Hello friends! While we were blessed with a few cooler days the heat is back here in the Pacific Northwest and my tomatoes are loving it!
I cannot believe summer break is over in just a few weeks. It seems like once Labor Day arrives Fall is just days away and the long warm days give way to cooler temps and thoughts of pumpkins.
While summer is amazing and we look forward to those long sunny days, I must admit fall is my favorite. Fall reminds me of new school shoes, fresh crisp pee-chee’s and excitement ahead.
As our corn grows tall and the ears begin to get closer to harvest I dream of those stalks dried in bundles and sitting on our porch next to beefy pumpkins and cooler nights.
Since today’s project is about fruit in the form of a topiary, I thought I would share a sweet little watermelon from our cottage garden. This one will be ready to enjoy soon!
Today’s project is a DIY of something I have had my eye on for quite some time. I have always been drawn to the beauty of a topiary and this one is a bit different.
Instead of greenery the top is fruit, and in this case, faux fruit.
You can find these 1960’s gems on Etsy and other sites for anywhere from $400 to $1600 dollars. They made them either very colorful or pure white which I find interesting. I don’t remember seeing a lot of pure white mid century decor or artwork.
I am drawn to the white fruit topiaries because they feel kind of unfinished and raw. Perhaps some were left unpainted and folks liked the neutral option too.
I found this pot at Goodwill recently and some additional faux fruit for my craft hoard, and immediately thought of something grand.
Enter the fancy topiary, but this time on a thrifty gal budget.
When blogger Liz Marie shared a DIY for her fabulous take on the Italian fruit topiary, I knew this would be a great item to ease into fall decorating with!
So out came the big bag of faux fruit (I have more fruit so there is more to come!) hot glue, and heavy gauge wire.
And I already had two small crafting cones so with the help of a bamboo skewer, some hot glue and torn pieces of cardboard in the little pot base, I was ready to start gluing.
Some of the faux fruit already had a wire at the base, others I use heavy gauge wire and snipped a piece about 4″ long. About one inch of the wire went into the bottom of the fruit, and the rest into the topiary base as I worked my way up.
Some green leaves were perfect for tucking and gluing here and there to hide any gaps.
I gave it one final check for those pesky hot glue stings that are very good at hiding aren’t they?!
And it was time to give this fruit topiary and fresh coat of paint.
I actually used three coats of chalk spray paint, and decided against a fourth as I liked some of the pink from the fruit bleeding thru a bit.
While I can see this topiary on my mantel with fall leaves and decor tucked around her, I kept it simple and it is gracing an end table in our front living room.
Who knew that white spray-painted fruit could be so pretty?
I think you could use one of these just about anywhere in your home, those are always my favorite decorating elements it seems.
It’s like playing elf on the shelf with your family as they wonder each day what you have moved around and what new vignette you came up with now 🙂
I would love to hear what you are working on or if you are planning on relaxing and scrolling this weekend, either is a wonderful option!
I hope you have a blessed day friend, and know how much your following along means to me.
xo, Tanya
19 Responses
Super cute makeover Tanya!
Thank you so much Cindy! Now I need to figure out what to do with the rest of the faux fruit…maybe a garland 🙂 Hugs- Tanya
Gosh, Tanya!! You are on FIRE with these projects! This is incredible!! What a fabulous piece of Fall decor. The neutral color of it helps it to be styled so many different ways! Thanks so much for sharing at Home Imagined this week!
Thank you so much Rachel 🙂 as long as I don’t run out of hot glue or paint there is more to come! I hope you are having a fabulous week- Hugs, Tanya
This project turned out GREAT. This would look so cute incorporated into a tablescape. Thank you for linking up with Home Imagined.
Thank you Anna! I am super excited to use this topiary in decorating for Fall, I love your idea of a tablescape too! Thank you for stopping by, xo Tanya
Love this project Tanya… and honestly, I prefer the all over white look.
Thank you for sharing your DIY Italian Fruit Topiary project at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather party this week. I’m delighted to be featuring it at the party tonight and pinning too!
hugs,
Kerryanne
Thank you Kerryanne! You are so sweet, thank you and I prefer the white too 🙂 xoxo – Tanya
This is too cute Tanya! I love white for fall, so this is right up my alley. I will have to keep my eyes peeled for fruit for fall, and perhaps a perfect container to hold them all in.
Thank you so much Cara! I love white too, so many shades that can all look beautiful together 🙂 xo Tanya
This is super cute! It’s a wonderful idea. Also, I do like fall, but I don’t like that it’s the gateway to winter. I will keep my summer nights year round (if I could). Thank you for visiting Tell It To Me Tuesday!
I feel the same way! Fall is wonderful but winter nights (and getting dark earlier) I could pass on 🙂 Thank you so much Lyndsey! Hugs- Tanya
Hi Tanya – I am happy to share that your post will be featured in our Home Imagined Link Party tomorrow.
Thank you so much Anna, that means a lot and I really appreciate the feature! Hugs 🙂 xo Tanya
This article is a delightful read! I love how you’re embracing fall even though summer’s still lingering. The idea of turning a thrifty find into a fancy fruit topiary is super cool. I’m picturing that white topiary looking all elegant. It’s interesting that mid-century decor in white is less common. Have you ever tried making other DIY home decor from thrift store finds? And what do you think would be the best way to display this topiary to really show it off?
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