How to Make Outdoor Ornament Topiary’s are large, medium and small sized shatterproof ornaments stacked vertically together in a decorative urn. The topiary’s can be changed seasonally once you learn how to create the center structure. Hope you will have a great time making these for your home. They really make a statement on our front porch or hearth.
Ornament Topiary’s: Deck it Out! Series
PrintHow to Make Ornament Topiary
- Yield: 2- Ornament Topiaries 1x
Ingredients
1/2 ” diameter 3′ dowel
1/2” drill bit and drill
1/4” diameter plywood disc to fit surface of urn’s diameter
Plaster of Paris
Masking tape or painters tape
Cardboard half gallon-milk carton cut 4″ x 4″ cube
Decorative urn
1/4” thick cut plywood round the diameter of the urn top surface
Paint to paint the plywood round- painted the same color as container- mine was black
10“, 8″, 6”, and decorative finial shaped shatterproof ornaments
faux or real ever green wreath to fit diameter of urn-extra fresh greenery
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
15–20 shiny regular sized ornaments to decorate the wreath
Instructions
- Line work surface with old sheet or brown paper for spills. Rinse and dry half gallon milk carton and measure from bottom up 4″ and draw a horizontal line around the perimeter. Cut on this line. You now have a 4″ x 4″ cube.
- Mix 2 parts plaster of paris to one part cold water. I used 4 cups of paris with 2 cups of cold water in an old bucket. Stir to mix removing any lumps of paris. Pour mixture into milk carton. Allow to sit for 4 minutes before adding the dowel rod to center of paris. In the meantime, cut 8″ pieces of tape and have handy ready to tape across the carton once the dowel is in place. You will criss cross the tape in layers to help secure the dowel in center of paris to dry.
- Insert dowel. Tape to hold in place. Allow to sit overnight to dry. Next day, remove tape and dowel should be standing tall. If you missed the center a bit, no worries, you can adjust the container in the urn to make it center.
- Drill one hole in bottom of each ornament except for the top finial. Twist off ornament head or eye to reveal the second hole. Cut the plywood into a round disc the diameter of your container, in my case the urn which was 24″ around. Drill center hole with 1/2″ drill bit in plywood disc the size of your dowel. I used folk art black acrylic craft paint to paint my disc. Paint top and sides of round you won’t be able to see the disc once the wreath is sitting on top of it, but it makes a nice finish just in case you need it.
- After paris is hardened with dowel, place in center of urn/container. Next, slide the plywood disc over the dowel and let it sit on top of the urn/container. Next, position the faux or real evergreen wreath over the dowel and let it sit on top of the plywood disc.
- Adding fresh greenery to the faux wreath will give your topiary life and movement. Add shatterproof red ornaments or ornaments to match your larger ornaments to complete the look of the finished topiary.
- Position largest ornament over the dowel and let it rest on the wreath, thread corresponding sized ornaments over the dowel and end with the finial. If necessary to hold the finial in position, hot glue the finial to the ornament it sits upon.
- As a finishing touch, place regular ornaments around the base of the evergreen wreath. I like to cut fresh pine and other evergreen stems to add to my faux wreath to fill in as well as to make it look real. Replace the live greens if using inside to keep it fresh during the season.
Notes
Keep the urns throughout the year and change seasonally, Easter Eggs for Spring, Pumpkins for Fall and Ornaments for Christmas.
Deck it Out! How to Construct Topiary
Line work surface with old sheet or brown paper for spills. Rinse and dry half gallon milk carton and measure from bottom up 4″ and draw a horizontal line around the perimeter. Cut on this line. You now have a 4″ x 4″ cube.
Mix 2 parts plaster of paris to one part cold water. I used 4 cups of paris with 2 cups of cold water in an old bucket. Stir to mix removing any lumps of paris. Pour mixture into milk carton. Allow to sit for 4 minutes before adding the dowel rod to center of paris. In the meantime, cut 8″ pieces of tape and have handy ready to tape across the carton once the dowel is in place. You will criss cross the tape in layers to help secure the dowel in center of paris to dry.
Insert dowel. Tape to hold in place. Allow to sit overnight to dry. Next day, remove tape and dowel should be standing tall. If yo u missed the center a bit, no worries, you can adjust the container in the urn to make it center. ( ask me how I know this?) haha
Drill one hole in bottom of each ornament except for the top finial. Twist off ornament head or eye to reveal the second hole. Cut the plywood into a round disc the diameter of your container, in my case the urn which was 24″ around. Drill center hole with 1/2″ drill bit in plywood disc the size of your dowel. I used folk art black acrylic craft paint to paint my disc. Paint top and sides of round you won’t be able to see the disc once the wreath is sitting on top of it, but it makes a nice finish just in case you need it.
After paris is hardened with dowel, place in center of urn/container. Next, slide the plywood disc over the dowel and let it sit on top of the urn/container. Next, position the faux or real evergreen wreath over the dowel and let it sit on top of the plywood disc.
Adding fresh greenery to the faux wreath will give your topiary life and movement. Add shatterproof red ornaments or ornaments to match your larger ornaments to complete the look of the finished topiary.
Position largest ornament over the dowel and let it rest on the wreath, thread corresponding sized ornaments over the dowel and end with the finial. If necessary to hold the finial in position, hot glue the finial to the ornament it sits upon.
As a finishing touch, place regular ornaments around the base of the evergreen wreath. I like to cut fresh pine and other evergreen stems to add to my faux wreath to fill in as well as to make it look real. Yes the real evergreen will dry out after a few days, but if it is outside it does well. Replace the live greens if using inside to keep it fresh during the season.
This was featured on Good Day Tri-Cities with Morgan King & Whitney Carr as hosts of Good Day, with Liz sharing how to make the topiary.
Would you please tell me where I can purchase these large ornaments without having to spend so much money? Thank you.
I found mine at Lowe’s in the Christmas Department. You could look at Dollar Tree and other discount places. Hope that helps.