DIY Tissue Pom Pom Flower Tutorial

So I have been meaning to try to make some pom pom flowers, you know the ones you see all over Pinterest? Tonight I finally sat down and actually made some. And what do you know, they are SO EASY to make! I ended up making 8 in about 30 minutes. 




                                


Estimated Time Per Pom Pom: 3-5 minutes


Supplies Needed: Scissors, Tissue Paper and Floral Wire


1. Choose your color(s) of tissue paper. If you want your pom pom bigger, you will use more tissue paper. For this tutorial I used two pieces of tissue paper. Fold the tissue paper in half (the tissue paper I used is 13" x 19.5" when folded.)


2. Begin folding the tissue paper accordion style in 1.5" sections.


3. Take a piece of 18" floral wire and fold in half. Then place accordion style tissue paper in between the floral wire and twist the floral wire so it is secure, but don't twist it too tight. 


4. Use scissors to cut either rounded or pointed edges (I cut rounded because I like the finished look better than the pointed ones I have seen online.)


5. Separate layers individually, starting with the tissues on one side of the floral wire at a time. Separate the inner most layer first by bringing it to the center, then the next layer and so on, (if you used two pieces of tissue paper you should have four layers on each side of the floral wire.) Then separate the other side. Don't worry if you tear the tissue paper a little bit, there is so much going on that you won't be able to notice any little imperfections.


6. Decide how you want to decorate! I will be using this pom pom and the others I made tonight at a friends Baby Shower in April. I haven't decided if I am going to hang them with ribbons from the ceiling or make a garland of pom pom flowers. I have added some cool ways to decorate with your pom pom flowers at the bottom of this post. 

Floral wire from Michael's. $3

Two pieces of tissue paper, folded in half. 

Fold 1.5 inch sections accordion style.

Finished accordion fold.

Take an 18 inch piece of floral wire and fold in half over tissue paper.

Twist floral wire at center of tissue paper. 

Using scissors, cut rounded or pointed ends.

Rounded ends cut on both sides.

Begin to pull the layers apart, towards the center.

One side complete.

Side view.

All done!

Finished product.

Tissue pom pom flower. 

So what do you think? The more you make, the easier they become. I am really happy with the outcome, I will definitely be making more soon. They are a cheap (I've seen kits in stores for $8 to $12!) and easy decoration to make for parties, showers and events.


Here are some examples of how to decorate with your pom poms. 
(All below pictures are from Pinterest.)

Pom Pom Mobile.
(Photo Credit)

Gorgeous.
(Photo Credit)

This is adorable, pom pom cupcake toppers.
I will have to try this out.
(Photo Credit)

Pom Pom Garland.
(Photo Credit)

Beautiful.
I love the different patterned tissue paper.
(Photo Credit)

Pretty table setting. 
(Photo Credit)

If you try to make these tissue pom poms let me know what you made them for in the comments section. Link to a picture if you can!

Lauren's Baby Shower

This past weekend was my beautiful friend Lauren's baby shower. Lauren and her hubby JT live in Florida, so I do not get to see her too often, which I wish wasn't the case, but it was great seeing her and many of my college friends, even if for a short period of time. 

Lauren's sister Lindsay did such a great job putting together the shower, it was so much fun. Here are some pictures. :)

Delicious cupcake cake.

Amy, Lauren, Allie, Nicole, Mandy and Me. Just missing Beth!

Cute mama to be.

A Little Blurry but I love their expressions. Opening the onsies Mandy and I made.

"My mom is a MILF"

Here they are. :p

After presents Lindsay read a "things Lauren said the night she conceived list". AKA random things Lauren said while opening gifts. 

AKA the funniest thing ever!

Blurry, but too funny not to add.

Lovely ladies.

Long arm shot, Amy has perfected it.

Baby bump picture.

Girls with little Bella.

Invite and party favor.

Reading List

Each year I like to keep a list of all of the books I have read so far. I aim for at least one a month. I'm not doing too bad this year, I just finished my fourth book, The Help. It was awesome, once I got past the third chapter I couldn't put it down. I'm excited to check out the movie.

I'm going back and forth between reading actual books and from my kindle, which I just got for my birthday this past fall and I am always looking for new reads...any suggestions for my next book?

Valentine's Day Wrap Up

So this is a little late but I wanted to share my Valentine's Day! Usually we don't make a big deal about Valentine's Day, but this year Mark went a little overboard. 

On Monday, Mark sent flowers to my work, completely unexpected and so beautiful! 

Beautiful Flowers.

                                    

Mark loves to write creative notes to me which I adore. 

Note.

My favorite Rose.

That night, although I was still feeling a little under the weather, we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, Black Market. Which gave me a chance to wear my new pink H&M blazer.  

During dinner, Mark gave me a charm for my Pandora bracelet. He always slips them on when I don't know, and of course he did it again. After a delicious dinner (seriously, you have to make the trip here) we had a mini photo shoot.

:)
Here is the awesome card I got Mark...

Card from Earthy Invites.
Then, on Tuesday, actual Valentine's Day, I get a frantic call from Mark asking where I am, of course I had left work to run to the bank, when I came back he had a delicious Strawberry shortcake from Ridgewells waiting for me...and another charm. Adorable. My co-workers and I both enjoyed this delicious treat!

Thanks for making this a great Valentine's Day Mark! <3

Birchbox

So I finally signed up for Birchbox. I have been on the waiting list for a couple of months and just got the email that a spot had opened up for me. So I filled out the beauty profile and selected the monthly membership (which is only $10 a month) and voila, I will get my first Birchbox in mid-March. 

Haven't heard of Birchbox? Basically Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that sends you beauty samples all across the board. After you fill out your beauty profile, they send you items that pertain to your skin type, hair type and your personal style. Think nail polish, perfume samples, shampoo, hair spray, and a million other things you wouldn't normally think of, but once you get them, they turn out to be things you can't believe you have been living without! And the best part of this site is that once you sample a product you like, you can go online and purchase the full size version directly from their web site. When you do this you save yourself some time and also earn rewards points that can be used towards either your monthly subscription or other full sized items.   

photo credit

Here is a little more according to their web site: 


"Birchbox delivers the best products and the best insider secrets, without any fuss. Every month Birchbox members will receive a curated box of luxe beauty samples. Each box will span beauty categories and deliver exciting products that fit into both your day-to-day routine, and into those days when you want to turn up the drama a notch."




Once I get my first Birchbox I will do a review and let you know what I think. Click here for a referral link if you are interested in joining Birchbox!