FaveCrafts

1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas and DIY tips

Link Love: Pom Poms

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Spring is in the air – can you feel it? To celebrate this glorious season, I’ve been searching for pretty, uncomplicated projects to decorate my space. One thing I’ve noticed – pom poms are all the rage right now. They’re used for banners, wall art and even keychains, plus they come in all shapes and sizes. Pom poms help you use up yarn or paper that you might have leftover from another project. Plus, they look like pretty florals and will inevitably put a smile on your face. Does it get any better than that?

Until now, I always assumed they pom poms were could only be created with yarn and were used as an accent on a winter hat. Upon further research, I realized I was completely wrong. There are so many crafty ways to work with pom poms and you can make your own in a snap! If you are looking for a quick and easy stashbuster, start with a Fabric Scrap Pom Pom. Sure, this is a great idea for a Christmas ornament, but you can certainly make one and hang it up at any time of year. I also love the look of Lacy Eyelet Pom Poms because they’re girly and delicate.  Don’t let the name of this project fool you – you need tissue paper, not fabric, to complete this project.

If you want to make your own pom poms but aren’t sure how to get started, you’re in luck. Find out how to make a pom pom, gather up your materials and get to work!

  1. DIY Pom Pom Keychain from Plan B
  2. Pom Pom Necklace from Design Improved
  3. Paint Chip and Pom Pom Bookmarks from Make and Takes
  4. Pom Pom Accent Rug from Pippa Patchwork
  5. Mini Tissue Pom Garland from Make Home Base
  6. Exotic Flower and Pom Pom Straws from Clones n’ Clowns
  7. Crepe Paper Pom Pom Garland from Honestly Yum
  8. Pom Pom Monster Wands from Sew and the City
  9. Fuzzy Heart Art from Writing Chapter Three

AllFreeHolidayCrafts Giveaway: Adventures in Pompom Land

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Adventures in Pompom Land, by Myko Diann Bocek, includes 25 different ways to create cute projects from handmade pompoms. The majority of the projects included in this book demonstrate how to make miniature animals from pompoms, making this book an obvious choice for any crafter that loves cute and cuddly creatures. Each of the 25 different projects included in this book have a unique character. These pompom animals make wonderful ornaments, cake toppers, pincushions, home decor pieces, and so much more. Adventures in Pompom Land is an ideal tool for crafters that love working with wool, felt, and pompoms to create works of art. Many of the animals includes in this book are made using the needle-felting technique, which is a fun and easy-to-learn way to add legs, ears and more to you cute creations.

Adventures in Pompom Land

Some of the 25 projects that are detailed within Adventures in Pompom Land include a bluebird, a roguish fox, a baby bunny, an owl, a cute little pig, an adorable elephant, a raccoon, and many, many, more. With 25 different animals to choose from, you should be able to make a loved one’s favorite animal as the perfect handmade gift. In this book  Myko Diann Bocek includes an introductory section, Pompom Making Essentials, which includes the basic skills needed to create pompom animals, and a crash course in needle felting. With only a few inexpensive materials needed to get started, this book is a wonderful way start a new hobby that won’t cost you too much. Plus, if you’re not new to these techniques, Adventures in Pompom Land is chock-full of crafty inspiration for animal fans that love to create.  Learn to create cute creatures from pompoms and wool with this wonderful guide by Myko Diann Bocek.

Adventures in Pompom Land

AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com is giving away a copy of  Adventures in Pompom Land to one lucky winner. You Could win!

Learn more and enter to win here.

Contest ends April 9, 2013. You can enter once daily, so return often to improve your chances of winning!

How to Make Yarn Pom Poms

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Don’t you love how cute and versatile pom poms are?  Add them to the top of a knit hat or to the ends of a homemade scarf and you’ll instantly have a whimsical winter accessory.  If you’ve never made your own before and don’t have a special pom pom making kit, don’t worry –  making pom poms is actually super easy!   It’s also a great craft project for kids.  So get your favorite color of yarn ready and let’s make some pom poms!

Materials:

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • A small ball of scrap yarn (Note: for fuller pom poms, use two two balls or more of yarn)
  • Scissors
  • Cardboard or cardstock

Instructions:

  1. Take your piece of cardboard or cardstock and cut a rectangle shape that’s roughly three inches wide and five inches long.
  2. Take your ball of yarn and wrap it around the middle of the cardboard.
  3. Continue wrapping until the yarn protrudes at least an inch out from the cardboard.  Depending on how full you want your pom pom to be, you may need to wrap more yarn in this stage.
  4. Bend your cardboard rectangle slightly until the wrapped yarn can easily slide off.
  5. Take a long strand of yarn that’s the same color as the yarn you used before and tie it tightly around the middle of the loops of yarn. It will end up looking something like this:
  6. Take your scissors and cut through the yarn loops on both sides of the “bow.”
  7. Your pom pom will look a little disheveled at first.  To remedy this, gently pull and stretch both sides of the pom pom to loosen up the freshly cut loops.
  8. Now take your scissors and trim the yarn down to size and into the desired shape.  After its had a proper haircut, your lovely little pom pom will look something like this:
  9. That’s all there is to it.  Enjoy adding your finished pom pom to hats, scarves and more.

 

FaveCrafts 365 Spring Cleaning

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Nothing says Spring like Spring Cleaning! Although housework is not at the top of my list of fun and amazing things to do, I get a kick out of Spring Cleaning. A fresh start! A new beginning! So Spring!

I also discover things while doing my yearly clean-it, donate-it, or pitch-it celebration. And I do keep a list of those just-can’t-donate-or-pitch-it items. If something makes that list two years in a row, it’s donated to a better home where it will not get shoved in the back of a closet.

Check out what I discovered this year in the video. A treasure that got used!

FaveCrafts 365 Get Your Pom Pom On!

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We love to answer questions at FaveCrafts.com because we want you to have fun while crafting, but sometimes we ask questions too. Like who invented the pom pom, a little crafting supply that is fun, silly, colorful, and a great embellishment? And who would have thought that the French have the correct term for this fuzzy staple of craft?

The pom poms that you see in this video were made with the Clover Pom Pom Maker, a very handy tool if you love making pom poms. The tool comes in a variety of sizes and can be ordered on CutRateCrafts.com here. There is even one that makes heart shaped pom-poms!

How to: Make a Hair Pom

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Warm weather means the return of flowers and floral print, and a big holdover trend from last year is oversize hair accessories. What better way to incorporate the two trends than with a DIY hair flower?

Flower and Feather Hair Accessories Rolled Fabric Roses Flower Ribbon Headband Spring Flower Headband
Try these other DIY hair accessories on FaveCrafts!

The inspiration for this project comes from Anthropologie’s “Extra Zest Clip.” When I saw this in the store, my first thought was “I need to own this!” followed by “Eighteen bucks? No way!” culminating in “Hey that looks kind of like Martha Stewart’s tissue paper pom poms…” And so, the idea for a DIY Anthro clip was born.

Step 1. Using Martha’s tutorial, I first cut out eight squares from some black chiffon I had in my stash (any fabric will do—be creative!). I used 4×4 inch squares, but you can use bigger ones if you’d like a bigger flower. The project only works with squares (not rectangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, etc.), but they don’t have to be perfect squares.

Squares

Seriously, they don't.

Step 2. Stack the squares on top of each other and accordion fold all the way down. This is a little trickier with fabric than with tissue paper, but it is feasible. The tutorial says to make ½ inch folds, but that is with a much larger piece of material. I just made my folds as small as I could while still keeping some semblance of uniformity. Just as in Step 1, it doesn’t matter if your folds are very even.

Stacked Squares

Stacked squares

Accordian Fold

Accordion fold

Step 3. Wrap a piece of wire around the center of your folded squares and twist to secure.

Wrap Wire

Squares secured with wire

Step 4. Trim the ends of the accordion folds to make them rounded or pointy, whatever your preference. You may have to go back and trim them more once they are separated, because cutting through that many layers of fabric takes a bit of muscle!

Cutting

Step 5. Separate the layers from each other and “fluff” appropriately. This step is mostly trial and error. Once you’ve got all the layers separated, just pull and prod at the petals until they look how you want them to look.

Fluffing

Pulling one layer away from the rest

Step 6. To wear your hair flower, either wrap the extra wire from the middle around a headband (this is easily removable too, in case you want to wear it on different headbands) or attach to an alligator clip. If you’d like to use your flower as a brooch, you can alternatively attach a pin to the back.

Headband

I made mine into a headband.

And voila! You are now a veritable fashion maven, with your wallet intact.

Variations

I also made bigger ones in yellow and leopard print!

What fashion trends are you dying to DIY?

Pom Poms for Global Peace

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Today, instead of our normal Friday Favorites feature, I would like to share a global craft project in which you can participate. Pom Pom International is asking people all over the world to create pom-poms, “non-political, creative balls of fluffy yarn in a gesture of peace and reconciliation.” All pom-poms are tagged, tracked and sewn together to create the biggest pom pom in the world.

Perhaps a giant pom-pom can change the world or perhaps it’s just a lot of global crafty fun. Either way, use one of pom pom international kits to create your contribution pom pom (and many more) or follow the diagram below. Don’t forget to download your tag! Pom-poms can be used in so many fantastic crafts projects from knitting to Easter chicks. I know I’d like to be part of this fun and silly global craft record.

I think I’ll send a green pom-pom in merino wool from Ireland!

Crochet

Jewelry

Knitting

Paper

Sewing

Thrifty