Topiary from cones step by step: a master class with photo instructions. Ideas on how to make a topiary from cones and not only Topiary from cones mk

Even in autumn, while walking in a park or forest, do not be too lazy to pick up some fruits of nature, the same leaves, mountain ash, acorns and, of course, cones. What craft can come out of all this, one can only fantasize, but the fact that a creative person will need all this simple belongings is for sure. For example, you can make amazing things from spruce cones with your own hands. Or not from spruce, but pine, or maybe from the smallest, barely noticeable cones, you decide to make an autumn or winter souvenir?

See how many examples of such works in the photo gallery - this is a topiary made of pine cones, and wreaths on the door made of cones, chestnuts, leaves and acorns.

For a topiary with a crown of cones, you will need materials and tools that can be found in almost every home. But some things may have to be bribed.

Materials and tools:

  • plastic bottle;
  • Bamboo mat;
  • colored paper;
  • Glue;
  • Sackcloth;
  • Styrofoam ball;
  • cones;
  • branches;
  • Spray paint;
  • Ribbon.

This master class assumes that you will make a pot for a tree with your own hands. You can take an ordinary milk bottle, cut off the neck in it, make the edges even. According to the shape of the bottom of the bottle, you need to make a piece of colored paper, glue it to the bottom with hot glue.

Further MK includes the following steps:

  • A bamboo rug is needed in order to finally decorate the pot. The mat is cut so that it protrudes slightly beyond the edges of the milk bottle. The rug is wrapped around the cut bottle, glued to it. Using the photo examples, you can take a closer look at what kind of decor is obtained using bamboo rugs.
  • The decor of the pot is completed by gluing burlap and a bow. A piece of burlap should also be wrapped around the flowerpot, first it is glued, and on top - a thin satin ribbon. Under the tape, you can stick a small branch of mountain ash.
  • Next, you'll need a styrofoam ball. This point is worth clarifying. Today, every second master class involves the use of just such a blank, which is purchased in needlework stores. It serves as a solid basis for the formation of the crown. But the basis can be made with your own hands. From the old way (a lump of newspaper) to finding the same round small object (a rubber baby ball).
  • Make a hole in the ball where the stem of the cone topiary will be inserted. These will be branches folded into one bundle.

This point also needs to be considered in more detail. Usually a classic topiary workshop suggests taking sushi sticks, pencils or wire as the basis for the trunk. But this MK says that the branches in the topiary with cones will look more natural.

Topiary from cones: a master class step by step

After you have a pot, a foam base and a trunk of branches inserted into it, it's time to prepare the cones with your own hands. Ideally, if they are small in size and approximately the same.

You can find a separate master class on how to decorate cones. The methods are very different. For example, you can cover them with white paint, then, after waiting for drying, apply PVA glue with a sponge, and sprinkle sea salt on top of the cones. You will get such snow bumps.

You can paint the bumps with spray paint. What color is better to take, look at the photo. If this is a New Year's topiary, golden and silver colors are appropriate.

Returning to the MK, the actions will be as follows:

  • Insert a crown ball on a branch into a pot. It can be a vase already filled with earth, or filled with fresh gypsum. As you wish, but the trunk of the branches should sit firmly in the pot.
  • From above you need to decorate something with earth or plaster. It can be artificial grass if the topiary is still autumn. There you can also throw a couple of miniature maple leaves. You can see the ideas in the photo.
  • Next, the master class instructs to make a crown. Namely - to glue cones. The elements are fixed with hot glue in a circle. Make sure that there are no gaps, otherwise they will have to be filled with something. Or, initially paint the workpiece with the same silver aerosol.
  • New Year's topiary involves snow decor. Cotton wool, tinsel, the same sea salt, felt snowflakes, silver threads - you can make the most incredible snowball with your own hands. Or take artificial snow for such a topiary from cones.

The master class offers the following points to choose from. Topiary with cones can be decorated with beads, satin ribbons, voluminous snowflakes, and even Christmas tree decorations.

New Year's topiary from cones (video)

New Year's topiary from cones

New Year's topiary can include literally everything that is associated with the holiday. So, often tangerines become decor for cone topiary. From this, the tree acquires a special aroma, and in the photo you can see that the souvenir looks very festive.

And how to make a topiary from cones even brighter:

  • Let forest animals “sit down” under the tree, you can also make them with your own hands, or you can take ready-made figures.
  • The topiary of cones and acorns will look elegantly absolutely white, or white with silver.
  • New Year's topiary can stand on a sun napkin from your brightest photos of the year. Take twelve photos (according to the number of months), lay them out according to the principle of sunlight, and put a topiary in the center. The whole composition with their own hands turned out!

And next to such a topiary, it can easily turn out to be not quite a miniature squirrel. Moreover, such a squirrel can even supposedly hold a pot with a tree with its own hands. Cute and cozy!

Autumn craft: topiary from cones and chestnuts

A separate master class can not be invented. The actions will be similar, because the work differs only in the presence of these same chestnuts.

And how can you achieve a beautiful decor of chestnuts:

  • Again, spray paint often comes to the rescue. With gilding and silver - your case.
  • A scattering of chestnuts can be decorated with dot painting. The one that paints smooth sea pebbles. It looks very original, the work on such a painting (it doesn’t matter, stones or chestnuts) is almost jewelry.
  • You can simply highlight the chestnut caps in a different color.

Chestnuts have a smooth structure, try to emphasize it.

Topiary from cones “Green chrysanthemums” (video master class)

Elegant trees - topiaries are beautiful not only in the photo. They look festive, elegant, neat, something good and fabulous emanates from them. Try to do it yourself and you won't regret it.

Successful work!

Topiary from cones (photo)

Topiary is a low composition, an original tree made of natural or artificial materials. Topiary can be made from pine or spruce cones, coffee beans (roasted or natural), various types of pasta - this article offers a master class on how to make several types of topiary with your own hands with a step-by-step description and photo.

Even in ancient times, garden design used the art of giving decorative forms to trees and shrubs. The famous gardens of Babylon are not in vain considered one of the 7 wonders of the world - it was there that you could find plants of bizarre shapes, the crowns of which were formed by the skillful hands of court gardeners. Formed in the form of figures, garden plants have since been called topiary. The art of creating figured trees was used in the gardens of Versailles and in Japan.


A beautiful topiary from cones or coffee beans can be easily made in a few hours.

Nowadays, a topiary (a tree of happiness, a European tree) is a small composition made of different materials, the height of which does not exceed 50 cm. The topiary can be made in different shapes: a ball, a cone, numbers, a heart, and it can also be multi-tiered and have several stems .

The materials for the base of the topiary are papier-mâché blanks or foam figures; materials of natural or artificial origin are used for decoration: cones, coffee beans, nuts and nutshells, pasta, beads, organza, artificial flowers, cinnamon sticks, sisal, beads, foam balls.


As a stand, you can use a glass cup, cup or jar, decorated with a cloth

The trunks of an ornamental tree are made of thick wire or intricately curved branches, sometimes combining the use of different types of materials.

Master class: topiary from cones. Learning to create with our own hands

Pine, spruce, cedar and cones of other conifers are quite suitable for DIY crafts. Cones are a product of nature, it is not difficult to find them in sufficient quantities even in large cities. The material is suitable for do-it-yourself crafts, including for making topiary. As part of this master class, you can quickly learn how to make a topiary from cones with your own hands, using all your skills and author's ideas in your work. Photos will help to correctly and quickly make a topiary from cones.


Types of topiary from cones

Materials needed to complete the tree of happiness:

  • pine or spruce cones;
  • thermal gun with silicone glue sticks;
  • old newspapers or foam base (ball);
  • gypsum (alabaster is possible, but it hardens longer);
  • ceramic dishes (pot, cup, any container);
  • trunk (a tree branch of a bizarre shape, strong enough);
  • aerosol can with gold paint;
  • threads.

A set of necessary tools for creating a topiary from cones

First you need to sort the available cones, picking up the same size. When using a foam base for a topiary, it is necessary to carefully strengthen the stem in the ball. The best option for a topiary is a papier-mâché ball, which is easy to make yourself from old newspapers. Newsprint should be crushed, pour hot water, adding a small amount of laundry soap shavings. After a few hours, the paper will swell, it is easy to make a ball out of it, which should be dried thoroughly.

Advice! If the newspaper ball turned out to be not quite even, you can additionally wrap it with threads to correct the shape.

The heat gun should be well heated, drop glue on the bump and quickly glue it to the base of the topiary. Consistently gluing cones to the base, try not to leave empty spaces. Excess glue looks very messy if it flows out from under the cones tightly pressed to the base, so the drop of glue should not be too large.


Cones are attached to the ball with glue

A pre-pointed trunk is inserted into the ball glued with cones, fastening the junction of the trunk and the base with glue. Now the stem should be carefully fixed in the selected vessel using a plaster solution.

Important! To prevent the appearance of cracks on a vessel filled with gypsum, a piece of thin wire or a crumpled piece of foil should be placed inside the vessel, which compensate for the deforming stresses when the gypsum mortar solidifies.

Dry gypsum is diluted with water at room temperature to the state of liquid sour cream. The stem with the base of the topiary is installed exactly in the container, the gypsum mortar is added, not reaching the top by about 5 mm. Gypsum hardens quickly enough, while heat is released, this does not need to be scared.


Creating the base of the topiary

The finished tree can be carefully covered with gold or silver paint by spraying it from an aerosol can. To get snowy buds, you can gently apply glue to the edges of the buds, and then quickly cover the glue layer with semolina mixed with pearlescent sparkles. Topiary of cones is ready, additional decoration of crafts is done at the discretion of the author.

We make do-it-yourself topiary from coffee (coffee beans)

Coffee beans have a unique aroma that helps to neutralize unpleasant kitchen odors. A do-it-yourself coffee tree can not only decorate the interior of an apartment, but also saturate the air of the room with the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The master class on making topiary from coffee beans, offered in this article, will help you get the job done quickly and efficiently.


Topiary options from coffee beans

For work you will need:

  • coffee beans (roasted) of high quality;
  • silicone glue for a thermal gun;
  • thermal gun;
  • topiary base (any shape);
  • trunk;
  • ceramic vessel;
  • gypsum;
  • water;
  • decorative elements: bows, artificial flowers, cinnamon sticks, star anise seeds.

Necessary tools for creating a topiary

The base of the tree is covered with coffee beans in one layer, placing them with the convex side up. It is necessary to carefully adjust the grains to each other, achieving minimal gaps between the individual elements.

Advice! Preliminary coloring of the base of the topiary in dark brown will help hide minor defects when gluing the grains.

You can leave the base of the topiary glued in one layer, but adding a second layer of seeds, which are glued with the cut up, helps to achieve a more decorative effect.

Then the trunk is inserted into the base, which is strengthened with glue. The do-it-yourself topiary base is strengthened with gypsum dough in a suitable container prepared in advance. Dry gypsum powder is mixed with water to the consistency of sour cream, quickly filling the container with the installed tree with the solution.


The process of creating topiary from coffee beans

The stem of the topiary can be left natural or wrapped in advance with decorative materials: moss, jute, ribbon. Until the final hardening of the gypsum, it is necessary to maintain the craft in an upright state. The finished topiary can be varnished, decorated with any decorative details. Natural decorations look especially harmonious on the coffee tree: cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Making a topiary from coffee beans (coffee) with your own hands is not at all difficult. This craft can be done with children, and then use the topiary to decorate the interior or for an original gift.

Master class: how to make pasta topiary

In this section, you can learn how to make topiary from pasta or pasta, which are produced by the food industry in a variety of sizes and shapes. The material is quite affordable, and making pasta topiary is not difficult.


Pasta Topiary

Advice! When making topiary from pasta, it is required to provide for the mandatory finishing of the finished tree with varnish or paint. The protective film will not allow pasta to quickly collapse from the influence of atmospheric moisture and dust.

Before starting work, you need to take care of a sufficient amount of high quality pasta. You should also prepare:

  • tree base (polyurethane ball, papier-mâché ball);
  • gypsum;
  • ceramic container;
  • gun for gluing pasta;
  • silicone glue sticks.

The first operation consists of carefully gluing the pasta onto the base of the tree using a hot gun. It is worth doing this very carefully, watching the symmetry of each detail. Excess glue can spoil the product, so the gluing of parts must be done slowly, allowing the glue to completely dry.


Pasta is best coated with paint or varnish

When the ball is completely covered with pasta, a barrel is inserted into it. Previously, the trunk can be wrapped with decorative tape, jute fabric, soutache or other finishing materials.

A topiary stem is placed in a pre-prepared ceramic opaque container, the vessel is filled with plaster dough, similar in density to sour cream. The tree should be carefully maintained until the gypsum mortar in the ceramic vessel has completely solidified.

Advice! Do not use transparent glass vessels - gypsum, shining through the glass, looks sloppy and undecorative.

Artistic decoration of pasta topiary

Do-it-yourself pasta topiary can decorate the interior of a living space for a long time, it should only be remembered that pasta is not highly resistant to high humidity, it quickly gets dirty from dust and gas deposits that have settled on them. When finishing pasta topiary, it is best to apply a protective layer of paint or varnish to the product. It is allowed to paint the product with compositions from an aerosol can or manually. You can first paint the tree with gouache or acrylic, and then apply a layer of colorless varnish.


Pasta topiary can be decorated with sparkles or beads

As additional decorations for pasta topiary, it is quite appropriate to use artificial flowers, colored bird feathers, organza, butterflies and other accessories.

Do-it-yourself topiary: all the details of operations can be seen in the attached photos.

Do-it-yourself topiary from cones: video

Topiary: photo

Topiary from cones is a stylish and fashionable decoration that can often be seen on the windows of souvenir shops. Looking at this little work of art, it's hard to imagine that ordinary people like you had a hand in its creation. The history of the emergence of the famous round shape of the tree crown goes back to the era when the gardens of Babylon were created, because they are known for the fact that almost all the trees and shrubs growing there had bizarre rounded shapes. Later this technology was adopted by specialists from Japan and Versailles.

What is the decor?

The European tree of happiness, as it is now popularly called, is today made from various materials. You can find them while walking in the forest, blanks are stored in your kitchen cabinets and baskets for needlework. Everything is used: large coffee beans, nuts, acorns, cinnamon sticks, pasta, chestnuts and chocolates. As for the shape, in most cases it is a regular ball, but sometimes it turns into a cone, a heart, and even a number, reminiscent of some memorable date.


The scheme for creating jewelry is simple and understandable, even an elementary school student is able to master it. Cones are a very interesting and original raw material that can be easily transformed and decorated with beads, ribbons and other elements. The trunk holding the crown can be made from a fragment of a thick branch, tubules or thick wire.


Advice! According to beliefs, a decorative topiary, which is an artificial low tree, can attract warmth, comfort and well-being into the house.

In the classical interpretation, this decoration consists of the following parts:

  • Ball. This is a kind of basis for fixing decorative elements that will represent the crown of the plant. It can be made from old newspapers, polyurethane foam, styrofoam, or a simple balloon. Almost all craft stores sell plastic blanks.

  • Trunk. Here, too, you should not be limited in the choice of raw materials. Cocktail tubes, pencils, twigs or wire will be used.

  • Pot. Naturally, a tree must grow from the ground. Of course, the filling can be the most diverse, in fact, like the container itself. Plastic cups, flowerpots, old planters, tin cans, children's shoes and boots - everything that you wanted to throw away, but could not decide on it, will come in handy now.

Advice!The topiary you created will need to be carefully looked after. Due to the large number of small parts, it will accumulate dust on itself. For the same reason, you should not give the product to children so that they use it in their games. Put the decoration on a shelf away from heaters and direct sunlight, otherwise the tree will dry out and lose its brightness and richness of colors. Never wet it, otherwise the adhesive will deteriorate and stop holding the elements. And one more thing: to remove dust, use a small hair dye brush and a hair dryer, of course with cold air supply.

In preparation

On the eve of important and significant holidays, especially New Year's holidays and Christmas, you can make a topiary that will successfully replace the traditional Christmas tree. To create such a masterpiece, not only cones are suitable, but balls, icicles and other Christmas toys, as well as fragrant freshly picked twigs with green needles.


So, before starting work, lay out on the table everything that can be useful to you in the process:

  • Cones. They are harvested in autumn during leaf fall. They perfectly survive long-term storage and do not crumble for a long period.

  • Thermal gun with silicone glue sticks and foam. From it you will build a ball.

  • Gypsum or alabaster (remember that the latter takes longer to dry, which means you will have to take a significant break from work), old newspapers.
  • Ribbons, beads, buttons, buttons, artificial flowers, moss and any other decor you like.

  • Ceramic pot and stick for the trunk.
  • Threads and spray paint.

We have already decided that buds will be the main raw material, so you should carefully select the material. Try to keep the products the same shape and length. If you have just collected them while walking in the forest, the material must be thoroughly washed and then dried thoroughly in the oven for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of 350 degrees. Make sure they are free of insects.

In fact, styrofoam is not the best material for a ball. It is better to use old newspapers or papier-mâché. According to the rules of the latest technique, grind the paper and fill it with hot water, adding laundry soap shavings there. After cooling the liquid and swelling of the raw material, give it the desired shape, dry the workpiece.

And now a few words about filling the pot. We all understand that in order for the structure to stand for a long time without deformations and movements, the contents of the planter or glass must be of high quality and strong. Take any building mixture, gypsum, alabaster, putty or cement-sand mortar. Floristic foam or polystyrene is excellent for such purposes.

Advice! Alabaster is the best option. Over time, it does not crack and does not lose its qualities. Dilute the mixture to the consistency of thick sour cream, pour, immediately install the barrel. The period of rest and drying is about a day.

Let's move on to creating

Finally, your blank is ready, and now it remains only to decorate the European tree. If you have already made a trunk, start decorating it. Wrap with ribbons, stick beads or metal rivets. A ball made of paper or foam must be painted brown so that the gaps between the bumps are not conspicuous. Warm up the glue gun and, applying a drop of composition to each decoration, carefully attach it to the base of the tree to gradually create its crown. This must be done quickly so that the glue does not have time to cool and lose the properties we need. If the size of the buds is different, take the largest ones first, and work with the smallest ones at the end. In the case when the material has the same parameters, create a grid of jewelry according to the honeycomb principle. Now start processing the contents of the pot. Pour small elements there, cover the surface with moss to give the impression that the topiary is growing from the ground.

Advice!Do everything carefully, make sure that there are no visible seams, glue smudges, gaps and other shortcomings. All this is easy to hide, just skillfully use fabric ribbons and beads. If there is nothing elegant and beautiful at hand, take a trip to the nearest needlework store. Now there is such an incredible assortment that you will certainly pick up everything you need for the tree of happiness.






A few more bright ideas to note

Autumn is a wonderful time when nature is preparing for winter sleep and generously endows us with various fruits. At this time, you can collect a lot of different materials to create a tree of happiness. In addition to cones, collect acorns, rowan branches with clusters of berries, make a herbarium of flowers and plants. Combinations of cones, walnuts, as well as other elements, on the surface of which bronze paint is applied, look very original.


Before the New Year holidays, you can make an elegant and original topiary from Christmas toys and furry twigs. Be sure to add here the so-called rain, tinsel, beads of different colors. Such a masterpiece can serve as a gift to friends and relatives, as well as decoration of the festive table. Several trees can be placed in the rooms, and then the house will be filled with an incredible Christmas atmosphere, in which your household will certainly become at least a little happier and believe in miracles.

Topiary made of cones is an original decoration that is popular in almost all European countries. Such trees of happiness are sold in shops and souvenir shops in France, Great Britain and, of course, our state. For several years now, they have been invariably considered sales leaders and universal presents for all occasions.

But why spend money when you can build such a masterpiece with your own hands. Surely, in every apartment there is a glass, a jar or a plastic bottle, and cones are easy to collect during a trip out of town or to the country. Do not follow strict rules, the main thing here is a flight of fancy and the makings of a decorator. If there are any, feel free to get down to business. You have no idea how easy it is to create your first handmade. In addition, this is a very exciting activity that allows you to escape from the daily hustle and bustle. Involve your children in the work, and then the craft will become your dear memory of the time spent with your kids. And they will try and choose the best materials! Having gained experience, start collecting trees of happiness for your family and friends, and they will definitely answer you with kindness and gratitude.

What do you associate with cone crafts? For the older generation, most likely, it will be school days and the insanely popular “little cones”. However, cones can be used not only for wonderful, but already become something ordinary, little men. For example, you can make a topiary (or, as it is otherwise called, a “tree of happiness”). It is great for those who do not like to take care of home plants, and those, in turn, reciprocate. Moreover, the topiary is a great craft for a school competition or just a good way to have fun, together and usefully spend time. Just look what beautiful trees you can make with a little imagination and patience!

And now we present you a master class on making topiary from cones and acorns, which can serve as a decor for your apartment, as well as an unusual gift for friends and loved ones!

Here we will make such a wonderful and even, one might say, fluffy tree.

Work materials

1. Pine cones;

2. Thermal gun;

3. Hot glue;

4. Newspaper (you can use plastic balls, but it is very inconvenient to make a hole in them under the topiary trunk);

5. Gypsum (or alabaster);

7. Pine branch;

8. Paint;

Topiary from cones: master class

1. We form a ball of newsprint.

2. Wrap the ball with thread so that it retains the shape of a ball.

3. Apply glue to the bump.

4. Glue the bumps on the ball as close to each other as possible.

5. Let's form a rounded shape from the cones.

6. Sharpen the pine branch.

7. Let's make a hole in the bottom of the ball.

8. Insert a pine branch into the hole and fix it with glue.

9. Paint the ball with silver paint.

10. We breed gypsum (or alabaster) in a pot, leaving 4 cm from the edge of the pot. By consistency, it should resemble sour cream.

11. We insert the barrel with the crown into the solution, fix it until it dries completely.

12. We decorate the base of the topiary with small cones, as in the photo.

13. The final chord - varnish the product.

Marina Cheltykina

In October of this year, the Ministry of Education of the Chuvash Republic announced a competition for crafts made from natural material "Secrets in a Basket". A prerequisite was the manufacture of a basket or basket of their natural material. Some parents of the middle and senior groups enthusiastically joined the work. Well, I decided not to fall behind. Together with our daughter Tanya, who is 6 years old, we decided to make pine cone topiary. Topiary is also called"Tree of Happiness"

For this craft, we needed:

mayonnaise bucket,

Strong stick (we have hazel,

- Pine cones,

Glue "Moment",

- decorative elements: nuts, acorns, acorn caps, thuja twigs, corn, etc. Later I used rowan berries and even thin sticks for the pot.

First we knead the plaster.


Then pour this solution into a mayonnaise bucket.


We form a ball from newspapers.


We insert one end of the stick into the plaster until it has hardened, at the other end - a newspaper ball, after making a small hole in it with a knife and smearing it with glue. Gypsum is covered with moss.


We begin to glue the ball with cones. We select identical, fully opened cones. We try to glue them as close as possible to each other.



Here we glued it.

We close empty places with thuja branches.

Since, according to the terms of the competition, the basket should be made of natural material, it was decided to replace the mayonnaise bucket with something suitable. After some thought, I decided to make a pot out of branches. She brought even branches from her garden, cut them to the same length.


I fastened the sticks with thread.


Gypsum by this time has already hardened completely. So I cut open the mayonnaise bucket and removed the plaster pot without much difficulty. She wrapped it in a cloth of sticks. and tied with thread.

And started decorating the pot. We glued rows of acorns and hats.


I wanted to use corn kernels, but it seemed to me that there would be too much decor. At the last moment, I glued rowan berries between the cones. Sprayed with glitter hairspray. The daughter sprinkled nuts and berries on the moss.

Here we have such a "Tree of Happiness"!

Whether he will be evaluated at the competition in Cheboksary, time will tell.