Christmas Candy Topiary

This topiary would make a great centerpiece or gift! You will need: 4" f pot 6-10" length of thick dowel 3-4" diameter styrofoam ball Christmas candy in wrappers Green and red ribbon Acrylic paint: white, red and green Lace Straight pins Florist's styrofoam block Paint the f pot white. Allow to dry, then paint red stripes on the lip. Paint holly leaves and berries (or any other Christmas theme you like) on the bottom of the pot. Paint dowel white. Allow to dry, then paint red stripes. (Use masking tape to help you keep your lines even.) Cut florist's styrofoam to fit snugly into the pot. It's best to cut it a bit larger than you think, and then stuff the block into the pot securely. Insert one end of the dowel into the center of the styrofoam block. Then push the styrofoam ball onto the top of the dowel. Decorate the styrofoam ball by pinning layers of candies on it. For the example shown in the picture, we started with a row of red candies pinned to the very bottom of the ball. Then we gathered some lace, made small bows with the red and green ribbon and pinned them together to the ball. A peppermint candy was pinned to the center of each bow. Then we pinned on another row of candies, followed by another row of lace/bow/candies. The top of the ball is a double bow made with green and red ribbon, surrounded by peppermint candies. Fill the top of the pot with more Christmas candy on a bed of raffia, ribbon or lace to cover the styrofoam block. Make a large ribbon and attach it just under the ball. For fun, we stuck a tootsie pop bouquet into the base.