Making topiary from shells

Marine topiary is an excellent decoration for home and office, which, in addition to a decorative element, is also a reminder of a wonderful vacation. Its production is not particularly difficult and is suitable even for novice needlewomen.

The shell topiary looks like a small decorative tree, decorated with seafood. Such an original craft becomes not only an original part of the interior, reminiscent of pleasant days, but also allows you to wisely use all the souvenir "supplies" brought from distant countries. By themselves, seashells and pebbles are already eye-catching, and therefore it is recommended to create topiary in a minimalist style to balance the composition. In addition, such a solution to rejection of redundancy will allow it to fit into any interior.

In the case when the container for the topiary is decorated with shells, the crown of the tree itself is formed with the help of monophonic beads. An unusual option is the creation of various geometric shapes from shells and sea pebbles. Bright colored threads are used as contrasting elements, which look especially advantageous against the background of pale shells. The main material, ideally, is collected independently on vacation, or it is purchased in the form of sets of decorative seafood sold in specialized stores. In addition, for decoration, you can use starfish, satin ribbons, twine, beads, pebbles and sisal to mask the container filler. If you plan to make the trunk straight, then ordinary barbecue sticks will do, but for a curved one you have to prepare a thick wire.

It is most convenient to form the crown of a tree from foam, but to save money, you can build a papier-mâché ball. This is done as follows: first, a simple balloon is inflated to the required size and, with the help of winding threads, is transformed into an even balloon. The entire surface is covered with an adhesive substance, on which soft toilet paper or napkins are applied in several layers.

A step-by-step master class on making topiary from shells will allow you not only to make an unusual decoration with your own hands, but also to understand all the specifics of creating decorative "sea" trees.

The work begins with the fact that several wooden sticks of the same size are connected to each other and wrapped with twine - this will be the trunk. To form a crown, a ball of sufficient size is cut out of the foam. The inner surface of the container-stand for the topiary is coated with glue, after which a gypsum solution is poured into it. The tree trunk is immediately stuck into the filler. Further work can only be carried out when the gypsum is dry.

A small hole is cut in the foam ball. Having filled in the glue, it is necessary to "put" it on the fixed barrel. For a more convenient fixation of the decor, it is recommended to glue the crown over with blue paper. The topiary is decorated not only with shells and starfish, but also with fabric decor, beads and sea stones. They should be placed as tightly as possible to each other so that the base of the crown is not in plain sight. The container itself for the topiary can be decorated with the same elements as the tree, or limited to blue ribbons, symbolizing the sea.

When creating a marine topiary, it is important to consider several important rules. Gypsum, an alternative to which can be a putty, dissolves with water until the consistency of the mixture begins to resemble thick sour cream. An ordinary tree branch can also be used as a trunk, but only if its thickness is about 1 centimeter. The base of the tree can be not only spherical, but also, for example, in the form of a cone, cube or starfish. It is better to fill the gaps between the shells with small golden beads.

The pot or cup chosen as the base can be covered with white paint, and blue can be applied on top, or waves can be painted. The easiest way to disguise the gypsum is to use blue sisal, fixed with glue. However, you can simply fill this space with small seashells, pebbles and beads.

An interesting solution is the use of sand and algae to decorate the "sea" tree. Experts consider the combination of seashells and organza used for floristic compositions to be very beautiful. This material will need to be cut into squares, then in the center of each place a pin and pull the tips upward, creating leaves. The resulting element is glued to the base of the tree.

In the event that there are not enough shells to cover the entire surface of the crown, it is first recommended to decorate the foam ball with floral moss and decorate with the largest shells while maintaining gaps. Then small shells are located between them, and the remaining gaps are filled with jute, rhinestones and other decor. An alternative to moss can be sisal, covered with acrylic paint to match. An ugly pot for such a topiary should be decorated using burlap, tied with a ribbon with beads imitating pearls.

Marine topiary looks amazing, decorated with smooth gray stones, small seashells and mother-of-pearl beads.In the role of the trunk, an ordinary curved branch, painted to match, is used, fixed in a very unusual vessel. Instead of a pot for a tree, a glass cup of a simple shape was chosen, also filled with shells, pebbles and beads.

Another original solution is the combination of shells, felt flowers and sisal balls on the spherical crown. All additional elements have a beautiful purple hue, which looks especially advantageous against the background of pale shells.

For information on how to make topiary from shells, see the next video.