HOW TO MAKE TISSUE PAPER POM POMS

Pom poms are a cheap and very attractive looking decoration that can be used for many different events such as weddings, birthdays, christenings, baby showers, high school proms - the list goes on! They are versatile, cost effective and easy to make. You can make them in any colour, big or small, they will look great once they are hung up.

However if you were to buy your own from one of the many party websites, the average price is around £6.00 for 2 pom poms. If you need to buy quite a few, this could make a big dint in your wallet, especially if you have a large venue to fill. If you have a smaller budget, but want decorations that look great, why not have a go at making your own. Many craft stores sell packs of 10 sheets of tissue paper for around 80-90p, resulting in each pom pom costing less than £1.00.

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

- 8 sheets of tissue paper (per pom pom)
- Scissors
- Thread OR string
- Stapler

Make sure you have a flat surface to start off with. To make your pom pom's, have your 8 sheets of paper measuring approximately 50cm high x 75cm in width. The packs of tissue paper you can buy at craft stores will roughly measure this once chopped in half. That way you now have 20 sheets (making at least 2 pom poms) of tissue paper and your paper is now the right size.

Fold over front to back so it looks like a fan. Make each fold around 1.5 inch/3-4cm in width, until you fold right to the end.

Once you have finished folding the tissue paper, tie together in the middle with your thread or string. This is to keep the tissue paper from opening up. Make sure the thread is quite long as you will also use this later on to hang them up.

At both ends of the pom pom, cut the top off to give it a round effect at both ends...

...to look like this!

Pull the ends at the bottom of the folded tissue together and staple in the middle. Don't staple the pom pom at the ends as this will make it more difficult to separate the paper. 

Do the same on other side and staple again in the middle. You are now going to pull upward the first 4 sheets of tissue paper.

With the pom pom lying flat on the surface, start to gently pull upwards into the middle. The first sheet should be almost touching in the middle. 

With the second sheet, don't pull it up as much. Do the same with the third and fourth sheet, pulling it up slightly less each time. 

Once you have done these 4 layers, turn it over, and repeat, by pulling up the 4 layers again, a little less each time and voila - your pom poms are ready to be hung up! Your first 1-2 attempts may not be the best, but after doing a couple you will definitely get the hang of it, as they are surprisingly easy to make! 

We thought we would have a go recently for a sweet 16th we did, and they looked amazing in pink, black and white. 

They really made the candy bar look great and everybody loved them!

Check back soon for our next post on how we created this sophisticated pink, black and white themed sweet 16th birthday party on a shoe string budget!