Topiary from artificial maple leaves. Do-it-yourself topiary from autumn leaves: step by step from maple leaves, a master class from dry tree leaves, how to make crafts, video. Maple Leaf Topiary: Leaf Processing

Topiary ("tree of happiness", "European tree") is a small decorative tree that decorates interiors and exteriors, and is also often used for. Topiaries are good because they look very beautiful, and you can make them with your own hands in just 1 evening from improvised materials.

This means that you can make several decorations at once, for example, one pair for New Year's serving, another for Easter, and a couple more for the mantelpiece.

In this material you will find 1 basic instruction on how to make a DIY topiary for beginners, as well as 3 step-by-step master classes in addition to it and 45 photo ideas for inspiration.

Basic instruction for beginners

Topiaries of even the most complex design are made according to approximately the same principle. Having mastered the basic manufacturing technology, you can create a variety of topiary, changing only the materials for decoration.

So, to make a mini-tree with your own hands, you will need to create it:

Crown;
Trunk;
The base of the tree.

Step 1. Design planning

Topiary can be different not only in design, but also in terms of service life. Before starting work, think about why you need a “tree of happiness” and where will it live? The purpose and future place of the topiary will determine its style, color scheme, and even the materials for its creation.

If you want to make topiary for, then materials that are not too durable can be used - paper, napkins, sweets, fresh flowers, fruits. If you want to make a topiary as a gift or for interior decoration, then it is better to use a more reliable decor - cones, artificial flowers, coffee beans, ribbons, organza, etc.

In the next selection of photos, you can get design ideas for themed and festive topiaries.

Sweet candy topiary for a children's party

Halloween decoration with potted candy

Halloween decorations from pumpkin seeds, ribbons and candy in tea cans

Easter trees made from eggs, artificial flowers, satin ribbons and moss

Christmas topiary made of artificial leaves and holly berries, cones and ribbons with a branch trunk

Candy tree for the holiday table

Topiary for festive table setting made of artificial flowers, natural branches, dry moss and satin ribbons

And here is a selection of photo examples of the design of exclusively interior topiary (scroll through!).

Step 2. Prepare materials

To make a topiary with your own hands, you will need:

Styrofoam ball with a diameter of 8-12 cm(available at many stationery and art stores) or floral foam ball (available at gardening and flower shops).

If desired, the ball can be made independently from polystyrene foam, the same floral foam, polyurethane foam, papier-mâché, etc. However, the base of the crown can be not only in the shape of a ball, but also in the form of a heart, a star, a number, a letter, an animal figurine and etc.

Crown decor - depending on your idea, use flowers, satin ribbons, organza, coffee beans, banknotes, etc.
Trunk - it can be made from a dry and clean branch, a simple pencil or any other stick. In addition, a tall candlestick can replace the trunk and pot.
Barrel decor- the trunk can be at least covered with a matte varnish or painted. And as a maximum - wrap one or two tapes.
Planter - It is most convenient to pour the mixture into a clay pot, but any pretty cups, mugs, vintage buckets, etc. will also work.
Fixing mixture- it is best to make a do-it-yourself topiary with a mixture of alabaster, as it quickly hardens, almost does not crack and is cheap. You can also use cement-sand mortar, gypsum or putty. However, not only binder mixtures can fix a tree in a pot, but also the same foam, floral foam or stones.
Everything for mixing- container, water, stick, etc.
Decor for masking the fixing mixture- to create an imitation of soil cover, it is best to use natural materials: dry moss, small pebbles, expanded clay, sisal fiber. Artificial moss and stones are also suitable. In the pots of "edible" topiary, you can put sweets and dragees.
Glue gun and some glue sticks- if necessary, it can be replaced with glue like "Moment", but it's best not to do this, since the glue in the gun is more convenient, and most importantly, it allows you to remove random "cobwebs".
Scissors or cutter.
Tailor's studs with a very small head(optional, used in addition to or instead of glue, for example, for fastening beads).
Side cutters or nippers for cutting the trunk or any decorative elements.

At the preparatory stage, divide the decorative details for the crown into groups - for example, large, medium and small. So it will be more convenient for you to alternate the decor and distribute it evenly over the ball.

Step 3Create the Crown

First, you need to mark the ball - mark the place for attaching the trunk and mark the border around it, beyond which you do not need to go for some time, sticking the decor. Thanks to this technique, in the future you can easily fix the barrel in the ball without ruining the decor.

As soon as the glue warms up, proceed to the design of the ball in the following order: “trying on” the part without glue - applying glue to the right place - fixing the part. Remember that you need to act quickly so that the glue does not have time to soak into the foam. That is why the decor is better to apply and try on first.

Here are a few more nuances:

You need to stick the decor on the ball, starting with large elements and ending with small ones. For example, if you are making artificial flower topiary, first glue the largest buds on the ball, then the medium ones, and only then the small flowers and additional beads.
Some decor can be attached to the ball with tailor's studs. But it is best to combine carnations with glue.
If some details have wire bases (for example, the same artificial flowers), then about 2 cm should be left from their “tails”. Then you can not only glue the decor, but also stick it into the ball.
To make the white base ball less noticeable in the gaps between the glued parts, it can be painted to match the decor.

Now we need to work with the trunk. As already mentioned, making it with your own hands is not at all difficult from a branch, pencil or any stick.

If you use a branch, then you can not paint it, but only cover it with a matte varnish so that the natural beauty of the tree is visible. If you use a wooden stick, then it can only be slightly tinted, artificially aged, etc. If you want to completely mask the surface of the trunk, then you can wrap satin ribbons, fabric, paper, rope around it, or completely paint it.

What length should it be? Since the barrel deepens both into the pot and into the ball, its length can be calculated using the following formula:

Stem length = 1/3 ball diameter + pot height + desired stem length between crown and pot.

To fix the barrel, you need to make a hole in the ball with a depth of about 2-3 cm at the marking site with an awl and a knife (depending on its size). When the hole is ready, fill its bottom with hot glue and put the crown on the trunk until it stops. Then continue to hold the barrel and gradually fill the hole with glue around the barrel.

Keep in mind that the hot glue will melt the styrofoam and deepen the hole even further. To prevent the trunk from going deeper into the crown by more than 1/3 of its diameter, small pieces of paper can be laid between the layers of glue.

As soon as the barrel is fixed in the ball, mask the attachment point with decor.

Step 5. Prepare the binder mixture and fix the tree in the pot

It's time to "plant" the resulting tree in a pot. For this you need:

Stepping back from the edge of the pot about 2.5 cm, put a mark - the mixture will be poured to this level. If there is a hole in the bottom of the pot, you need to cover it with tape or hot glue.

Dilute the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions and fill the pot with it.
Align and fix the topiary in the pot, holding its stem until the mixture hardens.
Leave the mixture overnight or overnight until completely dry.

Hint: As already noted, it is best to use alabaster as a binder mixture. To fill 1 medium pot, it is necessary to dilute approximately 1 kg of alabaster with 600 ml of water. The mixture is kneaded for about 1-2 minutes until the consistency of thick sour cream, and then quickly poured into a pot and the topiary is fixed in it for 2-3 minutes.

Hooray! The topiary is almost ready, it remains only to create an imitation of soil in a pot and mask the fixing mixture. If you are using sisal fiber (see photo), shells, artificial grass or moss, then they need to be fixed with a small amount of glue.

Master class 1. Corrugated paper topiary

Topiary with paper flowers is especially suitable for decorating a festive table or festive interior decoration. So, for example, this rose topiary was made for Valentine's Day.

Materials:

Base ball with a diameter of 12 cm;
Corrugated (crepe paper) of medium density (corrugated paper in the form of a tape is used in the master class, but you can use regular rolls);
Floral foam bars and/or any fixative mixture (see basic instructions);
Planter or flowerpot for the base of the topiary;
The trunk is about 30 cm long;
Dry moss for pot decor;
Ribbon for decorating the trunk;
Glue gun.

Step 1. Cut the corrugated paper into strips 60 cm long and about 4.5-5 cm wide. If the paper is too thick and hard, knead the strips a little to make them more plastic.

Step 2. Now you need to roll the resulting ribbons into rosebuds. This is done very simply, just a couple of workouts and the principle becomes clear. Take one of the resulting paper ribbons and fold it 1/3 as shown in the photo below.

Then fold one end of the ribbon diagonally at a 45-degree angle and start rolling it into a roll. After three turns, you will get the core of the bud. Now wrap the free end to the outside, and continue to turn the core of the rose - voila, you have the first petal.

Step 4. Once the crown is completely covered with roses, attach the stem to it (see Basic Instructions). In this master class, the barrel was pre-painted with white spray paint.

Step 6 Lay dry moss on the "soil" and glue it in some places with hot glue. And finally, tie a bow on the trunk.

The following selection of photos presents other topiary design ideas that you can do with your own hands according to this master class, not only from corrugated paper, but also from satin ribbons, tissue paper, etc.

By the way, not only roses can be made from paper, but also lush peonies or hydrangeas. Methods for making such flowers are easy to find on the Internet.

Topiary is a kind of eco-decor that can serve as an excellent element of your interior, as well as an original gift for relatives and friends. This craft can be done at any time of the year using various materials. For people who love needlework, this word is no longer new. Your attention is presented to the master class "Topiary from autumn leaves".

We all know that autumn is very rich in natural materials, and especially in a variety of leaves. But before you start making the “Tree of Happiness” from dry tree leaves, you need to dry the leaves. There are several ways to dry the leaves: put them in a book or magazine, the second way is to put the sheet on an ironing board, cover it with a sheet of white paper and iron it a little.

This method will dry the leaves much faster than the first, but if you think it over in advance, there will be no problems with this.

Topiaries can be from maple leaves and even combined - from leaves and cones, acorns.

tree of happiness

Your attention is presented to the master class "Topiary from autumn leaves". In it, you will learn how to make such a miracle for decoration with your own hands.

Before starting work, need to look at materials, which we will use in today's master class:

scissors;
newspapers, napkins or plain paper;
glue (super glue, glue gun);
wooden stick or pencil (it all depends on the size of your tree);
a container for wood (a cup of yogurt, a pot, the bottom of a plastic bottle);
tape wide;
dry tree leaves (maple leaves make a good craft);
gypsum;
satin ribbons, beads, pebbles.

When you stock up on everything you need, you can start working.

Prepare the pot for use. After you choose the desired container (it can be a yogurt cup, a pot, the bottom of a plastic bottle), you have the right to decorate it. You can use paint, nail polish to paint the pot, or use ribbons and pebbles to glue the outer surface (you can choose colors, sizes, shapes of materials yourself).

When the appearance of our pot is much more attractive than before, you can move on.

Let's prepare the base. As for the base that will hold the tree trunk, here you can choose any mounting mixture (cement-sand mortar, putty, gypsum or alabaster) or the same floral foam / polystyrene.

If you like the first option more, then we recommend using alabaster. It is available, it can be bought at any building materials store, it is easily divorced and does not crack.

Instructions for using alabaster:

To fill 1 container with alabaster, you will need about 300-400 g of the mixture and about 1.5 cups of water. Stir the solution for several minutes. As soon as the mixture thickens to the consistency of thick sour cream, pour it into a container, then install the barrel and hold it in a level position for 2-3 minutes. Leave the mixture to dry for 12-24 hours.

If you use gypsum, then its consistency should resemble thick sour cream, and the drying time of such material is 30-35 minutes.

Next, you need to prepare the very crown of the tree. You can use plain paper, newspaper and even napkins. It is necessary to crumple the paper so that a smooth ball is obtained, and so that it does not unfold, we will fix it tightly with a wide adhesive tape. When the crown is ready, it is necessary to make a small hole for the future trunk of our tree.

We prepare dry leaves for decoration. In order to qualitatively fix the leaves on the crown of the tree, we will use a glue gun (working with it requires utmost care).

Leaves can be arranged on top of each other, make all kinds of compositions that your imagination and soul desire. Here are photos that you can use in the manufacture of wood. You can also add touches such as beads and pebbles.

Do-it-yourself autumn topiary

Topiary "Autumn tree" Master class with step by step photo

Do-it-yourself topiary made of artificial paper leaves. Master class with step by step photo

The master class is intended for middle-aged and older children, educators, teachers, teachers of additional education, as well as for those who like to be creative.
Purpose: to decorate the interior of the apartment, a handmade gift.

Target: Creating a topiary "Autumn tree"
Tasks:
- teach the sequence of making topiary;
- develop creativity and imagination;
- to improve skills of work with various material;
- educate diligence and accuracy.
Autumn is the most beautiful time of the year, when nature gives us many different materials to create various beautiful crafts. We just have to dream up, choose the material and start making crafts. What we will do with you now. My choice fell on the manufacture of the "Autumn Tree" topiary .Do-it-yourself topiary will be a continuation of the autumn theme in any room, whether it is a group in a kindergarten or your apartment.

leaf fall

leaf fall, leaf fall,
The yellow leaves are flying.
Yellow maple, yellow beech,
Yellow circle in the sky.
Yellow yard, yellow house.
The whole earth is yellow all around.
yellowness, yellowness,
So autumn is not spring.
(V. Nirovich)
To make an autumn tree, we need:

-newspapers;
- sewing threads;
-leg-split;
-PVA glue;
-gypsum;
- glue gun;
-scissors;
- wooden stick;
- gouache paint;
-flower pot;
- artificial leaves, grass, berries;
-napkins;
-satin ribbon.
Everything is ready and we can start making the topiary. I will have a ball as the basis of the topiary, we make it from crumpled newspapers wrapped with sewing threads.

When you decide that the desired size of the ball has been reached, we proceed to pasting the ball with napkins. To do this, tear the napkins into pieces and stick them on the ball, previously lubricated with PVA glue

We make several layers to give a more even surface to our ball

When the whole ball is pasted over, give it time to dry, it is better to leave it overnight.
This is how our ball should turn out.

In the meantime, our ball is drying, we are making a trunk, for this we take a stick or a twig, grease it well with PVA glue and wrap it with twine and let it dry.

Now that both the crown and the trunk are ready, we proceed to assemble our topiary.
We make a cross-shaped cut in the ball

and insert the barrel and fix the cut with a glue gun.

We begin to decorate the crown with autumn leaves. We make small holes in the ball (I did this with a carnation, or you can use an awl), applied a drop of glue with a glue gun and inserted the leaves.

We stick the leaves as your fantasy tells you, I did it like this

Add some berries

Having completed the decoration of the crown, we proceed to plant our tree in a pot. As a pot, we will have the simplest flower pot. We make a mortar from building gypsum, the consistency of the solution should not be liquid, the solution will dry for a long time). The solution should be like store sour cream. the solution into the pot, insert the barrel into the middle of the pot and wait a bit until the solution seizes.

We proceed to decorate the surface of the pot, for this we take artificial grass and carefully place it on the plaster surface until it is completely frozen.

Now we move on to decorating the pot itself, we do it with twine.

We tie a beautiful satin bow and our pot has taken on a different look.
Let's add some decor to the grass and our autumn tree is ready.
Here is such an "Autumn tree" I got.

Autumn is a great time! You always want to take with you in the long winter a piece of autumn with its sunny colors in order to carry the atmosphere of warmth and creativity through the cold. The warming rays of the sun pass through the crowns of trees, the leaves of various warm shades rustle underfoot, in some places, fruits ripen on the branches ... All this gives inspiration to do something with your own hands from natural materials. A great option is a maple leaf topiary.

Leaf Topiary

Topiary is an ornamental tree with a ball-shaped crown. It will be a wonderful interior decoration, a gift or a September fake to school.

Topiary consists of three parts:

The base or form in which the tree will "grow", we will use a regular flower pot.
The trunk, for it we will select a tree branch of a suitable thickness and decorate it with a jute rope.
Crown, decorate it with roses made from maple leaves.

The future topiary is based on natural materials. Each element is decorated in a certain way, so that in the end a harmonious composition is obtained. Depending on the material available, various decorative elements are added to the topiary, giving zest to the composition.

How to make a maple leaf topiary

In order to make a do-it-yourself maple leaf topiary, we need:

for the topiary:

maple leaves of different colors,
jute rope,
flower pot;

for decor:

cones,
dried flowers,
cereals,
pine bark,
mosses or lichens id.;

tools:

scissors,
thin threads,
hot glue or any quick dry glue
perhaps a solution of alabaster, polystyrene or plasticine to secure the trunk in a pot.

I covered some parts with gold paint.

How to make a maple leaf topiary: step by step instructions

Let's start the step-by-step production of maple roses. Then we will form a topiary crown in the shape of a ball from roses.

How to make roses from maple leaves for topiary:

1. Fold the maple leaf in half, twist it into a voluminous tube and fix the shape with a thread. The middle is ready.

2. We bend the next sheet in half and wind it around the middle. Try to make voluminous flowers, do not wind the leaves too tightly, and tie each leaf with a thread so that in the end the flower is strong.

3. We continue to work until the desired volume of the flower is reached. In total, about 17 roses will be needed for the topiary.

How to make a maple leaf topiary crown

4. The next step is to prepare the crown. It is necessary to collect a bouquet of roses in the shape of a semicircle, tightly tie the flowers with a thread and cut off excess leaf petioles. Gradually add more flowers for splendor, sticking them on hot glue, forming a ball. All excess petioles must be removed.

How to make a maple leaf topiary stem:

5. A thin tree branch, decorated with a jute rope, was chosen for the trunk. Fix the trunk well with plasticine in a flower pot. You can fix it in another way, for example, by sticking it into a piece of foam. Next, install a flower ball on the trunk, gluing it to the glue.

How to decorate maple leaf topiary:

6. For decor, take sphagnum moss. Place it tightly in a flower pot, covering plasticine or other imperfections. Other decorative elements can be placed on the moss: cones, nuts. In this composition, glass beads are selected.

Do not forget to decorate the crown by adding, for example, dried flowers to it. The trunk can be supplemented by wrapping it with a liana or gluing an elegant spikelet to it.

By connecting more imagination and spending more time, you can improve the presented technology. As the materials dry, the topiary will acquire new noble shades of yellow and brown.

By adding various original hand-made compositions to the interior, we create a unique atmosphere of home comfort and warmth.

Victoria Ukhareva, landscape designer

For more information on how to make home decor from natural materials, read the master classes:

Autumn themed topiary is decorated with do-it-yourself roses made from orange peel, dried flowers, acorns, apricot and peach pits, dried citrus slices. The trunk of a thick curved branch is fixed in a clay pot on a plaster cast. A unique tree of happiness "Autumn Mood", the materials for which were harvested throughout the whole year!

Used homemade balloon from newspapers. A foam ball with a diameter of 20 cm is also suitable.
The total height of the autumn tree - 42 cm, pot - 9 cm, crown diameter with decor - 22 cm. To make a topiary of this size, everything is needed 2-3 hours: you will need to make and dry various "lambs" and roses from orange peel in advance.

Materials for creating a topiary "Autumn mood"

Newspaper ball. Diameter - 19 cm.
Scotch, twine, plasticine.
Curved thick branch. Length - 30 cm.
Clay pot - 1 pc.
PVA glue and brush.
Gypsum (0.2 kg), solution container, whisk.
Cinnamon sticks - 2 pcs.
Nutmeg - 2 pcs.
Peach and apricot kernels.
Acorn caps - 30 pcs.
Peppercorns - 30 pcs.
Dried flowers.
Narrow satin ribbons of orange and brown color - 2 meters.
Dried lemon or orange slices - 4 pcs.
Prefabricated orange peel buds - 5 pcs. (It will take 8 whole oranges).
A4 sheet of orange and chocolate felt - 1 pc.
Orange peel roses: 10 large x 20 - medium and small.
Silicone glue sticks for a thermal gun (diameter 7 mm, length 20 cm used) - 6 pcs.

Video master class - topiary on the theme of autumn from natural material

It was this master class that turned out to be special: the video does not just duplicate the text version, but is a separate and, frankly, more convenient do-it-yourself guide to autumn-themed topiary. Watch, get inspired, draw new ideas and share with friends on social media!

How to make a topiary from natural material - MK in 1 picture

Step-by-step master class with a photo - do-it-yourself topiary on an autumn theme

Making roses and preparing slices

Stage 1. Pre-drying flowers and slices. It is the preliminary preparation that is the most important stage in the manufacture of autumn topiary from natural materials. To make roses, the peel from an orange is cut in a spiral, the size of the rose depends on the length of the cut strip, and the height depends on the width of the cut. For a ball d = 19 cm, the approximate number of large roses (d = 5-7 cm) is 10 pcs.; medium (d = 3-4 cm) - 20 pieces; small (d=1-3 cm) - 20 pcs.

Stage 2. Formation of large roses. For large flowers - we glue white cores of suitable size. Orange peel roses are ready - and this is just one way to make orange peel flowers!

Stage 3. Gluing the leaves. From felt sheets we cut out autumn leaves in the shape of a “fish”. Used orange and chocolate felt A4 format, the approximate size of the leaves - 1/32 and 1/64 sheets. A lot of leaves are needed for a topiary made of natural material - we cut all the prepared sheets (chocolate - 2; orange - 1).

We glue felt leaves on large and medium roses - about 2/3 of the total. Depending on the size of the bud - 3-6 leaves. Glue the lemon slices in the same way.

pot pouring

Stage 4. Preparing the flowerpot. We seal the drainage hole in several layers with adhesive tape so that the solution does not spill out. With mashed plasticine on the bottom of the pot we fix the trunk, at the same time thinking about the location of the ball: the design involves the use of a crooked barrel, it is necessary to fix the branch so that the finished autumn topiary made of natural materials does not fall on its side.

Stage 5. Filling with plaster. The abundance of elements makes the crown of the brown topiary quite heavy, so we recommend using gypsum casting to firmly fix the trunk.

We knead the solution: for a 0.5 liter pot, 200 ml of building gypsum (alabaster) and 200 ml of water are needed. The ideal proportion is 1 to 1. Mix thoroughly to obtain a homogeneous mass, without lumps. We fill the pot about 2/3. Gypsum hardens after 2-2.5 hours, but we recommend that you hold the pour for a day - until it dries completely.

For you, we have prepared a detailed article on: technology, useful tips and tricks. Must Read if this is your first experience with plaster or alabaster!

Ball making

We completely wrap the finished ball with twine and satin ribbons - in a chaotic manner, fixing it pointwise with glue.

Formation of the autumn crown

Stage 7. Mounting the ball. Through trial and error, it turned out that it is much more convenient to first fix the ball on the trunk, and only then start decorating the crown. Before final fixation with adhesive balance the center of gravity of the decorative tree.

Stage 8. Gluing roses. Glue large roses evenly over the surface of the topiary made of natural materials, then medium and small ones, as well as whole citrus slices and halves, leaving gaps, as shown in the photo.

Flowerpot decoration

Stage 9. Composition at the base. Gypsum surface, after complete drying, is treated with PVA glue in 2 layers for better adhesion to decorative materials. For flavor, we form a layer of apricot and peach pits, fix with glue. The next ball is autumn dried flowers (we also glue the top leaves). Cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and rose, fastened with a satin ribbon, complete the composition.

Final decor

Stage 10. Finishing touches. In the gaps between the roses on the crown, we glue apricot pits and acorns (previously you need to paste peppercorns or coffee beans into them). Also, apricot seeds - 2-3 pieces - are glued at the base of the autumn tree of happiness to dried flowers.

The presented topiary made of natural materials is unique: the decor for it was prepared gradually for a whole year to be collected in the fall! In spring - orange peels; in summer - apricot and peach pits; in autumn - dried flowers and an acorn cupule. In addition, thanks to the abundance of various natural materials, the tree of happiness exudes a subtle, very pleasant aroma.