Ombre Topiary Gift Set

Putting some more old random craft supplies to use,

repurposing them into a pretty little topiary

with matching handmade card.

I'm donating this set to a local charity gift shop

along with a handled gift bag and tissue paper. 

SUPPLIES:

old terra cotta pot

white and magenta acrylic craft paints

clear sealant

styrofoam ball and scrap for inside pot

excelsior / moss

silk flowers

twig / dowel rod

scissors

hot glue gun (low temp)

ribbon

card stock and stamps for the card

embossing folder

Before

Reusing a styrofoam ball and clay pot from

 another project I made years ago.

I removed the old moss from the top of the foam

in the pot and the styrofoam ball. 

I don't remember where the florals came from.

I have a feeling they were picked up at a yard sale.

Or maybe a dollar store. They've been in my stash

far too long, that is for sure ;)

Using a low temp glue gun, I adhered new excelsior 

to the foam pieces. The glue was also used to hold 

the flowers in place. I did leave a little piece of stem

attached to each flower and shoved it into the foam

to help keep them in place even better than the glue alone.

STEPS:

• Base coat pot white or perhaps use a gesso or primer. Add a second coat of white. While paint is still wet, brush on a small amount of magenta along the bottom then blend it into the white paint, making it lighter as it goes towards the top of the pot. Paint the rim white. Allow to dry thoroughly then apply a clear sealant. 
• Hot glue scrap of styrofoam in base of pot. Push twig (or dowel) into the styrofoam. Hot glue excelsior / moss on top of foam insert in pot, surrounding the dowel/twig. I removed the twig then inserted it into the ball to leave an indentation and glued the excelsior around the ball.  I did not leave the twig in while doing this, but you could if you find it easier. 
• Use scissors to trim the flowers off the stems. Hot glue in place all around the ball, leaving the space open to push the twig back into the base. 
• Once the ball is covered with flowers, push it back onto the twig/dowel and glue in place if needed. Insert into pot, glue in place if needed. Wrap ribbon around the twig and tie into a bow. 
• Add any other embellishments you'd like.  A die cut butterfly would be cute. Maybe even a spritz of perfume !

Thanks for looking =)

I'm entering my project in

Challenge #10 Anything Goes at 2 Creative Chicks

 Challenge #121 Anything Goes at PDE Linky Party

Anything Goes at Crafts Galore Encore Challenge

Home Decor at Simon Says Stamp 

The card portion of the project is being entered into the

flowers/greenery challenge at Clear It Out 
and
Just Us Girls challenge at Cards In Envy