Pretty Tissue Poms

Years ago, many, many years ago, cheerleaders used to make their own pom poms. It's true.  They'd sit around in a circle the night before a game or pep rally and carefully craft their poms in their school colors.  Today, of course, things have changed, but these tissue poms are making a comeback...in a decorative way.  Tissue poms are becoming popular again to use at weddings, birthday parties, and even bedroom decor.  I love the way pretty tissue poms hang from the ceiling as if they're floating in the air.  Beautiful.  Ethereal. Sweet.  Want to learn how to make them?  Let go!


The rules for making tissue poms is - there are NO RULES!  If you want big poms, use large pieces of tissue.  If you want small ones, cut the tissue in half.  If you want fuller poms, use extra sheets.  Here's how I make my tissue poms.  Adjust, change, add, or delete your own creativity as needed.

Step 1.  Take 8-10 sheets of tissue, the kind you wrap gifts in.  I know this statement may seem funny to some of you, but you never know who may misunderstand.  I just want to make these steps clear.

Step 2.  On the short side of your tissue, fold your paper about an inch, then flip it over and fold another inch.  Repeat this until you come to the end of the paper.  

Think of making a fan, like when you were a kid.  This is called an "accordion" fold and it should look like this in the end.

Step 3.  Take a piece of string, rope, twine, ribbon- whatever you have lying around- and tie it in the middle of your folded tissue.  I used flower wire here. 

Step 4.  Cut the edges of each side.  The tissue is thick, so do a few at a time. If the cut is pointed, the pom will have a "Dahlia-like" flower look.  If it's rounded, it will be puffed and have a floral look.


This is what it will look like when the middle is tied and the edges are cut.  These are the rounded cuts.

Step 5.  Tie a long piece of string, rope, twine, ribbon- whatever you have lying around- and tie it around your "flower wire".  This piece will be used to hang the pom and it works best if you place it here on the side.

Step 6.  Separate the layers carefully, peeling one tissue at a time.

Keep peeling.

Keep peeling until one side is done. 

Step 7.  Peel tissue on the other side.


Now hang, and admire your work.  We used these for my daughter's 10th birthday party, and they're a great alternative to balloons.  Make sure you start making these well in advance though.  They're a beautiful craft but they can take some time to make.  Put on a movie, have a cup of coffee, and craft away.


Pretty, don't you think?

Blessings,
Lisa

I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs.  To visit them, go to the {Link Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home} bar.
Also linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations 
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm 
Tip Junkie 
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Comments

  1. They are beautiful!! I love the well detailed tutorial you gave! Stopping by from Transformation Thursday! Your newest follower!

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  2. My neighbors grand daughter are gonna love you sooooooooooo much..

    I'll pass your site over to her and this is probably how the girls will spend their weekend. yeaaaaaaa..

    with any luck I'll be the happy recipient of some of the flowers done in white and blue tissue..

    thanks sooooooo very much.. this is Great

    Sonny

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  3. I didn't know that about cheerleaders, very fun! These turned out awesome, thank you for the detailed instructions. I think they would look so fun in different holiday colors and are such an easy way to decorate. Pinning!

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  4. OMG, I wish I would have seen this before I spent $8 for a pack of three at the party store. I opened them, and was like, "Wow, I could have totally made this!"

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  5. I love these tissue poms. They are just so fluffy and eye catching. I love the colors you choose! I would love for you to share with my linky party going on now http://thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com/2012/06/blog-stalking-thursday-46.html Blog Stalking Thursday. Thanks for the great tutorial!

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  6. Good work. I went to make these one day a while back and have no idea what dumb thing I was doing but I managed to mess them up. Thanks for the reminder of how simple and easy they are. I am one of those who as a pee wee cheerleader when I was a kid, used to make yarn pom poms for our shoes for when we cheered for our brothers' football games in pee wee football. Back in ancient times. Found your post at Get Schooled Saturday. Hope you'll stop over and see me at Quirky Vistas sometime.
    Liz

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  7. They look awesome!!! I'm embarrassed to say I purchased some for my daughter's room off etsy instead of DIYing! But this is a great tute! appreciate your advice :)
    would love for you to come share at Hearts&Homes link up on http://www.mercyINKblog.com :) have a blessed weekend!

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  8. Thanks for this tutorial! I'll we making 10,000 of these of a first birthday party... I'm a new follower too!

    Sarah
    {http://www.naptimedelights.blogspot.com}

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  9. Very pretty pom poms Lisa! I love the colors you chose!
    Thanks for linking up this week!
    Stacey of embracing Change

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  10. Love the colours you chose and that you showed the different cut edges. Looks so festive! I made some last year and sprayed them with some glitter body spray stuff, made them pretty and smelled nice ;) Thanks for sharing at Etcetorize!

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  11. Love the colors as well! They look so great ;) Newest GFC follower. Love for you to stop by and say hi when you get a chance. Found you on Motivate Monday.

    www.thenaptimereview.com

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  12. These can be catered to any festive occasion or holidays with coordinating colors. Thank you for sharing. my kids and I will love doing this!

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  13. I love this!!!! I am so doing this at our next birthday party (coming up soon!). I am pinning this - and hopping over from WLW Wednesdays. Blessings from Zagreb - A Little R & R http://jukiczr.blogspot.com

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  14. A friend of mine made these for a party at Christmas and they lasted forever. We reused them for a couple other parties at church and they were a hit. Thank you for sharing how to make these festive party decorations.

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  15. This is a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing! So cute! Thanks for linking up to "Strut Your Stuff Saturday!" We hope to see you again! -The Sisters

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  16. So cute! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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  17. Thanks for the reminder... I used to make these many years ago when I was a little girl, no I wasn't a cheerleader, but did grow up in the 60's... My 2 granddaughters would love these, but I had forgotten all about them. Little Bit
    p.s. I'm going to find a way to follow you too...

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  18. Great job! We used pom poms for my daughters wedding and it was amazing! Now they're in my daughter's room hanging from the ceiling. Here's a pic if you want to visit. Good job! http://www.martysmusings.net/2011/11/pom-poms.html

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  19. Pinning! I have a butterfly 5th birthday party coming up and I think these would be perfect for decor. Now I just need a glass of wine (I prefer that to coffee!) and a movie:)

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  20. Thanks for all the sweet comments, ladies! I'm glad you all enjoyed the tutorial. Have fun making the poms. They really are pretty. It's been a month since our party and we still have them up!

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  21. Howdy! Do you happen to own any blogging or it is a natural gift? Can't wait to see your answer.

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  22. Hey,
    These look absolutely amazing. I love the way you have used this way of tissue advertising to add some colour to your home. As tissue papers are available in all sorts of colours, we can use whatever colours that match the theme or the season. You have used your creative abilities to make the best of tissue advertising .

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