7 Simple Steps to Make a DIY Christmas Ball Topiary

7 Materials
$20
30 Minutes
Easy

Let’s make a faux DIY Christmas ball topiary for the porch. It's so easy to create and will look gorgeous during the holidays.


This post was transcribed by a member of the Hometalk editorial team from the original HometalkTV episode.

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DIY Christmas topiary

I have this plastic urn that I'm going to use for this project.  

Wedging floral foam into an urn

1. Add floral foam to the urn

The first thing I want to do is wedge a piece of floral foam tightly into the urn.

Trimming floral foam

2. Trim the floral foam

Next, I trim the foam so it is sitting just beneath the top of my urn. 

Inserting a wooden dowel into floral foam

3. Insert a wooden stick into the floral foam

My next step is to insert a wooden stick right into the middle of the floral foam.

Drilling a pilot hole into a Styrofoam ball

4. Push the Styrofoam balls over the stick

Using my drill, I am making a pilot hole in the large Styrofoam ball so it is easier to push over the dowel rod.

 

Sliding a Styrofoam ball over a dowel rod

Next, I’m going to slide the ball onto the wooden stick and push it right down to the bottom.  

How to make a Christmas topiary

I will also add a smaller ball to the top of the stick.  

Floral pins to attach garlands

5. Wrap the Styrofoam balls with faux greenery garlands and Christmas picks

To decorate the balls, I need some floral pins. These will keep all of the greenery in place.  

Faux greenery garland

I grabbed some of these garlands at the Dollar Store and they are going to be the base of the balls.  

DIY Christmas ball topiary

I will cover both balls with garlands. I found it easiest to start attaching the garland at the top of the ball. 

Wrapping a Styrofoam ball with a faux greenery garland

I used the floral pins to hold the garland in place as I wrapped it around the ball.

DIY Christmas topiary idea

Once those garlands are in place, I want to add some that have a little more volume to them.  

Fluffing the branches of a faux foliage garland

I start by fluffing the branches up.  

Securing a faux greenery garland to a Styrofoam ball

Then, I'm going to take the floral pins and secure the fluffy garlands to the ball making sure to cover up any bare spots. Using these faux greenery garlands helps to quickly decorate the Styrofoam balls.  

Adding Christmas picks to decorate the Styrofoam ball

Now, before I jump up to the top I'm going to go ahead and add all kinds of evergreen and Christmas picks. I love using the holly ones because the white looks so pretty against the green.  

How to make a Christmas topiary

Now that I have finished the bottom, I'm going to go up to the top and do the exact same thing. I start by adding the fuller garland. 

 

Decorating the smaller ball with Christmas picks

Then add some Christmas picks.  

Adding red berries to the DIY Christmas topiary

6. Add festive red berries

I finish both balls off with some festive red berries.  

Painting the wooden stick of the DIY Christmas topiary

7. Paint the wooden stick

Since I decided to leave the stick in the middle as it was, I ended up covering it with brown paint to make it look more natural.  

DIY Christmas topiary on porch

DIY Christmas ball topiary

Finally, it’s time to put our DIY Christmas topiary on the porch and enjoy its beauty during the holiday season.


I hope my project inspired you to make your own topiary for Christmas. Share your photos in the comment section below so I can see your wonderful creations.

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Chloe Crabtree
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • N. G. Londonderry N. G. Londonderry on Dec 08, 2022

    How did you push a good dimension sized stick through those styrofoam balls without drilling a hole through them.?

  • Betty Smith Betty Smith on Dec 09, 2022

    What size styrofoam balls did you use and how long and how big around wooden stick did you use?

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