Christmas Elf Topiary

Grab your bucket or container that will not allow for seepage. Remember it must not be glass, because the foam will expand. Tip* Metal tins work the best.
Add some rocks to the bottom of your bucket to have some stability and support. It needs to be weighed down.
Add your Gap Filler expandable spray foam found at any hardware store, to the inside of your bucket/tin. Do not add more than ¼ up from the base on your tin of your spray foam. It will expand so leave yourself room. Tip* It will take about 48 hours to dry properly.
Once your spray foam has hardened for about 24 hours, insert your dowel rod into the center of foam, not going all the way down to the base of the bucket.
You will need a 6” large, hard foam ball to insert up top of your rod. Use hot glue to secure in place. It needs to be a good, sturdy work surface for your mesh additions later on.
Add a little hot glue inside your foam rod in spray filler to help with security. Goal is to have it straight up and down. Hold in place.

Grab your ribbons to begin covering up your foam spray in your base. Tip* You could use a Christmas garland instead if you like that look.
Grab a ribbon section and fold in half. Pinch in center and with your U-Pin, insert into your foam.
Repeat several times to fill up your base and keep it playful. The length of your ribbons is up to you.
Remember this is a whimsical look, so there is no wrong way to do this.
Once ribbons fill up your base, remember to dovetail the ends. Be sure to have fun with your ends, by curling a few here and there. Just play with it.

Grab your 10” mesh and cut into 10” sections. Don’t worry if you don’t have a cutting mat. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
We will need 7 pieces of each color. Create a bundle of mesh and move aside.
We may or may not use all of the mesh, so that is ok. We may need more. Just be flexible.

Stand up. This simple tip helps you to better work with your project and see it from all of the angles.
When rolling your mesh, roll it into a tight roll so it is about an inch in diameter. Remember to put your seem in down, and pinch in center.
Grab your U-Pin, and stick in through your ribbon roll and start at the top of your topiary.
You will repeat this step over and over, changing colors, filling in around your foam sphere. You can add them in a row, as you place.
Stay in order of your colors to keep it even throughout your topiary. Just eyeball it and have fun.
Be sure to keep your foam ball sturdy by placing your hand on the other side to provide support as you insert your mesh rolls into place.
As you add the mesh, it will help to naturally create a sphere like covering for your topiary.
Sit down and see if you need to add any more mesh underneath to complete your look. You want to hold onto your stick as you press in your U-Pin for security.
Eyeball what colors need to be where. Turn it around, move your angles of sight, etc.
Remember, you don’t have to cover every spot if you plan to add some embellishments.

Grab your Christmas picks of choice. I wanted to use Elf Legs. Tip* If your picks are not quite long enough to stick out from the mesh bundles, simply grab some duct tape and add it to a BBQ skewer. The tape will be hidden amongst your mesh and will provide you the added length you need to stand out.
Cut off about 2-3” of your BBQ to the length/height you need to attach to your pick. Roll the pick and BBQ skewer together with duct tape.
With a firm hand on the backside of the topiary, carefully insert your BBQ skewer/Christmas pick inside your foam ball.
Repeat with your picks where you want to add the embellishments.
When finished up, spin your topiary around. Determine any areas that could use some ribbon trimming or added love
Grab your Christmas rope to insert throughout. By creating a figure 8, and holding at center, insert into an open space on your topiary with a U-Pin. Tip* Add near your white mesh to add a new dimension and pop.