Dollar Store Topiaries

Wednesday, May 23, 2018


I so wish I could keep plants alive for longer than a month (5 weeks is actually my record!) but it's just not the case. I'm a faux plant lady all the way! So, when I saw these topiaries gaining popularity I knew I was going to have to either find some a faux pair I loved or make them myself.

It was actually on a trip to Hobby Lobby where I was returning a few items for our guest bathroom makeover that I got the idea to make my own topiaries. A woman was returning a couple of adorable planters and that I thought would look so cute with a set of topiaries in them. But, being mindful of the fact that I just spend a ton of money on a bathroom makeover, I skipped the planters and headed home. A few weeks later I was cleaning out our shed and came across two beautiful planters that would be perfect for our mantel!


So, I set out to DIY a set of topiaries to match. As always, I wanted this project to be super cheap so I went straight to the Dollar Tree to scope it out. If you haven't checked out the Dollar Tree craft section you should because it is legit. At first glance it doesn't look like much but their flower foam prices can't be beat!



I thought about using some of their ivy or moss but I was really going for that messy topiary look. Instead of Ivy, I scoured the craft store ads and found that all greenery bushes at Hobby Lobby were 50% off (tip: everything goes on sale every other week so if something you are eyeing is not on sale this week chances are it will be next week- be patient and go back!). So, I headed to Hobby Lobby for my greenery. While I was there I also noticed that their dowel rods were $.60 so I scooped up one of those as well knowing I'd need to cut it in half for the purposes of this project.

Ok, let's get started!

What you will need (this post may contain affiliate links- you can read my full disclosure here):
  • Two planters of choice (linked similar to mine here)
  • Dowel rod in SIZE (or sticks from your yard)
  • Brown acrylic paint
  • Two cube floral foam pieces
  • Two spherical floral foam pieces
  • Greenery bush of choice
  • Wire cutter
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Reindeer Moss

The first thing I did was place my cut and place my dowel rods into the cube foam in the planters I was using. I've seen some people hot glue their foam in place but I chose not to.


Then, once I had the dowel rods positioned I gave them a quick coat of brown acrylic paint. The reason I chose to do this step second instead of first is that it can be hard to paint spherical pieces like this so I would have chosed to paint them standing up like this anyway.



Then, once the dowel rods were in place I added the foam to the top. I was careful to make sure that the dowel rod only went about 1/3 of the way into the foam. 


Once this was in place I began to clip the greenery bush into small pieces.


I took the pieces that were closest to the 'root' to stick into the top of the foam (they were the 'strongest' pieces). 



Then, I started to go around the edges and add in pieces of the greenery using hot glue to keep it in place. 


I continued to go around and around until it became full and you could not longer see the foam.


Then, to complete the bottom I simply added hot glue to the cube foam and sprinkled the reindeer moss around the bottom.



Voila! Topiaries for less than $15 for the pair!






I'm thinking about getting wild and making a pair for the porch next but first I need to let my poor fingers rest... that hot glue can be painful, haha!

How do you add faux greenery into your space? Share your projects with me in the comments below!

And thank you for visiting R&R at home!





2 comments

  1. Your topiaries are darling! What a super idea and love that it's budget friendly too. Loving the reuse of the faux plants. They look great on your mantle! Pinned:)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much!! I love a good budget DIY!!

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