diy: tissue paper pom-poms

diy tissue paper pom-poms

i made and hung these fun and festive tissue paper pom-poms in the trees for my kiddos train-themed birthday party. i originally got the idea from the fabulous martha stewart, of course. they are *super* easy to make and added to the ambiance of the backyard celebration. 

here is what you will need:

tissue paper (20 inches x 30 inches). Choose one to three colors, or similar shades of the same color, to keep things from looking like a circus.

scissors 

monofilament: aka fishing line (photo below of the one i found at a local sporting goods store that worked well).

wire. white, if you can find it. i couldn't and ended up opting for a thin wire that i was able to find at home depot instead of the traditional floral wire. worked like a charm.

directions:

stack four to eight the sheets of paper on top of one another, depending on you puffy you want them to be. i ended up using 10 for each one to make the large and puffy enough to work in the trees.

now, fold the sheets into 1.5-inch accordion folds, all the way across.

cut the ends of the tissue into round shapes, to give them a petal-like look.

cut about a foot and a half length of floral wire.

wrap the wire around the center of the folded tissue and secure it by twisting.

now the final part! pull apart each layer, separating it from the center one piece at a time. do this slowly and carefully. you don't want to rip the tissue paper.

measure the length you'd like to hang your pom pom from and cut a piece of monofilament accordingly.


knot the monofilament to the floral wire and hang!

i actually wish that i had made even more to fill the trees and maybe to hang from the porch, so don't be shy......make more than you think you will need.


i think that they turned out so cute. what do you think?

diy: happy birthday balloon wreath tutorial

we used this balloon wreath on the front door to welcome guests at the boys birthday choo choo train party. it was simple to make and i know that it will be a fun, festive tradition to hang it on the door around celebrations for years and years to come.

supplies needed:

straw wreath (you pick the size in relation to your front door). remember that the bigger the wreath, the more balloons you will need. (note: do *not* take the plastic off the wreath or it will shed).

floral greening u shaped pins you can find them in the floral section of your favorite local craft store (i got these at michael's).

9" laytex balloons--i used around 12 packs of 25, but the amount that you use depends on the size of wreath that you use and how full you want the wreath to look.

directions:

take balloons and pin them into the straw wreath. i pinned them two at a time. simply put the balloons in the middle of the u shaped pin and stick tightly into the straw wreath. 

make sure balloons are close together to avoid any gaps.

line entire front, inside curve and outside rim of the wreath with balloons.

this only takes a few hours (yes, hours. i know....not *crazy* fast....but not so bad either). i made mine while watching my favorite shows at night after the kiddos had gone to bed (and there my or may not have been a few glasses of red wine involved). it was fun, is simple, beautiful and will be around for years and years of celebrations to come.

share with us photos of your finished creation--we would *love* to see it! are you on pinterest? follow us and we wold love to follow you back. (we are borderline obsessed with pinterest. is there a 12 step program for pinterest addiction?)