master a budget technique and make original souvenirs from what is literally lying under your feet, then the best option is crafts from pine cones. Anyone can make a tree, an animal figurine, a photo frame, a basket and much more, without any special artistic skills.
Making a topiary base
The ball with attached fruits is the main part of the product. It should not only be beautiful, but also light so that the souvenir does not turn over due to a shift in the center of gravity. Don't limit your imagination solely to the ball. The base can be made in the shape of an ellipse, prism or heart. This topiary will look unusual and original.
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The home crafts master class involves using the following material to create the base:
- Old newspapers. Despite its fairly large volume, the paper has little weight. Newspapers are moistened with a glue solution and rolled into a ball. Its shape is fixed with threads. You can use the base within a day.
- Styrofoam. First, a cube is glued together from several fragments. After this, the workpiece is given the desired shape. Final finishing is done with a rasp and sandpaper.
- Children's ball. You need to choose a dense product made of hard plastic, since the rubber ball will simply deflate and become deformed after making a hole in it. You can strengthen the rubber ball by wrapping it with threads soaked in epoxy glue.
In all cases, the created base should be painted so that its color is not visible through the fruit. Bronze paint is perfect for this, against which chestnuts, acorns and other decorative elements will look great.
Crafts made from painted pine cones
Such a souvenir will look original, made not only in a single color, but also in a multi-colored version. To do this, you will need to prepare paints and paint the elements in advance. The children will be delighted. They like to create crafts from pine cones. A tree, and a multi-colored one at that, will seem wonderful and fabulous to them. Turn a craft lesson into magic!
If you make a Christmas tree from pine cones, painted specimens can play the role of bright toys. In the case of topiary, you can simply make color transitions by gluing rows of multi-colored elements from bottom to top. The trunk, for example, is white, in the middle there are a couple of shades of pink. A great gift idea for Valentine's Day. This item will look cool if you add it with a cute ribbon, bow or heart.
Creating a topiary trunk
Before making a topiary, you need to prepare several blanks for making the trunk. During the work, you can decide which of them is better suited for creating a harmonious and spectacular souvenir.
The barrel can be made from the following materials:
- Bamboo sticks tied together. Such a trunk will look original. Strength will be at the proper level. To prevent the sticks from getting dirty, it is advisable to coat them with varnish.
- Tree branch. It is better to use oak, larch or cedar. The wood of these species is characterized by high strength, moisture resistance and durability. Cracks will not form on the branch due to changes in air humidity.
- Thick aluminum or copper wire. It can be given the most intricate shape. After this, the barrel is wrapped with a rope or braid soaked in glue.
You can decorate the trunk with artificial leaves, toys and beads.
Step-by-step master class with photos - topiary from acorns, nuts and chestnuts
Stage I. Making the ball, painting and preparing the decor
The ball for topiary from chestnuts “Birdsong” is made from padding polyester and knitting threads. We paint the trunk, decorative ladder and 5 halves of the walnut with bronze, and lightly dust the pot with a semi-dry sponge.
The trunk does not need to be sanded: the texture of the wood under the bronze looks impressive.
In addition, we select 18-20 whole caps of acorns and glue beads into them.
Stage II. Crown decor
Cover the entire surface of the ball with dried chestnuts and insert bronze nuts. Between the chestnuts we glue acorns and hats with beads, as well as empty pluses.
To protect topiary made from natural material from damage by insects, lightly treat the finished tree with any hairspray.
Stage III. Pouring and filling the pot
Mix gypsum or alabaster directly in the pot: the solution must be thick to hold the trunk of the chestnut topiary. This volume of plaster dries in 2-3 hours, but we recommend leaving it overnight so that the moisture evaporates completely. All the secrets of filling and attaching topiary.
We glue pre-prepared sisal balls onto the dried plaster, and decorate the pot with white lace and satin ribbon. At the base of the tree of happiness we place a sisal nest with two doves, pearls and an acorn cap with a bead. We attach a ladder to the trunk, fix it at the top and bottom with glue.
Stage IV. Finishing decor
We wrap the crown of the chestnut topiary with a metal chain, gluing it at several points. We make miniature bows from satin ribbon and also glue them in a chaotic manner on the surface of the tree. We glue sugar berries onto the bows, and distribute 7-10 decorative doves along the crown.
On one side of the topiary we place a sweet couple of doves in a nest made of sisal with white stamens.
A complete collection of ideas for trees of happiness from Alena Tikhonova!
Making a topiary stand
Topiary made from real chestnuts implies the presence of a stable stand that will be in harmony with the trunk and base. You can use any kitchen utensil, baby bucket, wooden box or flower pot as a stand. To give it stability, you need to pour heavy objects into it. For this, granite crushed stone or old unnecessary nuts are used. A gypsum solution or mixed putty is poured over the weighting material. When the filler begins to set, the barrel is lowered into it. After it has completely hardened, you can continue working. Plaster needs finishing. For this, any available material is used.
Tree of Happiness “Birdsong” - photo presentation
See all the photos of topiaries from Alena Tikhonova in the general selection!
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Making the base of the topiary
The work begins with placing the ball on the barrel. This activity must be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the lining of the base and the finish of the barrel. In order for the ball to hold firmly and reliably, it must be fixed with glue. This way the finished product will gain integrity.
Topiary made from real chestnuts implies the presence of a stable stand that will be in harmony with the trunk and base
Once the base is firmly glued to the trunk, you can begin decorating it. It is better to start this procedure from the top of the ball, gluing the chestnuts in rows. It is better to use flattened fruits of approximately the same size. Using a glue gun, you need to fix the chestnuts on a base with colorless silicone. It hardens in a matter of seconds, so this stage is completed quickly and without any special complications.
After the ball is covered with chestnuts, the openings between them are filled. For this, tea, coffee beans or small acorns are used. The finished product is varnished.
Topiary “Birdsong”: master class with photos step by step
The miniature chestnut topiary “Birdsong” is perfect as a debut tree for beginning needlewomen. The simple decor of the crown consists of dried chestnuts, acorns with caps, doves, sugar berries with satin bows and acorn caps with pearls glued into them. The topiary is planted on plaster in a clay pot, painted bronze, decorated with lace and a narrow satin ribbon.
Contents of the master class
A homemade ball with a diameter of 8 cm made of synthetic padding polyurethane wrapped with knitting threads was used
You can also use a ready-made foam ball.
The total height of the chestnut topiary is 25 cm
, pot -
6 cm
.
2 hours to make a tree of this size !
Sintepon or cotton wool
The method consists in forming a ball from the above materials and wrapping it with tape or thread. You can also use a plastic bag. Place the formed ball in it and tie it tightly.
The base made in this way is somewhat heavy. Another drawback is that it is quite difficult to form a ball of the correct shape.
Styrofoam
In construction stores this material is sold in sheets. Their maximum thickness is 100 mm. If you need a ball of a larger diameter, you need to glue two or three sheets together, and then use a knife to cut out the base for the topiary. This method is pretty good. The ball turns out to be light, monolithic and quite durable. The only inconvenience is that cutting out a shape of the correct shape from foam is not very easy.
Crown decor options
You can decorate topiary with any materials - it all depends on your taste and imagination. Trees decorated with paper foliage, dried flowers, paper flowers, and beads look beautiful. A good option for decorating a walnut tree is burlap. Using this material, you can decorate the space between the container and the trunk, as well as the crown, using the “trimming” method.
The container and crown, decorated with decorative mesh and organza bows, look good. These elements are fixed with glue. To add lightness to the composition, you can lightly brush the walnuts with white paint. You can make topiary in a marine style; for this, the nuts and tree trunk are completely painted white, and the space between the trunk and the container is decorated with sea stones, shells and corals.
