How to Make Peppermint Topiaries

Use candy to decorate your home for the holidays.

Create a whimsical candy centerpiece for a Christmas table or a cheerful holiday vignette, by making peppermint topiaries. The red and white candies will jump out from draped, green, pine garland decorations or a wintry table covered with snowflakes. Gather your family for a crafting activity during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, to make several peppermint topiaries as thoughtful gifts for family, friends, coworkers and teachers.

Things You'll Need

• Clay flower pot, 4 to 8 inches tall
• White acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Hot glue gun
• Foam floral brick
• Serrated knife
• Spanish moss
• 1/2-inch diameter wooden dowel, 36-inch length
• Measuring tape
• Jigsaw
• Brown acrylic paint
• 2, 6-inch foam balls
• Red acrylic paint
• 2 bags red and white peppermint disc candies
• 24 inches, 2-inch wide red or white ribbon
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Paint the outside of a clay flower pot using white acrylic paint. Use a pot you have available. The pot size should be at least four inches tall, but no larger than eight inches.

2. Apply hot glue to the inside bottom of the pot. Stand the short end of a foam floral brick in the pot on the glue. Use a serrated knife to cut off any excess foam extending from the rim of the pot.

3. Apply hot glue to the top of the floral foam. Place a handful of Spanish moss over the foam.

4. Cut two 15-inch lengths from a 36-inch length of a 1/2-inch diameter wooden dowel, using a jigsaw. Paint the 15-inch sections using brown acrylic paint.

5. Place a six-inch foam ball on your work surface. Center the end of one dowel on top of the ball. Push three inches of the dowel straight down into the ball. Remove the dowel. Repeat with another six-inch foam ball.

6. Paint the foam balls using red acrylic paint. Allow the paint to dry. Apply a second coat for complete coverage.

7. Center one end of one dowel in the center of the moss in the pot. Push three inches of the dowel straight down into the floral foam. Remove the dowel. Apply hot glue to the hole in the foam. Replace the dowel in the hole.

8. Apply hot glue inside the hole of one of the foam balls. Place the hole over the other end of the extended dowel.

9. Apply hot glue inside the hole of the other foam ball. Insert the remaining dowel into the hole. This is the top ball of the peppermint topiary.

10. Center the end of the dowel of the top ball on top of the ball attached to the pot. Push three inches of the dowel straight down into the bottom ball. Remove the ball. Apply glue inside the hole in the ball. Insert the dowel into the ball.

11. Unwrap two bags of red and white peppermint disc candies. Apply hot glue to one side of a peppermint. Place the peppermint---glue side down---on the top of the top ball. Apply glue to the back of additional peppermint candies. Place the candies as close to each other as possible, until the entire ball has been covered with candies. Repeat for the bottom ball.

12. Cut a 24-inch length of 2-inch wide red or white ribbon. Wrap the ribbon around the dowel, just above the bottom ball. Tie the ribbon into a bow. Trim the ends at an angle.

Tips & Warnings

• A white milk-glass pot or bowl can be substituted for the painted flower pot, thus eliminating the need to paint it.