DIY “I Love You” Candy Topiary

Valentine’s Day is not always the biggest holiday on our calendars, but the day of love can bring smiles and surprises. A festive handmade topiary is a perfect way to bring the lovely colors of the holiday into your home in a fun and cost-conscious way. Learning the technique is easy and one that you can translate into projects any season.

8-Inch Decorative Planter

“I Love You” Candy Topiary

For this project you will need to gather the following materials:

• styrofoam topiary sphere
• 3 or 4 boxes of candy “I Love You” hearts
• dowel rod
• small flower pot
• cube of floral foam to fit inside the flower pot
• green florist tape
• hot glue gun
• dried moss

Step 1:
Secure the candy hearts onto the Styrofoam sphere. With one drop of glue on the back of each heart, start at the top of the sphere and wind around the sphere keeping the candy so close that you can not see any of the foam underneath. Once you reach the bottom of the sphere, leave a small space to insert the dowel rod.

Step 2:
Wrap your dowel rod with green florist tape winding from one end up to the other covering the entire length. Insert the dowel rod into the bottom axis of the candy-covered sphere. The dowel rod should be inserted far enough to ensure that the sphere is secure and centered.

Step 3:
Choose a flower pot that is beautiful and in balance with the topiary sphere. It should be wide enough to make sure that your topiary won’t topple. Insert the florist foam into the flower pot. The free end of your dowel rod should be inserted all the way into the foam and flower pot. If you notice there is still a problem with stability, you could add some stones to the pot for added weight.

Step 4:
Add some details to really dress up the whole piece Cover the floral foam in the pot with some dried moss or more of the candy hearts used on the sphere. For an added sparkly touch, spray the topiary with spray adhesive and sprinkle with glitter.

This project is so simple but yields a beautiful look. This topiary looks amazing in your bedroom, on a console table in your foyer, or even on a tablescape at the dinner table. Your friends will ask where they can buy one.

About the Author
Allison Cooper is an editor and writer for the Beyond Stores blog.  When not writing or thinking of fun DIY ideas like the one in this article, Allison likes doing arts and crafts projects with her 2 kids.