Easter Egg "Topiaries"

A few years ago I copied Christmas topiaries from Grandinroad catalogue. I used styrofoam balls, plaster of Paris, and wood. It was an intense and long process and not one I really wanted to repeat plus it was pricey, though not nearly as much as the original. But they also had a  spring version which was so happy and beautiful! 

Materials:

2- 6’ fence pickets cut to 4’

1 easel back (one of the 2’ offcuts)

3 cleats (from the other offcut)

Nail gun and nails

1 hinge

14” string or wire

staple gun and staples

primer and brush

poster board pattern

design patterns

carbon paper

pencil

paint and brushes

Steps:

• Create a pattern.
• Trace half of topiary pattern on one picket.
• Cut it out with a jigsaw or bandsaw.
• Flip the pattern and repeat. (The flipping ensures that your topiary will be symmetrical.)
• Using a nail gun or screws,  attach the two halves together with the cleats.

• Prime. I used a bonding and stain blocking version of Kilz and it did a great job!

• Attach the easel back to the middle cleat with a hinge. 

• Use string stapled to the bottom of the easel and the topiary to keep it from sliding open too far.

• On white paper, create designs. Make them appear to curve around a surface so they will look three dimensional. I used the Grandinroad catalogue. (No shame!)
• But I also used an actual egg. I drew polka dots and took a photo. Then I printed it out to match the size of my wooden topiary eggs. 

• Using carbon paper, trace your design onto the prepared surface.

• Paint. I used house paint sample pots.

• Add shading using a hatching technique or a dry brush.
• Add white highlights down the center to really make it 3-D.

•  Finally, show off your work!