Newsprint Pomander Tutorial for the Brave

If you remember, I posted a few weeks about these beautiful pomanders that I wanted to make for our reception. Well, I made one (actually 2, the first one was really awful).

I got ideas how to make them from this tutorial, but my instructions vary a little bit. Here's the step-by-step tutorial.

You'll need a Styrofoam ball, hot glue gun with a couple of glue sticks (I think I ended up using 3 or 4?!), some ribbon, and circles of newspaper. I used a coaster I have as my template.

I folded my paper circle in a shape that kind of looks like the "fortunes" we used to make in middle school.

I put a tiny dot in the center so my fold would hold.

What worked best for me was to put my hot glue directly on to the ball. You take the folded circle and squish it on to the ball. Hold it there a few seconds to let it adhere.

Important Note: Make sure you put the "petal" straight vertically. If you start trying to fill in the empty spaces by kind of adhering them sideways, your pomander will look uneven and weird (that's what happened to my elusive first try).

Glue the ribbon when you're getting close to the end. Then fill in petals around it and spaces that you may need another one.

Here's a look at the finished product. I think it looks really nice. I'm not sure it fits in just right with the look of my wedding that I'm trying to get across.

So, the pomanders were pretty cheap to make. I bought a 2 pack of "medium" Styrofoam balls for $4.99, and I already had all of the other supplies.

So, here's the truth about making these little poms: 

It took me a relatively long time to make just one pomander. I think it probably took me 45 - 50 minutes to complete one. I can only imagine how long it would take (in total) to make all of the poms that I would need. I'm thinking I would need 15 of them, at least. I don't really have that kind of spare time these days.

They don't turn out THAT large. Here's a picture relative to some objects that are on my mantle.

I can only imagine how long it would take to make a pom using one of the larger Styrofoam balls.

Lastly, the tedious part was not cutting out the circles (which I thought it would be), but the hard part was putting all of the petals on the ball. It only took me 3 or 4 minutes to cut out the circles (it's really easy to cut newspaper in large stacks). The tedious part is adhering all of the petals so that it looks even. I'm sure I'd get faster at it after doing another pom.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE these poms. But I've decided to not make any more of them. I don't have the time or the patience.

This project is great for someone who has patience and time on their hands (or a bunch of bridesmaids or a mother that is willing to make an afternoon of making these).

Okay, last tip: use a low heat glue gun or you will burn the mess out of your fingertips.

In lieu of not doing these poms, I have yet another DIY project I'm considering that should take less time. Click HERE if you'd like to take a peek.