Every now and then, I get a little crafty. And when the urge strikes, nothing will stop me. Combining my crafty urge with my green obsession and a little spring fever, this past weekend I decided to try to make a moss topiary. That is a fancy way of saying I was going to glue moss to a Styrofoam ball. Yes, I did say glue. I knew it was risky but I like to live dangerously once in awhile.
I love having greenery around the house, and I figured that having a moss topiary would be a great way to bring some green inside.
Green plants in my care can (and will) die. The moss I used is already dead, or “preserved.” I always see moss balls in shops and love how pretty they can be so I finally decided I must have one of my own.
Being that I have never made anything like this before, it was all an experiment (so be kind, don’t laugh). I bought a three of bags of different types of moss — two bags of different colored reindeer moss and then a big economy bag of just regular old moss. I was so glad I bought the different types because I ended up using all of them. I loved all the different varieties, including the sticks in some of it!
At first I was a little worried, as my moss topiary looked a little like a toupee (is that how you spell it?) or a bad wig. But I stuck with it and once I got the moss glued all the way around, it looked alright. So many pretty colors and textures!
Upon reflection, my photos look a bit like I have a big hunk of broccoli in an urn. In real life, they don’t look as much like a vegetable. Just to be safe though, I would think twice about having one on your kitchen counter.
I made a few different balls, one for our living room, one that is in our bathroom and a few little ones to tuck in a bowl on some bookshelves. Sometime I might buy some long sticks to make them look like little topiary trees, but for now, they are just round balls. I am kind of liking them that way, a little less fussy.
Want to make your own? It is easy!
Supplies:
A variety of preserved real moss (you can find it at a craft store)
Styrofoam glue (I used both spray glue and regular glue)
Styrofoam balls (get green ones if you can find them, it makes covering the Styrofoam a little easier)
I bought a foam brush for the glue, but I only used it once so you could pass on this.
A large plastic bag to do your craft on
How to:
Spread out your plastic bag on a table. This will be messy.
Apply glue to small sections of the ball, adding bits and pieces of moss as you go. I started with the spray glue and if I needed a little more sticky, I would dab on the regular glue. On the bigger ones I made, I used mostly the inexpensive type of moss and filled in with the reindeer moss to give it more variety in texture and color, just for fun. On the little ones I used all one kind of moss.
Remove leftover supplies from the table, carefully fold up your plastic bag with all the random bits of of moss, and throw away the bag. No mess!
After I made these, I remembered a great post on making Moss Balls from Living with Lindsay in which she suggested using straight pins to pin the moss on the ball, thus saving your fingers from the glued on moss. Genius, I say! Should have followed her instructions and tried the pins! Next time! I’m still finding bits of moss stuck to my fingers.
Tomorrow: Kicking off the first of a few upcoming spring giveaways!
this post shared for Rhoda‘s Spring Fluffing party, Works for Me Wednesday, and I am Blissfully Domestic
Instead of glue, I have used hairpins (you know the kind that have the rounded end). Beautiful topiary!
~Heather