I adore topiary trees. The French vibe and round shape is so pretty and cute at the same time. I always wanted one and probably around 15 years ago, I was finally able to afford one on Christmas clearance. It was pre-lit with the pine-style branches. It wasn’t the ideal tree I would have chosen if I could buy whatever I liked, but I loved it and displayed it proudly at my front door outside for all to see.
As the years went by, the extreme heat and cold of harsh Iowa weather took its toll and my poor little tree was left looking pretty sad. Some of the string lights died and I spent a long time clipping them off and replacing them. I loved that little tree and didn’t have the heart to throw it out, but after that first repair it was becoming a bit embarrassing. Still, I knew there must be something I could do to save it instead of throwing it out to sit in a landfill for all time. I could just order a new one, but that would cost me about $175.
With living in a small town, my shopping options are limited, but there is a gem of a little place called Golden Buys Truckload Sale. They get trucks full of products from various stores (especially one of my favorite stores which might be Target), and they posted a photo one day of topiary trees for sale. They weren’t quite the right look I wanted, but they did have a faux hedge wall and suddenly, I got the idea. I didn’t know if it would work, but since the panel was only $15, I was excited to try.
The panel is a 10.76′ size square made of 4 squares snapped together that you can pull apart. It conveniently came with green zip ties too! I simply lifted off each ball of the tree, wrapped a square piece over it from the top, and gathered it using the zip ties. For the top, smallest ball, I cut the square down a bit more to fit better. It only took me about 20 minutes and it was DONE! It was one of the fastest, easiest, and most cost-effective projects I’ve ever done. And whenever Christmas comes around, I have a string of white lights to wrap around it to make it festive.
One of the best parts of this project was the unforeseen BONUS piece which I put on the wall above my desk with a neon cherry light, and I love it.
What ways have you done an up-cycle? Let me know with a comment!
Looks so fresh and even real!