'moss' heart topiary

as i was creating the large faux 'moss' heart in my last post,
i unearthed some small plastic hearts that i had previously painted.
(those posts are linked below this one)
i decided to recreate them to coordinate with the larger 'moss' heart.

covering these lil' hearts with moss-like green yarn and fuzzy fabric was easy,
then i turned one of them into a tiny topiary.

continue reading for an easy tutorial...

dwk

i covered both hearts the same way - then added more on at the end!
one heart became a topiary, one is perfect sitting on its own in a bowl or pot.

TUTORIAL


materials:

plastic hearts . hot glue . scissors . peat pot . floral foam
a small branch or twig . fuzzy fabric + varied shades of green 'eyelash' yarn

note: the hearts i'm using here are plastic, made in two halves that clip together,
and came from Dollar Tree a few years back.

process:
(click on images to enlarge)

prepare the peat pot:
i pressed the top end of a peat pot into the floral foam, to give me dimensions.
then i used my handy-dandy metal ruler as a knife to cut away the extra foam!
after pressing the foam into the peat pot,
i added a few small scraps to the sides to fill in the entire pot.

prepare the plastic hearts:
i used strong scissors to cut a V-shaped hole in both halves of one heart,
at the point end of each.
when put back together, the hole is large enough for my branch 'stem' to fit in.

i also clipped the small 'hanger' off of each heart half using strong scissors.

cover the plastic hearts:
note: it is MUCH easier to use a 'fuzzy' fabric as seen here.
if you use only fuzzy yarns, you'll need to gather yarn up into handfuls
and glue each handful on separately. it works - but is much more time-consuming!

i cut the fuzzy fabric into heart shapes that were 1/2" larger than each heart half
to allow enough fabric to stretch over the rounded shape of the hearts.
a thin bead of hot glue around the edges holds the fabric in place - 
i trimmed just a bit off if it overhung the edge, so the heart would clip back together.

attach the heart to a 'stem' and secure it in the pot:
before i clipped the topiary heart back together, i inserted the branch 'stem'
and secured it to one of the heart halves with hot glue.
a few drops of hot glue around the inner edge held the second half in place.

i inserted the stem into the floral foam in the peat pot, removed it,
and put a few drops of hot glue into the hole - and quickly put the stem back in.
the length of your 'stem' is up to you - i tend to like them at least twice as tall as the 'plant'.

embellish the pot and hearts:
i cut a circle from the 'fuzzy' fabric, cut it in half, then glued it to the top of the floral foam.

i thought i liked the hearts covered only in the 'fuzzy' green fabric.
after sitting them by the large heart, with variations in yarn color and texture,
i changed my mind and added some of the eyelash yarns to both hearts.
i simply wrapped a few lengths of yarn around different parts of each heart
to get the effect that i wanted - it could be glued on, too.

the varied yarns really made it look much more like moss, as you can see below: 

the final touches are a tiny bit of olive green eyelash yarn
placed on top of the fuzzy fabric on the peat pot,
and a green ribbon added to the topiary 'stem'.

here's a fun trick:
that ribbon might look like vintage seam binding - but it isn't!
it's cheap papery ribbon, dipped into water, wrung out,
then 'scrunched' and laid on a towel to dry.
the resulting wrinkled effect 'ages' the ribbon, making it appear much more luxe.
(you can do this to new seam binding to make it look vintage!)

 
i popped the peat pot base inside a ribbed white ceramic mug
(could have used a terra cotta pot, too) to give the base more weight.
a handful of olive green eyelash yarn poked into the mug, around the pot,
keeps the topiary standing straight up.

finally, i combined the small hearts in a display with the large 'moss' heart:

now, maybe a mossy heart isn't your vibe - that's okay!

imagine these covered in rose petals in the color of your choice,
or maybe ground cinnamon, or a pretty loose leaf tea blend...
it's easy to adapt a the elements of a project to fit YOUR style,
helping you to create a home you love to live in.

btw: i have one MORE way to recreate these plastic hearts, 
coming up in my next post! 


related content:

'gilded' + faux concrete painted hearts (2023)

faux 'galvanized' + rose painted hearts  (2021)

shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #713

thank you for featuring my project, Donna! 


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