Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Pom Pom Garland Tutorial Madness

 Hello Lovelies!
Hope you are all doing well this fine day.

So today, I thought I would share a little story with you about some of the madness, on my part, that took place while preparing for the recent tea party photo shoot.
You see, sometimes I get a little crazy when it comes to having a vision. I picture in my mind, the way that I would like something to be, or a certain look, and will stop at nothing until I get the result. 

And that's pretty much true. Some may call it obsessive, for me, it's just the way it is, and always has been. I know I am not the only one, that gets this way... hopefully. lol!

So, I had a vision of a beautiful paper garland for my party, and thought, oh yes. How perfect that would be,dainty,festive, and oh so lovely. 
However.... when it came time to start preparing for this idea, I could not find what I was looking for. 




First, I went to 4 different local craft and fabric stores to find the paper pom pom garland. 
NO ONE HAD IT! 
I had seen it there, at these stores a million times before, until I needed it. 

NO WHERE!!!

 On the 5th attempt, I went to a fabric store that carried the Martha Stewart line, and of course, I had seen it there before, in small sized pom poms, and large sized pom poms, so thought, no biggie, I will just get it there.
I went down the Martha isle, and there it was. 1 large package with 5 pom poms, in a pretty white. Not exactly the right color I wanted, but it would do. So... I get up to the front to purchase this garland. (mind you, it was coupon day, and I waited at least 15 min. in line).
The clerk scans the item ,and says: "I cannot sell you this, as it is no longer in our inventory."

 "WHAT?!!?" 

I exclaimed, "but I found it on your shelf right over there." 
"Let me call my manager" said the clerk. "Nope, I am sorry, but we cannot sell it.We have no way of knowing the price, and cannot sell it." 
OK, at this point, I thought, "is there a trick being played on me or something", like on one of those practical joke shows? 
That's sure how it felt, anyway. 

Defeated, I went home thinking, well, I guess I am not going to have it then. and had almost given into the idea that I would not be able to complete my vision, that I would just have to accept the "not having it."

 NO!

 I could not let the thought go... A light bulb went off, maybe I could go on to pinterest, and find a tutorial or something, and I could just make my own. 
I mean, how hard could it be right? 

BINGO! 

There is was, coffee filter pom pom garland!!!
 Now I could have it, that pretty fluffy garland,I had envisioned, and the bonus was, I could make it any color I wanted!! 

The next problem was, I didn't have any white bleached coffee filters. (I only use the natural ones.) So told hubby, be right back, got to go get coffee filters... he gives me the look, you know the one,the...
 "she's out of her mind look."

Ran up to Safeway, I'll be damned. 
SOLD OUT OF COFFEE FILTERS!!! 
What the heck is going on. 
Is there a conspiracy or something???

Went to yet another small market. Walked up to the shelf,just then,I heard the songs of the angels rejoicing..

 AND There they were!

WHITE COFFEE FILTERS. 
GLORIOUS COFFEE FILTERS!!! 
Priced at $1.49 for 100 filters in a package. I happily bought 2, raced home and started to get my things together. 
I still had baking to do, among a number of other things.
Making this garland was actually not that hard to do, and I will share the process with you now.
I wish I could attach the link that I found the tutorial from, but when I went back to look for it today, I could not find it. There are sooo many tutorials there. So Thank You whoever you are, that saved me from completely giving up on this idea. xoxo

BTW, Thanks for listening to my rant, but that story was so unbelievable, I HAD TO SHARE.
Is that not the craziest thing you have ever heard?
OK...
Start by mix your color. I used apx. 5-7 drops of food coloring in this small recycled hair spray bottle.


Starting with your surface area,layout and use plenty of paper towels to catch the excess spray...



   Lay out the filters flat on the plate...
It's good to have a stack of flattened one's all ready go,that way you can keep going with the spraying.

Start spraying on both sides. I found that laying the next one on top of the other to absorb some of the loose color from the one you sprayed before, worked well.
Continue spraying both sides.
Once you have a soggy colored pile, place in preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 5 min. each side, until dry.
The first tutorial said to pile then up, but it worked better for me to get an even color by separating them slightly. 

Once dry, ohhh look at them, soo pretty!!!


Now to start the assembly...
I used a 2" punch, and made 5 of them.
 Eye ball the center, and punch again. This is where the string is going to go through to create the garland. Set aside.
 Now start folding the dried colored filters in half
Then in half again
 Then in half again, until you end up with a bunch of these. I ended up using apx. 13-15 per circle.
 Next, staple to the edge of the circle, leaving the center open.
LAYER the next one over the first, and do the same, all the way around.

 Keep going, until you have added enough to cover the circle. Remember, leave and opening in the middle to run your string through.

Use a needle for the long piece of striped bakers twine,and thread it through the hole punched center, leaving it long as you go.

 Then, start separating and pulling open the folds until you get a pom pom. You can scrunch between your hands to create a circular pom pom shape. These filters are pretty durable.
You can see the variations in coloring, and I ended up loving that in the end. You can make these in any color, bigger, or smaller, with the same process. 
I wonder how great these would be, to use a really large filter, like those Industrial ones at Starbucks? 
Huge pom poms would be great for hanging outdoors, or in a barn for a large party. Halloween Perhaps?
Endless possibilities.

And That's It!

Thanks for listening to my story, and feel free to comment below. I always appreciate your visits!
Have a Wonderfully Creative Day!
~Susan Xo

4 comments:

  1. Your story of running into obstacle after obstacle sounds like the story of my life, at least this past year. I was in shock and could not believe a store would tell you they CAN'T (meaning won't) sell you something found on their shelves. Unbelieveable.
    However I do think your made pom pons are much better than store bought ones. Thank you for the tutorial. I also am thinking perfect for an outdoor party.

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  2. Thank You DogsMom,
    I know, wasn't that almost unbelievable? Oh well, it prompted something better in the end, and that was the lesson learned. Now I know how to do something I would not have otherwise tried before. Win Win! Thank You for your visit :)
    Xo

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  3. These are great! Can't wait to try them!

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    1. Thanks Debi!
      You will have to (pretty please) show and tell with me, when you do them :)
      Best of luck, and Happy creating!
      Hugs,
      ~Susan

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