Moss Covered Topiary

 
 I love to see topiaries on a mantel.  I really love the preserved boxwood topiaries and plan to make them as soon as the summer color sets on the boxwood in our garden.  In the mean time, I found some containers on deep discount at Joanns and decided to make moss covered topiaries to get us through.

I won't bore you with all of the step by step details because we have all seen a bazillion tutorials on how to do this, but I will hit the highlights.

 Materials:  assorted mosses, dowel rod, container, green Styrofoam ball, plaster of Paris, hot glue gun, stain

1. Cut dowel rods to desired length and stain.    I used walnut stain.
2. Mix plaster of Paris according to directions and fill your container.  This to me, is the most important step.
3. Place dowel into center of container and hold until plaster begins to harden.
4. Place Styrofoam ball onto dowel to desired depth then remove.  Apply hot glue to hole in ball and replace onto dowel rod.
5. Begin covering Styrofoam balls with moss until they are well covered.
6. Fill container with moss.

 I recently cleaned the ashes out of the fireplace from the winter.  During the summer, I like to store all of the fireplace equipment.  The screen and tools go away and magnolia leaves take their place.  They need to be replaced about once every 3-4 weeks.  The leaves add a fresh summer touch to the living room.