Tissue Paper Flower PomPoms

  {Pom, pom, pom, pom}

Warning: You will become addicted to making these.  Don't say I didn't tell you.

What I used:

Tissue Paper [5-10 sheets 75 x 50cm]

Elastic Band / Stapler

Scissors

Time Taken:
approximately 10 minutes a pom-pom

Cost:
per pom: 79p [for 5 sheets from Hobbycraft]

Stack a pile of between 5-10 sheets of tissue paper

Fold the paper in a fan style, folding back on to each fold

Now fold the length of your folded tissue paper in half to mark the centre and then fold out again

Fix the centre with a band, tie or staple [I bunched with an elastic band - if you staple, attach a long piece of string/thread with it, this will be your hanging string when complete]

then fold the length of the folded tissue paper back in half again, so both ends meet.

To create the petals, cut the ends of the tissue paper into rounded triangles

Unfold and fan the tissue paper out on one side

Now begin gently pulling apart the sheets from one another

[start from the top and work your way down]

Continue until you have completed all the sheets

Now repeat this on the other side [don't worry if you squash the other side when doing this - you can fan out and rearrange the petals at the end]

As the two sides meet, you can fill any gaps and begin to shape your pom-pom

 [I found a quick shake helped]

Once complete and you are happy with the shape, thread the centre and hang!

 

These were much easier to make than I expected.  If you try them, let me know how you get on - or if you have any tips or tricks from making your own, I'd love to hear them!

Variations:

• Cut the tissue paper ends in different styles to change the shape of your pom-pom [waves, spikes, zig-zags and curves] for variation.  If you have a border-punch, you could create amazing lace-effects or patterns you wouldn't be able to achieve with scissors [I'm giving this method a go next time!]
• I wanted block colour pom-poms, but layer different colours or even layer light to dark papers in the same colour for ombre effects.  You can also buy a huge variety of printed tissue papers [polkas would look great!] for themed or holiday pom-poms.

Notes:

• I used 5 sheets, but I think 8-10 would provide a 'fuller' pom-pom
• I bought some cheaper tissue paper to make a few more pom-poms in different colours, but it was of a thinner and lower quality - I found separating the layers much more difficult and the paper teared.  Invest in some quality tissue paper!
• As I pulled apart the sheets at first, I wasn't sure the pom-pom was going to turn out as I hoped - keep with it and you can rearrange the petals into a 'pom-pom shape' at the end [also, I think this is where more sheets would have helped]

[P.S: I apologise for the terrible quality of these photos - the result of late-night crafting!]

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