Nesting Jute Candycorn Topiaries

Here is the tutorial I promised you on making Jute Candycorn.   I looked around the craft store, the dollar store, and the internet for ideas on making the forms.  I was not about to pay for foam forms, they were too pricey for me.  I have seen people making cone topiaries with rolled paper cones as the form, but that was too fragile for us.  My girls love to handle and rearrange all the fun holiday decor.  That is when I came across my stash of plastic grid in the garage.  This stuff is cheap, flexible, and sturdy.  It was perfect.

I grabbed a sheet and rolled it to the basic width I had in mind.  I threaded a pipe cleaner though the overlapping pieces and twisted it tight to hold the shape while I glued and trimmed.  I trimmed the top and bottom so whey would sit flat.  I sealed the edge using hot glue. Be careful on this part, glue oozes through the squares of the grid.  Next I cut a circle out to fit flat on top, and glued it in place as well.  Repeat for each cone, making them gradually smaller.  Now you have cone forms that are sturdy and flexible, and will nest for storage! A definite bonus.

 

Keep that hot glue gun on, it is time to wrap the jute.  This will take a little while, but doing it while watching a show or something proved too distracting to me, and I have the hot glue burns to prove it.

Begin by gluing the end of your Jute to the top of the cone. Lay it right across the circle and glue it in the middle.  Then twist the jute around the center glue to form a tight loop.  From here, continue looping and gluing

Keep wrapping and gluing all the way down. I glued every 3 or 4 rows with a dab of glue.

 Once the jute is glued on, debate as to whether or not you should even paint them, because they look so cute plain, too! Or just make another set. :)

Then I got out sponge brushes and craft paint.  I put very little paint on my brush, then dabbed it onto the jute to avoid a caked on appearance.  Here are the brands and colors I used. I got all these paints from Hobby Lobby. Click the image to enlarge.