Dum Dum Topiary.

   Last week, my daughter's teacher gave the parents an opportunity to help the class out with some supplies and items. I enjoy helping the school in any way, so, I took a look at the list of what the teacher needed. Colored paper, highlighters, sticky-notes, etc., and Dum Dums! I immediately thought of making one of the Dum Dum topiaries I've seen on Pintrest. Here's how I made mine:

 

Supplies:

• 5 inch foam ball
• small square piece of foam
• small tin container for the base
• 3 small dowel rods (about 8 inches long)
• 3 bags of Dum Dums (1 lb. bags)
• ribbon
• hot glue gun





5 in. foam ball, 3 dowels, a bag of Dum Dums, and a small, square piece of foam.

My tin, some ribbon, and a bag of Dum Dums.

   First, I cut off several chunks of the small square piece of foam and hot glued them down into my tin. This step is just for the stability of the foam ball. (You could used any kind of container for your topiary, a tin, a flower pot, a little basket, etc.) I added foam about 3/4 of the way up inside of the tin. Then, I stuck the 3 dowels down into the foam chunks, in a triangle pattern, about an inch apart. The length of your dowels really depends on the height of your container. I cut the dowels off 1 inch above the rim on the tin.







 Next, I added the Dum Dums to the foam ball. This was actually a little challenging for me. :) I tried to make sure they were evenly spaced, all sticking out at the same height, and look like they had a little bit of a pattern.

   After I'd covered half of the ball, I decided it was time to place it in my tin. I pushed it down on the 3 dowels until it reached the foam that was in the glued into the tin. It felt really secure. Then, I finished covering the ball with the Dum Dums. The bottom row of Dum Dums were pushed up from below, with their sticks going upward into the ball of foam. I did that so the topiary would have a very round shape, rather than a half-sphere shape.

   The last thing I did was hot glue a small, green bow to the tin, up near the rim. (Most of my crafts end up with at least one bow on them!)  If I had used a flower pot, with a wide, flat edge around the rim, I probably would have glued a ribbon around that edge before adding the bow.

     I hope the kids have as much fun enjoying the Dum Dums as I did making this topiary. :)