Pom-Pom Fun

I hope you all enjoyed Courtney's Bunting Banner from yesterday. If you'd like to see it again, here it is. And don't forget to look back at the party that these are from here.

I volunteered to make the pom-poms.  Pom-poms are all over Pinterest and are the latest and greatest in decorating. They are much cheaper and child-friendly than helium balloons. I also think they are classier. We just had to include these wonderful additions to the birthday party. I'm sure you've seen some of them, but these ones are my favourite.

Martha Stewart

PomStyle

Aesthetic Nest

I followed Martha Stewart's directions here to make yellow and pink ones to match the Pink Lemonade theme.

You can get 10 sheets of tissue paper for $1 at the Dollar Store. I used 8 sheets per pom-pom, but you can use more if you prefer fuller looking pom-poms.

Step 1

Fold the 8 sheets of tissue paper accordion style.

Make sure you hold on until they are secured or you will have to start all over again. 

Step 2

Martha suggests using floral wire for this part, but I couldn't find any and didn't want to add to my budget so I used the twist ties that come with garbage bags. I have also heard of people using pipe cleaners. Fold your twist tie in half and put the tissue paper in the middle. Centre the twist tie on the tissue paper and give the tie a little twist to keep it in place. 

Step 3

Cut the ends of the tissue paper in pattern that you want. I rounded my ends, but it also looks great to make them pointy. 

Step 4

This is the most fun of the whole project, fluffing out your pom-pom. Make sure you are already at the location where you are going to hang your pom-poms or they start to look a little limp. I took mine on a subway, a train, and a car. They did not appreciate being in a bag. The ones I fluffed at my sister's house looked a lot better. Just pull out each individual piece of tissue towards the middle. Adjust it a little bit and there you go, a perfectly beautiful pom-pom. 

Don't forget to think outside of the box. There are a million different ways to use these pom-poms. Here are some ideas to tide you over for the weekend.

Aesthetic Nest

RIandPI

Happy Crafting,

Kristin

I linked up here:

 

First Birthday Party

Over the weekend we had the privilege of attending our niece's first birthday party. When our sister told us she was planning a themed party we were eager to help out. Both armed with our assignments we set out to make this the best first birthday.
The inspiration for the party came from the Hostest with the Mostest. They had a very cute idea that we fell in love with.

The pink and yellow says girl, but isn't too in your face. This also gave us a good idea of what to do with the food and drink. 

It was Courtney's job to make a birthday banner. Our sister loved the idea of a bunting for this so Courtney set to work. You can see how she made it tomorrow.

Our sister worked hard on all the food. We especially love the cakes she made. She has her own cake business and we're sure that this is her best on yet. The colours just popped off the table. Please check out her cakes on her website or on facebook.

We also loved how she added lemon slices to the vase with pink tulips. It's the small things that made the decor amazing.

Our sister found some yummy meringue bites that were a hit. She placed them in a mason jar that added to the look of the table.

She also made some Oreo pops. These were done by placing a stick into an Oreo and then dipping them in melted chocolate. She added some yellow food colouring to white chocolate to fit in to the Pink Lemonade theme.
What is not pictured are the colourful pom-poms that decorated the doorways. That was Kristin's task and it went a lot quicker than she thought. We will also post that tutorial in a couple of days. 

This party was over dinner and so there was another table set up on the kitchen with some more great food. Our sister served crock-pot pulled pork on a bun, taco salad, fruit, and veggies. 

Everyone had a great time. Our little niece couldn't stop looking at the pretty colours on the table so we know it was a success. 

We can't wait for the next opportunity to have a fun, theme party :)

-Courtney and Kristin

PS: Don't forget to check out our sister's wonderful cakes at www.cakedujour.webs.com

We linked up here: