Topiary trees have become somewhat popular lately, but I just don’t have the room for a big one. So I decided to make this mini topiary tree to sit on a shelf. And it cost less than $4 to make!

Welcome to August! I can’t believe we’re over half-way through the year. I really thought this year was going to just drag by. Some days have, though, I guess, but now it’s just flying by.

Its seems like after July the weeks and months go so fast! Am I the only one that feels that way?

Anyway, it’s the beginning of a new month, which means a fun DIY with some great DIY bloggers hosted by Terrie. She always comes up with some great challenge ideas for us!

If you’re here from Christine’s blog, welcome! I’m so happy to have you here!

This month our challenge was to make something using dowel rods. I had so many ideas of things to make, but I chose to make this mini topiary tree so I could put it on my bathroom shelf.

After my post I’ll share links to the other DIY’s so you can see their amazing ideas, too.

How to make a mini topiary tree

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!

What you need:

  • 1/4 inch foam balls
  • 5/16 inch dowel rod
  • reindeer moss (I got mine from Dollar Tree)
  • succulent flower pot
  • hot glue gun
image via Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree has these cute little succulent pots in different colors. I forgot to take a picture of it before I removed the succulent, but this is similar to the one I got, except the succulent is green.

What you do

  1. Remove the succulent from the pot and cut your dowel rod to about 4 inches long.
  2. Slide one end of the dowel rod into the styrofoam that’s inside the little succulent pot.
  3. Slide the styrofoam ball onto the other end of the dowel rod. To make this easier, I stuck the end of a ballpoint pen in the foam ball to make a tiny hole. You now have the base for your mini topiary tree.
  4. Using hot glue, place reindeer moss all over the styrofoam inside the succulent pot. Just cover up the bottom so you can’t see the styrofoam.
  5. After that part is dry, do the same thing to cover the styrofoam ball. Once the styrofoam ball is covered, trim up the reindeer moss to make it look less straggly. Tip: If your hot glue gun has a lower setting, use that because if the glue is too hot it will melt the styrofoam.
  6. Let the hot glue dry and your mini topiary tree is complete!
Step 1 – make the base

Step 2 – cover the styrofoam in the pot with reindeer moss
Step 3 – cover the foam ball with the reindeer moss
Step 4 – trim the reindeer moss

I think the mini topiary tree is so cute! It’s great for sitting on shelves in areas where you don’t have a lot of space.

Next, let’s see what Liberty created for this month’s dowel rod challenge.

Keep scrolling to see what the other creative bloggers came up with month for the dowel rod challenge.

Click here to see all of my Dollar Tree DIY’s!

More dowel rod DIY inspiration:

Thank you for sharing!
Michelle

Michelle lives on a small homestead with her husband, daughter, 6 silly hens, 1 crazy rooster, 2 lazy cats, and 1 rescue dog. She loves DIYs, frugal living, crocheting, and reading. She's also a full-time proofreader.

View Comments

  • What a cute decor piece that cost little to nothing to make. I need one or two for our home!

  • Oh my goodness, Michelle your mini topiary is SO cute! I actually have one of these little pots, I'll just need to get the styrofoam! Such a fun idea for my mini shelf in my home office! Thanks for the inspiration!

  • This is so adorable. I have a bunch of those mini succulent pots left over from a project I did using just the succulents. Now I know what I can do with them.

  • Small stuff just brings out the "Aww" factor for me. Yep, you guessed it, your DIY made me feel all fuzzy inside. That is such a cute little tree!

    Great tip about turning down the hot glue gun setting when working with styrofoam. It's something I wouldn't have known, as someone who doesn't have the crafting gift you do!

    I love your creations, Michelle. They are fun, creative, and one-of-a-kind. I'm grateful you share them here with all of us. There's a whole lot of people out there de-stressing and getting creative all because of you!

    BIG hugs and much love to you, my friend. ?

    • I love small stuff, too. I'm obsessed with dollhouses and miniatures! I wish I had room for it all! :)
      I learned the hard way about the hot glue melting styrofoam. Let's just say that was a project fail and a huge mess! :D
      Aww...thank you so much! You're so sweet and I appreciate you so much.
      Sending big hugs and love your way!! :)

      • It might have been a project fail, but I bet it gives you some good laughs looking back on it now. :D We must admit, sometimes our fails are hilarious.

        You're awesome, Michelle. Never forget it!

  • This is so darn cute! Now I want to make one! This would be a perfect addition to my tiered tray. It is always difficult to find things small enough to display on it! Pinned!

    • Thank you so much! It would be perfect for a tiered tray! Great idea! Thank you for pinning! :)

  • So cute! I love it! And it doesn't look too difficult for someone like me who is not too crafty! :)

    • Thank you! LOL! It's super easy to do. Just a little messy with the moss. You could totally do it! :)

  • This definitely looks like a fun project Michelle! Thanks for sharing. Hope that you’re having a great week!??

    • Thank you so much! :) I'm glad the week is almost over, lol. I hope your week has been well!

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