anywho, i had a request for a tutorial and i’m more than happy to oblige. and as i’m a very visual learner, i included pictures. so ready, set, craft!

1) styrofoam balls [mine are 2 ½ inches in diameter]
2) screwdriver
3) small cupcake liners/candy cups
4) glue gun and glue sticks
5) floral wire
6) ribbon of your choice
7) crochet needle and thread [totally optional but they came in handy...you'll see how later]

step one:

take the screwdriver and push it through the styrofoam ball. that makes the hole you’ll later use to string the ribbon through. keep the screwdriver in the ball; it makes handling the ball a lot easier as you’re working

step two:

take a cupcake liner and twist it. i like to use a crochet needle because i am addicted to needless steps. but truthfully, i did find that it was helpful with shaping the liner. when you’re done, snip a length of floral wire and wrap it around the end like so to make a little flower type of thing:

step three:

put a little glue on your desired location and press the flower into the glue. the best thing is the hot glue kind of melts the styrofoam so you can really press it in there

step four:

rinse and repeat. i like to start at the top and work my way around to make sure i covered most of the spots. the amount of liners you’ll need will depend on how dense a look you want. for a looser looking pomander, you can use less and space them out more. for a denser pomander, pack them in tightly. just be aware that you’ll need more liners per ball if you go for a denser look.

step five:

now the fun part, threading your ribbon. this was kind of hard for me so what i did [again with a possibly needless step] is tie some sewing thread around the end of the ribbon and to the crochet needle and just pull it through from there. you can either have your ribbon looped so it will create a handle or you can have it as a single line like i made mine. just tie the knot on the bottom to keep it from sliding off and you’re done!

i hope this was helpful. oh another tip is i’ve found it to be a little faster when i took the time to make a bunch of the flower things first that way i didn’t have to stop after each placement to make the next.

i can be kind of mean to myself sometimes.

anywho, so i finally finished my cupcake liner pomander project. so i dumped the idea of doing a garland in this instance, but haven’t given up on the garland idea entirely! it has a chance of being reborn in a different setting. still working on the logistics of that project.

but the pomander thing. taking a hint from mrs. sushi [and oddly another one of my old inspiration photos i had dismissed once i latched onto the whole garland thing] i finished working on two more pomanders and attached them together.

i really do like the look of the cupcake liners on the styrofoam balls. they look all fluffy and lovely. and my mom kept commenting on how she wanted to eat them.

oh mom, how i love your silliness.

she did suggest adding some color in, so i swapped out the white ribbon for a blue test ribbon that came off a package of ghirardelli chocolates [i’m a hoarder of all things] but she didn’t like it [i also didn’t take a picture of it]. i was thinking though to just stick with white since the chairs in our church are a forest green so pretty much any color would clash horribly. and while i’m not trying to match, i’m just trying to work with what i got. and white is the easiest to work with.

anywho, where’s the final product. please forgive the fact that i had to take a picture of it in the bathroom. it has the best lighting.

i really like it and as time went on, the process became easier and quicker. also, the number of liners fluctuated. not sure why but it did, so i’m averaging the number to a round 45.

here’s the price breakdown [as much as i can remember…i accidentally tossed my receipt yesterday as i was clearing out my room]:

6-pack of 2 ½ inch styrofoam balls [i don’t remember the exact cost so i’m guessing it was this much]: $3.99 – 40% coupon: $2.39
100 white candy liners (2): $2.98
glue gun/glue: already own
floral wire: already own
ribbon: already own [but i did get 3 spools for a dollar once upon a time – but i won’t be included that in the overall cost]
total, without tax: $5.37

not bad at all. of course, provided i have the right amount for the styrofoam balls. i’ll confirm it next time i roll through michael’s. next time i’ll put out the cash to pick up a 350 count of liners. i can decorate 7 balls with one package! anywho, what do you guys think?

i finished my tissue paper pomander alternative [which i will take a picture of, i promise!] with the cupcake liners and i really like it. then i started wondering how flexible it would be when in garland form.

then i saw this:

so maybe i’ll use this as inspiration for pew decor instead? i can attach three of my globes and hang it from the side of  every other chair. and then i can easily construct a different garland for the canopy i want to build [i had a brainstorm about that too...more details once i figure it out!]. i mean, i am all about working smarter, not harder.

interesting.

i shall investigate this further.

what about these lining the aisle? style me pretty is making my brain swirl with possibilities! these are from a wedding tres fabu event and wedding planning did and this i can do if my current idea doesn’t pan out.

these would definitely utilize the larger paper lanterns and would really make a simple statement. is there some kind of rehab program for wedding inspiration overload?

oh, so i may have stumbled upon a possile work around for the garlands. i did actually buy some supplies to test out a theory and so far i’m liking it. i’ll try to post a picture of a finished ball soon but my crafting time will be severely limited now that classes are back in session for the summer quarter. this grad school stuff makes it hard for me to get in touch with my inner Martha.