Shake Your Pom Pom

June 12th, 2009 @ 11:05 am by Mrs. Bunny

I’ve been searching high and low for things I can use to decorate our barn that are 1. beautiful and 2. inexpensive.

With these two criteria in mind, the ubiquitous tissue paper pom has been at the top of my list for a while. Honestly, the idea seemed too easy. I was bound to screw up the DIY aspect of the project. Could it really be as easy as it looked?

My fears were confirmed when I tested my fan-folding technique on another wedding craft. I am an abject failure at fan folds. My folds are never ever even! My poms would be hideous! I shouldn’t even try!

Nonetheless, the necessity to clean out the backseat of my car – and thus, remove the pile of white tissue paper that had been lurking there since I wrapped an impromptu shower gift several months ago – pushed me to see if I could manage a paper pom.

I counted out eight sheets of white paper and began folding. The folds were uneven, as usual, but I decided to let perfection go and see how it turned out before I gave up.

My project ran into a speed bump when I whipped out my scissors to round the folded ends of the paper.

I slipped and cut my hand! Ouch! I found that cutting half of the folded sheets at a time worked better for me … You’ll get less blood on your pom that way.

Slowly, I pulled each sheet up and toward the middle …

Success! Even DIY challenged moi can make a tissue pom!

My roommate’s cat Steve wonders whether I really could have made such a beautiful thing all by myself.

Add a little ribbon and we’re good to go!

I made mini poms with a couple leftover sheets by cutting the tissue paper in half lengthwise for a four-sheet pom.

Seriously, people. Do not be afraid of a DIY pom! Poms are very forgiving. You come to them apologizing for your uneven folds and your lack of artistic fluffing skills and they say, “There there, dear. I’ll make everything all better,” with the tone of a favorite aunt or a grandmother. And then they invite you to suspend them above your dining room table and eat tea and cookies beneath them.

Cost — 99 cents per pack of tissue paper, 0 cents for wire and ribbon I had on hand.

P.S. If you’re still afraid of DIYing poms, you can buy the Martha Stewart version here, or buy pre-made poms from Etsy’s Pom Love store here.

Tags: decor, diy, reception, tutorial |

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27 Responses to “Shake Your Pom Pom”

Bee

Miss Mary Jane (message) 1,516 posts, Bumble bee

Oh wow, these are cute. I totally want to make them even though I have no feasible use for them.

6/12/09 @ 11:07 am (reply)

Member

HistoryBride (message) 411 posts, Helper bee

My fabulous bridesmaids sat and worked with me one night while we made hundreds of 3″ poms in our two wedding colors, and two accent colors. We’re going to use them tossed around the candle centerpieces. They were really easy, and definitely cheap! Just takes a bit of patience and an army of crafters.

6/12/09 @ 11:12 am (reply)

Member

ejs4y8 (message) 6,922 posts, Bee Keeper

I hate you! I made these and they looked so crappy I was embarrassed. They look so pretty fluffed up. Mine look very divided in the center. Any tips on fluffing them better? Ack, I gotta make some more

6/12/09 @ 11:13 am (reply)

Member

katrinab (message) 295 posts, Helper bee

so cute! i was surprised too how easy these are! we are going to use tissue paper poms in lieu of flowers, in empty champagne bottle vases for the cocktail hour. we thought it would add fun and whimsy…and subtract from our floral budget!

6/12/09 @ 11:13 am (reply)

Member

DesignerBee (message) 95 posts, Worker bee

I’ve been thinking about these as well. They are so cute! I found this place that sells wholesale store goods where you can buy tissue paper that it says is high quality. I haven’t ordered yet so I can’t vouch for that but its $26.95 for 480 sheets of tissue paper. Not a bad deal! http://www.robertham.com

6/12/09 @ 11:15 am (reply)

Member

lreighard1 (message) 643 posts, Busy bee

I love them too, maybe I will make them and put them in the kitchen How EXACTLY where those made. I too am DIY challenged (though I think you might be fibbing ) and I might need a blow by blow

6/12/09 @ 11:15 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Bear Cub (message) 1,350 posts, Bumble bee

heehee- I love the “pensive cat” pic

6/12/09 @ 11:21 am (reply)

Member

BexSH (message) 80 posts, Worker bee

aw, cute kitty! these look great! a bunch of non-crafty friends & family members made some for a shower and they came out passable. they will look just lovely in your barn!

6/12/09 @ 11:32 am (reply)

Member

roguesparkle (message) 43 posts, Newbee

I’m no pro at poms, but I am about halfway through making 30 for my wedding. For a fuller look, I use 12 sheets per large pom. Also try various cust on the ends (round, pointy…) if you round the ends more they look more petal like.

6/12/09 @ 11:37 am (reply)

10.

Member

Miss Snowflake (message) 317 posts, Helper bee

@Ejs4y8- the trick I’ve found to getting them to be uber-fluffy is to twist the wire around the middle as tight as you can. It gives the pom a sort of “point of origin” to fluff out from. If that makes any sense.

These are really pretty with patterned/striped tissue paper too. I make some with a kind of shiny silver metallic tissue paper, and those came out really cool! They shimmered in the light.. sigh…

6/12/09 @ 11:38 am (reply)

11.

Member

MyPurpleWedding (message) 217 posts, Helper bee

You did a great job!

6/12/09 @ 11:41 am (reply)

12.

Bee

Miss Bunny (message) 310 posts, Helper bee

@ejs4y8 — Hmm … I pulled slowly, starting from both sides and working toward the center. There’s a great tutorial here:

http://hotdiggityklr.blogspot.com/2009/04/pom-pom-tutorial.html

6/12/09 @ 11:41 am (reply)

13.

Member

HistoryBride (message) 411 posts, Helper bee

The key I found for maximum fluffiness is to make sure that you pull the layers as much toward the center and the wire as you can get them. If you’ve got a really divided look, just go back and pull at the layers some more.

I was making “half-poms” but this should work for the round ones too. Don’t worry if it looks weird at first, you can always adjust the fluff once you’re done pulling.

6/12/09 @ 12:00 pm (reply)

14.

Hostess

tessabella76 (message) 2,682 posts, Sugar bee

Hehe….I love your DIY posts Ms. Bunny. I think we must be on the same DIY level!

6/12/09 @ 12:11 pm (reply)

15.

Member

vistagirl (message) 859 posts, Busy bee

something i learned gift wrapping in the retail world- pinch and flick. instead of pulling slowly pinch in the center of the tissue and pull it fast so the air makes it bunch. It makes lovely fluffy tissue very easily.

6/12/09 @ 12:15 pm (reply)

16.

Member

tea (message) 2,616 posts, Sugar bee

this was one of my favorite projects. i did some for my friend’s shower and everyone loved it. and they’re so deceptively easy.

6/12/09 @ 12:21 pm (reply)

17.

Member

Melissabegins (message) 843 posts, Busy bee

these are sweet! maybe not for my destination shin dig but if I throw a party or shower or something they’d be great! an easy project to do while watching ANTM marathons on TV

6/12/09 @ 12:22 pm (reply)

18.

Bee

Miss Bunny (message) 310 posts, Helper bee

@vistagirl — Great tip! I’ll try that when I make the rest!

6/12/09 @ 12:22 pm (reply)

19.

Bee

Mrs. Taffy (message) 2,598 posts, Sugar bee

So cute!!! My mom had the martha stewart kit for my shower, but we forgot to bring them to the venue! I still have them all fluffed up.

6/12/09 @ 12:23 pm (reply)

20.

Member

Ruby Slippers (message) 482 posts, Helper bee

Ok, you’ve just totally given me deja vu. I’ve been seeing tissue poms all over the net for over a year, and only NOW do I remember that my sister and I used to make this out of tissues (not tissue paper) when we were little. Dang. If I could do it when I was six, I should have thought of doing something like it for my wedding…

6/12/09 @ 12:50 pm (reply)

21.

Bee

Miss French Bulldog (message) 6,063 posts, Bee Keeper

I’ve been avoiding my Poms too, you’ve inspired me to get my butt in gear

6/12/09 @ 1:11 pm (reply)

22.

Bee

Miss Bruschetta (message) 5,553 posts, Bee Keeper

Awwww, great shot of the kitty and your craftiness!

6/12/09 @ 1:13 pm (reply)

23.

Member

Miss Hot Sauce (message) 932 posts, Busy bee

These are beautiful! I had the same problem as ejs4y8. Even my fiancee was like, “But why are they so bare in the middle? It looks kind of funny.” I only used 4 sheets of tissue, but I wonder if I used too much since I am trying to make smaller poms to go atop the favor boxes? My mom used to make these all the time out of kleenex just because. Now that I want to make them for my wedding they are not coming out!

6/12/09 @ 2:06 pm (reply)

24.

Guest

lara bee

I made these and they turned out great!
I didn’t even round out the edges! I used 10 sheets of tissue paper and I cut them in half first because I wanted smaller poms. Very easy and they look great!
Oh, and I bought bulk tissue from http://www.nashvillewraps.com - they have a $50 minimum order so I also bought gift bags from their clearance dept.

6/12/09 @ 2:38 pm (reply)

25.

Bee

Miss Mouse (message) 3,295 posts, Sugar bee

So pretty! I can’t believe it’s that easy!

6/12/09 @ 3:36 pm (reply)

26.

Member

laurajane (message) 320 posts, Helper bee

I just tried this too- it’s cute, easy, and quick!
I didn’t have metal wire, so I used twist ties that come in the boxes of garbage bags- perfect fit!! (You could pull the paper covering the wire off it you wanted to as well)

6/12/09 @ 6:16 pm (reply)

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