Use any size pumpkins, gourds and pots to create
topiaries as large or as small as you like. This
project is so simple, kids old enough to use a glue
gun can do it themselves.
Materials (per topiary):
3-5
small pumpkins & gourds in graduated sizes
terra cotta pot or other container
floral foam to fill the pot
glue gun & glue sticks
wooden dowel (or chopstick)
silk, velvet, or dried leaves or moss
ribbon
knife, pumpkin-carving kit or drill
green, brown, or tan pipe cleaner
Steps:
1. Cut
the foam to fit the pot snugly and so that the top of
the foam is level with the rim of the pot. Use a
little glue in the bottom of the pot to help hold the
foam in place.
2.
Cover the foam with moss or circles of leaves attached
with hot glue. Make sure that the rim of the pot
doesn't show; run a bead of glue around the rim to
help leaves stay in place and hide it.
3. Glue
the largest pumpkin or gourd to the center of the
leaves/moss. Glue the next largest on top of it, and
so forth until your topiary is done.
Alternative: Instead of gluing each gourd or pumpkin
to another one, create a pumpkin topiary on a wooden
dowel. (I used a chopstick--it's the perfect size for
the little pumpkins.) Cut small holes/slits with a
knife (careful, they are quite tough-skinned; and a
drill will be necessary if you're using gourds) all
the way through the pumpkin centers--except for the
top pumpkin. Only cut into the bottom of the top
pumpkin and leave its top intact. NOTE: If kids are
doing this project, let parents do the cutting or
drilling. Put the three pumpkins on the stick with a
little space between and leaving a couple of inches on
the bottom. Wrap the stick with a brown, tan, or green
pipe cleaner between the pumpkins. Poke the bottom of
the stick into the foam through the center of the
leaves/moss. Remove it, add some glue in the hole, and
replace the topiary in the foam.
4. Fill
in between each pumpkin or gourd with a ring of leaves
attached with hot glue.
5. Tie
a bow around the pot. Make a pair of these topiaries
for your mantel, foyer or buffet table, or as a
centerpiece for an autumn dinner.
