Topiary Trees

"Lollipop Trees" make fun party favours.

These topiary-look mini trees are fun to make - and much easier to craft than they look. The secret: a mock kusudama-origami flower ball. To make it, punched paper flowers are glued on to a paper ball. The flowers are made using
Tonic Studios Petal Pairs punches - both the original size and the slightly smaller Petal Pairs Petites.

 Here's how to assemble the flower ball:

The flower ball is a dodecahedron - a 12-sided shape, exactly the same as that used for a fabric patchwork ball. It looks a bit like a cartoon cracked egg. You match the points to assemble the halves of the egg. Two colours have been used in the photo for clarity. You can glue the tabs on the outside of the shape - they won't show when the flowers are glued on top. Make sure there is a hole punched in the bottom face of the ball - this will take the lollipop stick.

Here's the template for the ball:

Once the paper ball is assembled, punch out your Petal Pairs flowers. For each flower, three layers are interlocked. The flower centres are Craftwork Cards Card Candi paper domes. Attach the Card Candi with sticky foam squares. Glue a flower onto each face of the paper ball (use PVA or glue dots). You must punch a hole in the centre of the flower on the bottom face of the ball - this is for the lollipop stick to pass through. 



The lollipop stick comes 15cm (6in) long. Cut it down to 12cm (5in). Colour the lollipop stick with a yellow felt tip. Spiral a strip of green quilling paper around the lollipop stick, gluing at the top and bottom.

The assembly instructions for the topiary tub are on the pattern template:

You can also use the flowerpot tubs to hold cake pops or lollipops!

The stick support is a square frame with a hole in the top. It sits in the bottom of the tub to receive the bottom of the lollipop stick. Put a dab of glue on each end of the lolliop stick: the top that is inserted into the flower ball and the base, which goes into the stick support.

Glue the tray onto the tub bottom. Glue the tub mat under the tray.

The finishing touch is a pretty taffeta bow. You need about 30cm (12in) of 12mm(5/8in) ribbon for each bow.

Stuff I used: Tonic Studios Petal Pairs Punches (originals and Petites), Wild Rose Studio Valetta Garden 6 x 6 paper pack, Craftwork Cards Card Candi, Bazill Basics cardstock, Wilton lollipop sticks.

You can also make mock-kusudama flower balls to use as ornaments or windchimes - but that's another post.

Big thanks to my daughter, Leah, for being photographer and style consultant!