1/2 inch gross grain ribbon for support underneath
Directions:
I just so happened to have ordered the wrong color ribbon online (problem with online ordering/being particular about colors!) So I used that to form the support structure of the pomander but any thin cotton ribbon will do. Start at one end and wrap to the other side, criss cross and wrap around the sphere in the other direction so that there are 4 pieces of ribbon encasing the stryrofoam--this will give it stability. Knot at one end (this will be your top)
To get full use of silk flowers I recommend fluffing them up/opening them up before inserting into styro ball. I found the quickest way to do this was to rub it lightly, face down onto my leg--instead of painstakingly opening up each and every petal!
With wire cutters or good scissors cut the roses off of the stem leaving 1/4" behind to stick into the ball. I put a little dollop of hot glue onto the end of the stem and stuck it into the styrofoam ball working my way around and then filling in dead spots with more flowers. If you notice any loose blossoms, you can always lift up the petal and apply more glue directly to the base of the stem/near ball.
Continue until entire ball except for one or two flowers near the knot at the top are complete. Then taking your double faced sating ribbon, slip one end underneath the knot of your gross grain ribbon and pull it through to appropriate length and tie in a knot. Work the knot back to the knot/top of your ball. Now cover remaining spots with flowers so you dont see the knotted ribbon. No need for tapestry needles or pulling through the entire ball (this is definitely necessary if you choose to use wet oasis/real flowers as it will be significantly heavier and need more support)
It will be messy and you will be covered in spiderwebs of glue gun glue but for an hour project I was pleasantly surprised how easy and great they turned out!
**Notes: Previous posters said you could do 30-40 roses and so that was what I used as my estimate but in the end, I would say for a very full looking pomander, you want more like 70-80 roses/pomander. However, when things got tight, I changed my original plan to pomanders only on every other aisle and it still looked great and I also put less flowers on the bottom of the pomander since I knew no one would be able to see it from that angle. I also would use 4inch balls since I forgot about how much the flower size would increase the diameter of the pomander!
We even made tissue paper pomanders for my Bridal Shower
Can I ask a stupid question? Why do you have to have the ribbon around the styrofoam ball for support? Why is more support needed? Do the flowers not just hold onto the ball?
sorry for the belated response (started writing my thesis and finally surfaced to check on wedding things!)
@june- I used open roses and I also learned a trick, if you brush them face down on your leg back and forth a few times it really opens them up/revives them from the box they came in
@ashley- not a stupid question at all, you actually arent using the ribbon to support the flowers but to support/hold the weight of the balls, if you just tried to hot glue gun a piece of ribbon to the ball it would be harder to cover with the flowers (hence why you thread it first and then cover over entirely with flowers, I think it would be hard to cover a big knot/stick out) and also you would be banking a lot on hot glue gun holding it up/wind blowing them around etc
in reality im sure you could get away with not tying ribbon underneath since they are pretty light weight but if you did real flowers/soaked floral foam those suckers would weigh at least 5-10lbs so you would definitely need sturdy support
I would also measure the height of the chair/etc you're hanging them from, mine hung a little lower than I had imagined but I did make sure they were all even :)
just thought of an idea for ashley, i could see using a large pin (one of those large tapestry pins) to jam into the ribbon and into the ball but again i would worry about it sliding out and the ball falling on the ground but def something to try :)
These fooled all of our wedding guests AND our photographer into thinking they were made from real flowers!
Photo Courtesy of Wendy Hithe Photography: http://wendyhithephoto.com/
Supplies:
5" Styrofoam balls (LAcrafts.com has the best price and this is the major cost of the project) ($18.50/12)
1 1/2" Double Faced Satin Ribbon (theribbonretreat.com) in Brown ($2.05/5yd)
~80 Silk Roses**/pomander (ebay Clair's Flowers; $38/300 roses)
Glue sticks and glue gun
1/2 inch gross grain ribbon for support underneath
Directions:
I just so happened to have ordered the wrong color ribbon online (problem with online ordering/being particular about colors!) So I used that to form the support structure of the pomander but any thin cotton ribbon will do. Start at one end and wrap to the other side, criss cross and wrap around the sphere in the other direction so that there are 4 pieces of ribbon encasing the stryrofoam--this will give it stability. Knot at one end (this will be your top)
To get full use of silk flowers I recommend fluffing them up/opening them up before inserting into styro ball. I found the quickest way to do this was to rub it lightly, face down onto my leg--instead of painstakingly opening up each and every petal!
With wire cutters or good scissors cut the roses off of the stem leaving 1/4" behind to stick into the ball. I put a little dollop of hot glue onto the end of the stem and stuck it into the styrofoam ball working my way around and then filling in dead spots with more flowers. If you notice any loose blossoms, you can always lift up the petal and apply more glue directly to the base of the stem/near ball.
Continue until entire ball except for one or two flowers near the knot at the top are complete. Then taking your double faced sating ribbon, slip one end underneath the knot of your gross grain ribbon and pull it through to appropriate length and tie in a knot. Work the knot back to the knot/top of your ball. Now cover remaining spots with flowers so you dont see the knotted ribbon. No need for tapestry needles or pulling through the entire ball (this is definitely necessary if you choose to use wet oasis/real flowers as it will be significantly heavier and need more support)
It will be messy and you will be covered in spiderwebs of glue gun glue but for an hour project I was pleasantly surprised how easy and great they turned out!
**Notes: Previous posters said you could do 30-40 roses and so that was what I used as my estimate but in the end, I would say for a very full looking pomander, you want more like 70-80 roses/pomander. However, when things got tight, I changed my original plan to pomanders only on every other aisle and it still looked great and I also put less flowers on the bottom of the pomander since I knew no one would be able to see it from that angle. I also would use 4inch balls since I forgot about how much the flower size would increase the diameter of the pomander!
We even made tissue paper pomanders for my Bridal Shower
posted by Mrs Vino 2 years agoWe also made the tissue paper variety for my purse making bachelorette party
via Martha Stewart crafts
http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/pom-poms-and-luminarias
Super Easy!
posted by Mrs Vino 2 years agoDid you use the rose buds or open roses for your pomanders?
posted by june262010 2 years agoDo you have the link to the eBay store?? I can't seem to find that...
posted by luckyyou 2 years agohttp://stores.shop.ebay.com/Clairs-Flowers__W0QQ_armrsZ1
posted by OLDiva 2 years agoWhat a pretty idea! Thanks for sharing. :]
posted by MandaRooz 2 years agoThat was a really good idea, I always wondered how it was made. thanks
posted by june10 2 years agoCan I ask a stupid question? Why do you have to have the ribbon around the styrofoam ball for support? Why is more support needed? Do the flowers not just hold onto the ball?
Thanks!
posted by ashley_nic81 2 years agosorry for the belated response (started writing my thesis and finally surfaced to check on wedding things!)
@june- I used open roses and I also learned a trick, if you brush them face down on your leg back and forth a few times it really opens them up/revives them from the box they came in
@ashley- not a stupid question at all, you actually arent using the ribbon to support the flowers but to support/hold the weight of the balls, if you just tried to hot glue gun a piece of ribbon to the ball it would be harder to cover with the flowers (hence why you thread it first and then cover over entirely with flowers, I think it would be hard to cover a big knot/stick out) and also you would be banking a lot on hot glue gun holding it up/wind blowing them around etc
in reality im sure you could get away with not tying ribbon underneath since they are pretty light weight but if you did real flowers/soaked floral foam those suckers would weigh at least 5-10lbs so you would definitely need sturdy support
I would also measure the height of the chair/etc you're hanging them from, mine hung a little lower than I had imagined but I did make sure they were all even :)
posted by Mrs Vino 2 years agojust thought of an idea for ashley, i could see using a large pin (one of those large tapestry pins) to jam into the ribbon and into the ball but again i would worry about it sliding out and the ball falling on the ground but def something to try :)
posted by Mrs Vino 2 years agoDo you still have the balls? If so, would you be willing to sell them? They are my exact colors! :)
posted by LovelyLu 2 years agoLovely Lu
Unfortunately I don't have them anymore, I gave them to my sister for her wedding this year in NC :/
Wish I had saved them though since I would have never thought anyone would be interested in buying them!!
They honestly took less than a morning to complete and were very inexpensive compared to most outdoor decor.
posted by Mrs Vino 2 years ago