DIY: Fabric Ruffle Pomanders

As I've been in the midst of party/shower planning all summer, I have spent quite a while trying to come up with ways to create new decor. In my golden list of DIY sites and blogs I love to follow, I stumbled across the easiest-looking DIY pomanders. Last March, my good friend, Jody and I, created about a dozen cupcake liner poms for a Rockstar Party we threw for her sister and hubby's birthdays. We took our cupcake-liner-pom-creating skills to the next level as she helped me create evern more liner poms for the Anthropologie-inspired bridal shower I designed. I have been wanting to try making poms with fabric for some time now, and the last 3 showers I've been planning for have given me the opportunity to give them a shot.

There are hundreds of tutorials out there because they are so easy, but the one I used for inspiration was found at Once Wed. Vanessa and I decided to take on the project together, since we were planning 2 of Lanae's bridal showers and definitely wanted to incorporate them into our decor. I've made lots of fabric flowers before (so had Vaness!), so this came a little easier to us. For this DIY, we used styrofoam balls instead of mini paper lanterns. It seemed a little more practical my my "storage situation", not to mention.. I already had a bunch of leftover styroballs from previous parties.

All you need:

Fabric of your choice 

Scissors

Pen/Pencil

Small piece of cardboard (for original circle, to trace)

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Styrofoam ball

Unfortunately, these beauties are extremely time-consuming. They take lots of patience, so you might as well throw some Friends episodes on (like we did!) and rip through them! 

First, you need fabric circles. Tons of them. With any sturdy piece of paper - cardboard is perfect - cut out the size circle you want, corresponding with the size of the styrofoam ball. We chose to use 5", 4" and 3" styroballs, adjusting the size of the circles for the bigger sizes. We found the most strategic plan was to trace the cardboard circle onto the fabric - hundreds of times - and then began cutting them out (with fabric folded, to go twice as fast), being careful to cut inside the pen/pencil marks. 

Next, fold the circles in half twice (or 3-fold). At the folded point, add plenty of hot glue before holding in to the styroball. Honestly, getting started is the trickiest part. Once the glue dries, it's easy to pack the folded circles in more securely. Depending on how ruffly you want your pomanders, spread the "petals" out or pack them in as much as you want, as long as the styroball is covered up. 

Next, fold the circles in half twice. At the folded point, add plenty of hot glue before holding in to the styroball. Honestly, getting started is the trickiest part. Once the glue dries, it's easy to pack the folded circles in more securely. Depending on how ruffly you want your pomanders, spread the "petals" out or pack them in as much as you want, as long as the styroball is covered up.

We also made them in white, black and lace.. They turned out SO CUTE! Tip: I planned to hang these little lovies, so I covered one end of a paper clip in hot glue and found an empty spot to press it into the styrofoam ball. Make sure to let the glue dry before hanging.

I loved the mixture of textures.. Lace, fabric and cupcake liner poms + hollow yarn balls.

Credit for inspiration:
Once Wed - DIY Fabric Poms


xo