Valentine’s DIY: Pom-Pom Flower Bouquet

So you still don’t have anything to give your sweetheart for Cupid’s birthday? No problem. You can make the perfect gift in no time. Just start flexing your fingers…

And get crafting!

Everyone loves receiving flowers, but the gesture can get lost in the resulting scurry for a vase (do you even own a vase?), filling it with water (tap or filter?), and then placing it in the perfect spot (just put it down already!). Or you could just make a bouquet out of fluffy, boingy pom-poms, like the one from Pom-Poms! 25 Awesomely Fluffy Projects.

Spray the poms with a little perfume so they smell as fragrant as your lover’s favorite bloom!

FLOWER BOUQUET

A single pom-pom bloom can brighten a potted houseplant. A bouquet will make a mod mantel statement. Best of all, these posies won’t droop!

Supplies

5 to 13 pom-poms (thin cotton fabric, yarn, felt, or tissue paper)

scissors

floral stem wire*
wire cutter*

hot-glue gun

ribbon (optional)

*Floral stem wire comes precut. Use wire cutters to trim pieces to the desired length. Or, for a natural touch, use real branches for your fluffy “flowers.”

1. Make as many pom-poms as desired out of fabric, yarn, felt, or tissue paper in any color using any of the methods described starting on page 63. Consider choosing only two methods and three materials to keep your bouquet looking harmonious and elegant. Less is more—fewer types can create a big impact.

2. Cut the tying strings off each pom-pom. Trim the floral stem wire to varying lengths.

3. Dab hot glue onto the floral wire at least 0.25 inch from the end. Gently press the center of the pom around the wire, making sure it reaches the midpoint of the pom and doesn’t fall off. Repeat with each pom.

4. Display pom-pom flowers in a vase. For a bouquet, bundle them together and wrap the stems with ribbon.

Pom-Pom Wrapping Method

FINGER WRAP

This technique is one of the simplest—no tools necessary! Mastering this method means you can make poufs on the fly with any material on hand.

Supplies

5 yards of wrappable material (see page 64 for ideas)

scissors

one 24-inch piece of tying material, folded in half

Tip: Folding the tying material will double its strength.

Wrap material around three fingers (or four, for a larger pom), leaving about 2 inches as a tail that your thumb secures against your palm. Wrap 50 to 100 times. Slide the wrapped material off your fingers and rest it on the table.

Tightly wrap the folded tying thread around the middle of the wrapped yarn bundle, knotting the ends once.

Flip the pom over and tie a double knot on the other side.

Use scissors to slice through all the loops on either side of the middle knot. Fluff and shape your pom.