Festive Holly Cone

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Designer: Stacey Kingman

I always wonder what to do for a thoughtful hostess gift -- I want it to be personal, seasonal, and not overdone. I think this little project will be a great one! It’s handmade (personal), holiday/winter themed (doesn’t say “Merry Christmas” so it will work through the whole holiday season), and it’s thoughtful but not overwhelming. I used tiny glass ornaments and some holly leaves, and my Fiskars floral tools made it so easy!

Difficulty rating

Instructions (Print version)

1. The day before you want to arrange the project, make a paper cone to fit inside the topiary cone. Tape the outside and mist the inside with water. Fill one third of  the cone with Floral Spray Foam. Allow the foam to expand for a few minutes before adding another layer and repeat misting.  Be sure to stop about 3 inches from the top of the cone to allow the foam room to expand.  Finish with misting and allow to cure 12-24 hours before arranging flowers or trimming the foam.

2.  Cut the top of the paper cone with No. 8 Scissors and cut the foam with the Floral Multi-Snip to fit into the Topiary Cone. Cover the outside of the paper cone with paper, fabric, paint, or glitter. I used old paper, covered it with ink, then added some liquid adhesive and sprinkled silver glitter.
3. Cut one yard of ribbon and tie each end to the sides of the cone. Adjust the length of the ribbon as necessary to find your ideal hanging length.
4. Cut bushes apart with the Professional Grade Stem Cutter and the Floral Multi-Snip. To easily manipulate leaves that only have plastic stems rather than wire ones, tape the plastic leaf stem to the wire stem with Floral Tape. For this project, I used one set of leaves per one wire stem, and I wrapped the plastic leaf stems tightly to adhere them to the longer wire stem. This wire will go easily into the foam, but if your wire is larger in diameter, attach a Floral Pick to the end to make the piece easy to place into the foam. (The photo shows the progression from leaves and wire to taped picks.)

5. Place glittery berry picks throughout, shorter ones in front and on the sides, slightly taller ones in the back.
6. Using the Wrapped Wire Roll, string ornaments and bells around the wide part of the cone, weaving the wire in and out of the cone for added stability. This creates a “collar” of brightly colored ornaments and festively jingling bells that will be visible only in part through the holly leaves, adding significant color and sparkle to your project. Leave the back section empty so the cone can hang flat against a wall, if necessary.
7. Create ornament picks by stringing ornament(s) and bell on Wrapped Floral Wire. Fold wire in half, twist, and tape. Secure a Floral Pick to the bottom with the 3-in-1 Fastener.
8. Secure holly leaves down as necessary with the Portable Glue Gun.

Supplies:

Fiskars : 01-004726 Professional Grade Stem Cutter

Fiskars : 01-004803 3-in-1 Fastener

Fiskars : 01-004988 Portable Glue Gun

Fiskars : 01-004747 Floral Multi-Snip

Fiskars : 01-004806 Floral Pick Refill

Fiskars : 01-004774 Topiary Cone – 12 inch

Fiskars : 01-004729 Floral Tape Dispenser

Fiskars : 94667097 No. 8 Scissors

Fiskars : 01-004768 Floral Spray Foam

Fiskars : 01-004743 Wrapped Wire Roll

Other – holly bush, berry picks, ribbon, glass ornaments, bells, paper