Tuesday, January 22, 2013

DIY Tissue Paper Flower Pomanders



As I started looking at all the things I wanted for my wedding, I realized how quickly the costs added up!  I can't have everything I want, but luckily I am crafty so I'm planning on making some DIY decor for our ceremony.  I came across these tissue paper flower pomanders on Pinterest, and it looked pretty easy and cute, but I was skeptical.  I'm all for DIY, as long as it doesn't look cheap or tacky.  I gathered enough materials to make just two pomanders to see how it turned out. 

Well...they turned out amazing! And they are so super easy to make!  If you are crafty at all, you will really enjoy making these pomanders.  They are great for any occasion, not just a wedding either!

You will need:
  • Tissue paper, any color - I got mine at the Container Store
  • Glue or Hot Glue
  • Floral Wire (22 gage), any color- find at any craft store or hardware store
  • Wire cutter - comes standard with most tool kits
  • 5 inch Styrofoam ball
  • Ribbon - I cut mine into 21 inch strips


















 




Cut your tissue paper into 5 x 10 inch strips.

The 5 inch Styrofoam ball doesn't seem very big, but once it is covered in flowers, it will appear much bigger.

Now, take 6 pieces of the tissue paper, and starting with the smaller side, fold about 3/4 of an inch over, back and forth accordion style.




















Take a piece of floral wire, and wrap the folded tissue paper.

Cut the ends so that they are rounded and not square.  This will give you the look of petals.  You can cut any rounded type shape you want to create many different looks.





Fan out the folded paper.  Then gently lift each layer up towards you, careful not to tear the paper. 

one layer up




3 layers up
all fluffed up










The bottom of the flower



lots of flowers
 
To attach the ribbon, I wrapped the wire around the end of the ribbon (the wire is pretty sharp, so you could thread it through the ribbon too)  

Add a dollop of glue, and stick the wire into the Styrofoam ball.





All done
Once the ribbon is attached, start adding the paper flowers onto the ball in the same way as the ribbon, until you cover the entire ball.  You might have some small spots that need a flower, so for those I made a flower the same as above, except used only two or three sheets of tissue paper to get a smaller flower to fit the size I needed to fill.
I think the finished product came out so cute! The petals almost look like hydrangeas.  I'm not sure how long I'll need the ribbon to be, so I made them on the longer side.  If they are too long, I can always cut them on the top and tie a bow to shorten them up.  

I hope this post inspires you to try making one of these flower pomanders!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Here's to the next adventure!

Well, hello again.  I know it has been way too long since I updated this blog, but life kind of got in the way.  And by life I mean...planning a wedding!!! Brian and I got engaged right before the holidays and it has been a whirlwind ever since.  We are SO happy and excited. 

I was completely surprised when Brian popped the question as I was wrapping Christmas gifts by the tree on a Saturday morning.  Brian had told me that he was out shopping for Christmas presents with his parents earlier that morning, when in fact he was meeting my dad at Union Station in DC to pick up the ring.  My dad spend the entire morning on a bus from New York to hand deliver the ring, which he created.  AND turned right around and went back to New York, something only my dad would do!  The ring was not only beautiful, but made with lots of love and care, which made it even more special. 

Adoring my ring
On cloud nine


After the shock of it all settled down, Brian told me we were dropping off our dog and heading to an Inn in West Virginia for the night.  I couldn't believe he had all this planned!  After we dropped off Winston, we stopped at Brian's parents house to celebrate with some champagne.  Then we headed about an hour away to West Virginia.  We were led to a cute little farm house.  Our room had chocolate covered strawberries, champagne, and chocolates waiting for us.  After settling into our room, we headed to dinner in the main house of the Inn.  It was absolutely wonderful, we had a five course dinner with wine pairings.  It felt like the perfect setting to celebrate our engagement, just the two of us.  With the holidays coming up, we had plenty of time to celebrate with family and friends.  

It was an absolutely perfect and magical weekend.  I still stare at my ring at random times during the day and can't believe it is mine, or that this is real. 

 

Cute little farmhouse at Hillbrook Inn, WV
Now we embark on the next adventure in our lives...Marriage!  We got right to work at looking at venues and already have a date set!  November 23, 2013.  That's only 10 months away and I know it will fly by.  So far I am loving every minute of planning and can't wait to marry my best friend.  I know that's cheesy but how can you write an engagement post without a little cheesiness here and there? :-)

I plan to keep this blog updated on the planning and any DIY projects I tackle in the coming months.

Hope you all are having a great day!!

St. Lucia - Day 4

Day 4 of our trip in Pictures - Monday, August 20 2012   

 

 

one of the many island kittens


open air restaurant where we ate breakfast

cocoa pods drying in large trays

the Jardin Cacao restaurant - where we ate lunch and dinner
the "crab claw" flower



gift shop









Anse Chastanet beach





our second snorkeling location

approaching Jalousie beach after a great day of snorkeling



the view of the petit piton at the top of our hike


all stocked up on the local jam to bring home as souvenirs

another great dinner