Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tomato Cages in December



What do you do with tomato cages in December?  Make a holiday topiary of course!

I don't know who the first person was to think up turning tomato cages into topiaries, but they deserve the Nobel craft prize.  Every year I eye those gorgeous holiday topiaries...and every year I can't bring myself to spend $80 on two trees.  But this year tomato cage topiaries have been popping up all over Pinterest and the blogosphere...and I had to get in on that!


What could be simpler?  A tomato cage...some garland...a strand of lights and a bow to top it off.  In my typical fashion, I didn't actually read any tutorials, I just jumped right in.  And now I have a million little scratches on my hands.  I HIGHLY recommend wearing gloves.  Learn from my impulsiveness :)


These took me a few hours to make - mostly because of how long it took to wire all of the lights in place.  If you go with a draped light approach, you could have these done in a half hour.


I used 33 inch tomato cages and 4 strands of cheap, 9 foot garland from Walmart.  You need the wired garland to wrap around the tomato cage frame as you go.


IMG_0411



I just wrapped the garland round and round, starting from the top


IMG_0415



To make sure the garland stays in place, I twisted a wired branch around each of the vertical legs on every layer.  When I got to each of the horizontal support frames, I twisted a few of the wired branches around the frame all the way around.


IMG_0416



Once the cage was all wrapped in garland, it was time to add some lights


IMG_0418



I wired the lights on from the inside.  This was absolutely the most time consuming part.  I stuck the entire strand of lights inside the cage and tried to space the strand evenly along the inside before I started.


IMG_0419



To make symmetry a little easier, I had the light strand plugged in while I worked.


IMG_0420



To wire each bulb in place, just poke it through from the inside and wrap a wired branch around the base of the bulb.  Repeat 100 times...


IMG_0421



I topped my topiaries off with a red velvet bow with streamers.


IMG_0422
(please disregard all the madness in the background - Christmas crafting is a time of clutter and chaos)

And here they are in place :)
IMG_0547



Grand total for each topiary...$17 :)

I participate in the following link parties: Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Miss Crafty Pants, Super Stinky Boys, Mad In Crafts, Embellishing Life Everyday, Keeping It Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, Chocolate Drool & Kisses, Simply Cadence, Polly Wanna Crafter, Sew Can Do, Tip Junkie, My Frugal Family, Coastal Charm, New Nostagalia, Blessed with Grace, The Creative Itch, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Home Stories A to ZThe Lettered Cottage, A Bowl Full of Lemons, At Home with K, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Not Just a Housewife, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, My Backyard Eden, Gluesticks, Extreme Personal Measures, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Someday Crafts, All Things Heart and Home, Elements Interiors, My Girlish Whims, DIY by Design, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Black Kat Design, Thrifty 101, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, Poppies at Play, The Inspired Room, KoJo Designs, Whipperberry, Inspiring CreationsRomantic Home, The Speckled Dog, At the Picket Fence, Little Brick Ranch, Designer Garden, Simply Sweet Home, Simply Designing, Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, Saturday Morning Blog, It's a Crafty Life, I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Jewish Mom, Flamingo Toes, The DIY Showoff, Marvelously Messy, Nifty Thrifty Things, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Cottage Chick, Running with Glitter, One Artsy Mama, Dittle Dattle, Southern Lovely, Naptime Creations, Ladybird Ln,

7 comments:

karah said...

These came out great! I love the idea, so thrifty and festive. Happy Holidays!
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

Erin said...

What an awesome idea. I have a stack of tomato cages in my garage right now!

Carol, The Answer Is Chocolate said...

Such a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing at this week's BFF Open House!

Ladybird Ln said...

Wow, what a fun idea, and great way to use those tomato cages year around! Thanks for showing off! Carlee
www.ladybirdln.com

Jen Rollins said...

Great idea! i have been wrapping my 'leftover' garland around everything and this would be another way to use it!! Would love for you to take a look at www.sassypantsstudio.blogspot.com - Thanks!

Chatty Chics said...

Love it! Way to create something adorable on a budget!
Melody
Chattychics.com
PS I'm having a party on Wednesday. Come join in!

Ladybird Ln said...

PS, I showed this off!

http://www.ladybirdln.com/2011/12/twas-night-before-christmasfeatures.html

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails