Make this fantastic DIY Christmas Topiary and wow friends and neighbors this year!
This fantastic Christmas topiary stands over five feet tall and makes such an impressive decoration for a bargain price! Make one, or even a pair of these and you will be envied by your neighbors for your remarkable Christmas decorations!
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The base:
The size of your display will depend upon the base and the size of your boxes. My garden urn is about 30 inches high.
I have used this garden urn many times for many different displays so I did not want to secure anything permanently into it. Therefore, I selected a flower pot with NO hole in the bottom of it. Any pot, even a plastic dollar store pot will do for this part. You will want to get some plaster of paris and mix it per the instructions on the package.
When mixing your plaster of paris, DO NOT put your hand into the mixture. this is a chemical reaction. Use something like a paint stir stick and mix thoroughly. You want to make sure that you scrape all of the powder along the edges and the bottom and mix it in. The mixture should look creamy like the photo below.
If you would like to use this for for different creations in the future, use a piece of PVC like I have. If you are only using this for this one craft, you can just use a tall dowel and put it right down in the plaster of paris. It is important for whatever you use to be straight. Use a level alongside your pole and then prop your pole with boards like I have shown you in the photo below.
When the plaster of paris is dry, your pot will look something like this below. For my project I then used a piece of wood trim I had on hand. I simply slid the piece down inside the piece of PVC. I had measured beforehand and knew that this flowerpot would wedge tightly inside my garden urn.
The great thing about a plastic garden urn like this is that you can paint it over and over again with spray paint to create whatever look you want. For this project, I went with a holiday green!
The packages:
You will want to begin with three cardboard boxes of varying sizes. You will have the best results if you find and use square boxes. Rectangular boxes will give you more of a challenge to create your topsy turvy Christmas package stack. The only place I could find square boxes was at my local UPS store. These boxes were a little more expensive than the ones I like to buy at Walmart, but, as I said, the square part is important! I selected boxes that were 18″ x 18″, 16″ x 16″ and 12″ x 12″.
Assemble to boxes, taping each one securely and then get to work making the holes so that you can stack them on the pole in your pot. For the bottom box you will cut a corner off as shown below. Then go to the opposite corner of your box and cut it the same way.
For the second box, cut holes in the middle of two opposite sides of the box. Make sure you cut those in sides of the box that do not have tape in them. Slide that on top of the first box. The top box will be cut the same as the first box.
Wrap your gifts in your choice of wrapping paper. I have a deep covered porch so my topiary is protected from the weather. If you want to make this but have it be more waterproof. Select some fun vinyl Christmas print tablecloths to wrap your boxes in. After you have wrapped your boxes, make sure you cut the paper where your holes in your boxes are. You can tape the paper down inside the holes to keep the paper from ripping.
Stack your wrapped packages by threading them onto your dowel.
Your topiary is coming together now!
With the green urn, I decided to add some white faux garland around the base of my packages. The next step is to wrap each box with some ribbon. Use packing tape to secure the ribbon to the boxes.
Add a big fluffy bow to each of the boxes and your topiary is ready to put on display!
This is SUPER CUTE Chloe!! And that you for the detailed tutorial, it looks fabulous!!
I meant thank you! I need coffee 🙂
Love this Chloe – so creative! It looks great on your porch. Just trying to figure out how the topiary might fare here in Calgary, but I guess I could only put it out on Christmas day – provided it wasn’t snowing lol! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you Kim! All you need to do is to “wrap” your boxes with vinyl holiday tablecloths! They should hold up well in the weather! Stay warm!!
she said you could use cheap vinyl table cloths instead. That would hold up well in the worst weather!
That is very very cute and I love it !! Great job!
Thank you so much Jan!
What a cheap, easy, and beautiful way to make a Christmas piece with a statement! I love it because it looks expensive and you can make it as big as you want to really! VERY WELL DONE! I wonder if using fabric would be more durable than paper? LOVE IT
Thank you so much Mathew! It really does look great on my porch! I think for folks that don’t have a place protected from the weather could use vinyl holiday tablecloths, which would hold up well and protect the cardboard boxes from the weather.
Chloe,
This is so cute and unique. I’m sharing a link on my Dirt Road Adventures this week
Thank you so much Rachel! I need to head over to The Ponds Farmhouse, I have been so distracted with a flood in the house and then three weeks up in Maryland watching my granddaughters!
This is such a cute idea, Chloe! I’m absolutely loving it. Can’t wait to share it on my Saltwater Sounds wrap-up tomorrow!
Kim, Thank you so much for sharing my Christmas topiary! It looks great on my front porch.
This is what I have been looking for thanks for the tutorial. Looks lovely. I have a pair of planters I wanted to add something.
Oh Maria, these take a little time, but are so easy and make such an impressive statement! Have fun!
How do you print off the instructions with pictures for this wonderful project. Such a great idea.
Sue, you would have to do a screenshot of the entire post for all of the instructions and pictures. You can just bookmark the website and come back anytime you need to refer to them.
Chloe, you come up with some of the most fantastic ideas and one idea sparks another one! I love your archway into your dining room! I am so glad I follow you. We’re you a decorator at some point? You have such a good eye for things!? Merry Christmas Chloe!
Darlene, You are so kind! We just had the woodwork done in the foyer of our home. I have never been a decorator, but I have always been interested in interior design. You are so kind!
Merry Christmas to you, too!
This is such a unique piece; it does make a great statement. Happy Holidays with your loved ones.
It looks great on the porch!!
This is brilliant! Soooo much nicer than the truly awful blow-up Santa etc. very original and your tutorial was spot on. Love it. Going to give it a go. Thanks for taking your time with the tutorial making MY job that much easier.
Thank you so much Jenny! I am not a fan of those blow up decorations either! I appreciate your kind words. I really do try and ofer a tutorial that anyone can follow and re-create the project!