I never realized there are SOOO many decorations you can make with sheets of tissue paper. Like, TONS! And the best thing about them is, they’re SO cheap! Yet, they add so much fun and color to your decor.
Yes, I’ve seen so many of these sold in stores (hello, Target and Party City have a full line of party decor). But I think most would agree, that when the decorations come out of their packaging, they never look quite as good as they do on the picture. And you can never get them as fluffy or as large as you want them to be. The decorations seem to loose some of their “wow” in transit, and you can never get it back, no matter how hard you try.
That’s why I ALWAYS think it’s better to DIY. Not to mention, you’re not paying for someone else to do it for you. It keeps your costs down, and your decorations looking exactly as vibrant and beautiful as you imagine them to be. As long as you can set aside an hour or two of fun crafting time, you’re all set!
I know, I know, time is money. But if you like to craft, and are as particular about your decor as I am, it’s WELL worth it.
A couple weeks ago, I showed you how to make tassel garlands out of sheets of tissue paper. I made these for my friend’s baby shower, and paired them with a custom glitter garlands I had also made to give my drinks and desserts table a pop of color. SO SWEET!
The party was Valentine themed, and I needed some more color for around the house to add to the theme of the day. Tassels everywhere seemed a bit too much, so I decided to take some tissue paper I had left over and make tissue paper pom poms. These would add the pop of color I needed, while not looking too cheesy. I wanted to stay as far away from “streamer” looking as possible. I mean, I wasn’t throwing a kid’s birthday party here. I wanted it to be chic, yet fun for all involved.
I’m sure you’ve seen these online, as well as in stores. Really, they’re everywhere! They’re not a novel idea, but not everyone knows how to DIY. Below, I give you the steps and show you how to make tissue paper pom poms yourself.
Steps To Make Tissue Paper Pom Poms
The Necessary Tools:
- 5-6 sheets of Tissue paper (any size, but 20×30” for the larger pom poms)
- You can use any extra to make tissue paper garlands!
- Scissors
- Ribbon or Twist Tie
Step 1:
- Lay your tissue paper out flat, with all pieces stacked together.
- Fold it up accordion style, in 1” increments.
Step 2:
- Once folded, place a tie around the center of the tissue paper, to keep the paper folded accordion style.
Step 3:
- Take your scissors and cut each edge so the paper has rounded corners.
Step 4:
- Take your paper, and fan it out, piece by piece, towards the center tie.
- Do this for each end.
Step 5:
- Flip the paper to the opposite side, and repeat step 4. Fanning out the paper on the opposite side towards the center tie.
Voi La! You have your perfect paper pom pom.
Advice for Making Your Pom Poms Look Spectacular
Note: If you want to do a few different colors and sizes of tissue paper pom poms, cut your tissue paper BEFORE you start. For example, for the LARGEST pom poms, use 30×20” sheets of tissue paper. Then, cut the remaining sheets to 20×15” for medium sized pom poms. And again, cut the remaining sheets to 15×10” for super small pom poms.
Always use 5-6 pieces of tissue paper for a full, pom pom look. If you use too few sheets, the pom pom will look sparse and cheap (and nobody wants a dinky decoration).
Try to mix up colors and sizes for a fun look. You can hang these together in bunches, or attach fishing line to the tie in the center of the pom pom to use them as hanging decorations.
I used mine as the former, in bunches gathered around the frames of my windows and doors. I combined together different sized pom poms in hot pink, light pink, and lilac to keep the cohesive Valentine theme. When all was said and done, this is what it looked like:
Pretty fun, huh? Instead of hanging the pom poms, I used 3-D hearts as my hanging decorations (see tutorial here). I had so much fun mixing up colors, with hearts and garlands, to create my magical Valentine baby shower decor.
You too, can do so many different variations for your next party – all with cardstock and tissue paper! You’re guests will never believe you did it yourself 🙂
And just as a quick recap, here are the supplies you’ll need to make your own tissue paper pom poms:
The Necessary Tools:
- 5-6 sheets of Tissue paper (any size, but 20×30” for the larger pom poms)
- You can use any leftover paper to make tissue paper garlands!
- Scissors
- Ribbon or Twist Tie
Leave a Reply