Weddingbee

by wsukarebear 

I knew I could DIY and I think this project was successful! My mom and I made four pomanders for hanging from shepherd’s hooks from the entrance of the wedding venue. These are wonderfully bright and should look awesome!

Steps:
1. Bought the styrofoam balls (about 7 inches), Spanish moss, ribbon, and spray adhesive from Joanne’s Fabrics. Bought the silk gerbera daisies at WalMart. My mom already owned a hot glue gun, extra glue and wires (that we used).
2. First we used a metal shish kabob skewer (of all things) to create a half-centimeter wide hole through the center of the styro ball. The shish kabob skewer was the only thing strong enough to make a straight line through the middle.
3. My mom already had foot-long wire, so we took one and created a little loop at the end. We cut the ribbon about 4 feet long, knowing if it was too long we could cut it, but it’s harder of course to add on if it’s too short. We had two 15 ft. spools. I sent the ribbon through the loop on the wire, and “threaded” the ribbon through. So, at the top of the ball there was a loop and all the excess hung nicely out the bottom of the ball.
4. We secured the ribbon with hot glue at the top and bottom where the ribbon leaves the ball (it melts the styro a little). My mom taped paper around the ribbon to protect it in the spray glue process.
5. The moss was messy, but this was a detail we wanted to add..for fun, I guess. First we really worked the moss to get small, fine pieces and not chunks.
6. Sprayed the styro balls and then pressed/applied the moss by hand. Also just rolled the ball through the moss (which was on newspaper) and tapped all the loose moss off. Repeated that process two or three times to get good coverage.

7. The nice thing about spray glue was that it took no time to dry! So, we hung them for maybe five minutes and brought them in. My mom pre-clipped the daisies from their bunches and left a one and a half inch stem.
8. I stuck the daisies in and did not secure them–I think they are just fine! I did leave a little space because we wanted the moss to show through.

We were extremely happy with the result. I am still going stick some “blingy” crystals in the balls so they sparkle. This pic makes them look even brighter than they are, since the daisies actually have a sheen that normal silks do not (we liked it–we’re sparkle-y, sheen-y people).  

Tips/Things I’ve Thought About:
-Just buy more flowers than you would ever think would be necessary. If there are extras, you’ll find something to do with them. We finished three of four pomanders and my mom went the next day to get more flowers and bought enough for more balls. Ha ha…

-We might have used a less sheer, a beefier ribbon. I think they look great, but an orange satin ribbon might have been nice.

-Realize the first ball will always take longer. Ours was the “the dummy” and was trial-and-error. It was a little more beat up, but of course you can’t tell any more.

-We had to remember that we are hanging them from shepherd’s hooks, so we don’t want them to hang too low to the ground (since the hooks aren’t THAT tall). Whatever your plan is for the pomanders, keep that thought in your head the whole time so they don’t hang too high or low.

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