My cousin's daughter turned one on Saturday. It was a very special day because Abbi had been hoped and prayed for. She became a part of our family through adoption. Also, Abbi's finalization was earlier in August, so she was legally a part of our family. She is a happy girl and such a sweetheart.
To go along with her ladybug theme party, I volunteered to make ribbon topiaries. This was my first experience making them so I am sharing a few hints in your topiary-making endeavors.
1. Pick out really cute ribbon. I used 4 different patterns of ribbon. I don't think I would use a slew of different patterns and colors. You want to be able to see the different ribbon, but also have it look cohesive. I cut the pieces in 3-inch strips.
2. Get your glue gun ready! I mistakenly got foam discs for the base, so I glued them together. I also glued the dowel rod into the base, as well as the head. Glue everything together first before adding the ribbon. Since I was traveling with these, my glue gun became a live saver when one topiary became a little lopsided.
3. Choose a neutral paint color for the dowel rod. The ladybug theme was red, black and white, so it was pretty easy to choose black for the rod.
4. It all starts with one. Choose your starting spot. I decided to start at the bottom and put one of each color at the base. Then I worked my way up.
5. Here comes the pinning. I made a ribbon Halloween wreath last year and I hot glued all the ribbon. This time, I used straight pins. It was much less messy and saved my fingers from being burned.
6. Be patient. This is a project that takes a little bit of time. Put in a good movie and keep working.
7. Marvel at your beautiful ribbon-filled topiary. Because it looks awesome and you created it!
8. Finish it up. I used a little metal bucket from Hobby Lobby as the base for the topiary. I have seen some with flower pots that are really cute too, but I was lazy and didn't want to spray paint one. But in the end, I liked the contrast of the metal. I added a strip of ribbon around the top to spruce it up and stuffed in tissue paper for some frill.
9. Show it off! If I do say so myself, we had Pinterest-worthy cake and dessert table set up. It looked FABULOUS!!
We had a great day celebrating Abbi! Next on the topiary list will be a Mickey-inspired creation for my niece's first birthday party on Labor Day. I better get to work!
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