simple Analogy

Pom Pom Week - Round Up

Now that you're equipped to make all these gorgeous tissue pom poms, you may need a few ideas of how to incorporate them into your decor, be it party or home.  By no means is this an exhaustive list, but here are a few of my favorite ideas.

 
1. Cup Cake Poms  2. Tree Pom Pom   3. Baby Room Poms  4. Pom Pom Napkin Ring  5. Girl's Room Ceiling Poms  6. Wallflowers  7. Car Garland  8. Valentine Pom Poms  9. Outdoor Porch Poms  10. Lanterns 'n Pom Poms  11. From the Rafters  12. Banners 'n Poms  13. Brunch Pom Poms  14. Multicolor Poms Poms  15.  May Day Poms  16. Barn Dance Poms  17. Hanging Pom Poms  18. Pom Pom Clusters  19. Pom Pom Garland  20. Monochromatic Table

Now that you've got visions of lovely pom poms dancing in your head, it's time to do something about it!  Go make some!!! 

***I'd love to hear what you're doing with pom poms.  Leave a comment (and links to your pictures if you have them) and share how you've used poms in the past or how you plan to use them in the near future! 

Pom Pom Week - Part 2

I promised specifics on pom poms...

First of all the tutorial for how to make pom poms is very easy to follow and will work for any size pom pom you make.  So we're not really going to get into how to fold and fluff the pom pom.  Instead, I'm going to give you exact details for varying the size, so that you don't have to figure it out on your own like I did.  I experimented with different sizes of tissue and differing numbers of layers for each pom.  Here's what I came up with-

We'll start with the large pom pom...

 
I used ten sheets of 18 x 26 inch tissue paper, the standard size sold at Target.  The tutorial says to use 8 sheets, but the eight sheet pom wasn't as full as I thought it should be.  (makes 1)

Next, the medium pom pom...

I used four 18 x 26 inch sheets.  Stack the four sheets.  Cut in half width-wise then stack them on top of each other.  This will give you eight sheets to use for one pom pom.  The pom will be half the size of the larger ones.

And last of all, the small pom pom...

 

I used one 18 x 26 inch sheets.  Cut the sheet into thirds width-wise.  Cut each third in half width-wise.  This will give you six small sheets to use for one pom pom.  The pom will be about the size of an orange.

After you have cut the tissue to the size you need, just follow the directions.

Now for dollars and cents... this is the really good part!  A pack of 20 sheets of 18 x 26 inch tissue paper at Target costs $1.99.  I'm basing my figures on that amount. 

Large pom pom = $1

Medium pom pom = $.40

Small pom pom = $.10

Bottom line...  These things are CHEAP!!!!!    

Now you're ready to tackle pom poms of all sizes!  Come back on Friday for a round up of pom pom ideas!

Pom Pom Week - Part 1

Let's talk pom poms this week.  The tissue paper kind.  Of course the pom pom phenomenon has been going on for quite a while.  I've seen them used everywhere!  From baby showers to weddings, from room decor to parties of all sorts.  They are beautiful, whimsical, easy to make, and cheap.  Perfect for DIY events!

I was asked to come up with a plan for decorating an event at church - a lunch celebrating our pastor's 30th anniversary of being in the ministry AND one of our member's 100th birthday.  Something indeed to celebrate!  I had a week to plan/gather and 5 hours to decorate the morning of the event.  That's cutting it close!  Tissue paper pom poms were a major part of my plan.

I began practicing making pom poms using Martha Stewart's tutorial.  I needed several different sizes and experimented with the right amount of paper and layers of tissue. I would need 7 large pom poms, 5 medium, and 30 small.  I'd need help!  My partner in crime called in sick on the day we planned to pom, so I called in the girls.  They are life savers, that group!  We got all the pom poms made in one night.

The large and medium poms were hung by from the ceiling above the head tables along with a few lanterns.  

The smaller poms were hung in arrangements of crepe myrtle branches (harvested from our back yard) anchored in sand.

The pom poms were a great way to add color and interest into the decor.  Stay tuned for specifics on sizes, layers, and cost!

Practicing

  
Too bad the final product won't be purple.  I really like this color!

Ahhh, Christmas

 
I love the coziness of the lights in the evening.  So calming.  So beautiful. 

Is It Thursday Already?

 
This week is almost over?  My yearly decorating jag started on Monday.  Three days of decorating, trips up and down ladders with flip flops (I knew better than that!), glitter covering every inch of my body, sore feet, and stiff legs later...

• my house is less than stellar in the cleaning division
• I have no more clean pants
• lunch is consisting of a leftover hamburger patty because I forgot to bring home my leftover Pei Wei from mom's yesterday  (I knew it, Mom!)
• gotta run to the store for supplies for making Joel's birthday cake
• an upcoming trip is telling me I need to get things in gear
• I just want to sit 

So, just for today, I'm going to forget all that NEEDS to be done (except for that cake) and enjoy being at home.  I'm going to relish eating a leisurely lunch, such as it is.  I'm gonna just sit and pet this dog in my lap.  I'm going to enjoy the process of cooking a home-cooked meal and dessert for my birthday boy.  I'm gonna play Christmas music to my heart's content.  I'm going to relax because it IS Thursday!

P.S.  The flowers above are from my birthday and they lasted two weeks!

SeaQuest

 

 

My underwater habitat for the week.

Blogging forecast:  90% of my energy will be used up with my preschoolers, which leaves a 10% chance of MAYBE one other post this week and that will probably be only pictures and very few words.

Shrapnel and Other Such Spoiling

This is what Mom treated Noah to... his absolute favorite food of all - crab legs - along with shrimp, lobster tail, french fries, and biscuits.  A man sized portion!  What are grandmas for if not to make their grandchildren feel special, important, loved.

Thank you, Mom!  He loved every bite.

*****

So on another note, I'm much more focused now.  Megan and I got our coral reef painted and my VBS stuff is coming right along.  The school room was purged, cleared, taped, and not painted.  Today though!  Today.  My able bodied painting partner (Noah) will be helping me roll.  By tonight we should have a lovely shade of "graige" (gray with a tiny bit of beige).  I'm using the Behr paint with primer included.  The Home Depot guys said it's amazing.  I'll let you know. 

See!  Focused!

Book Fair: Day Two

 

Domino:  The Book of Decorating

Decorating is a hobby of mine.  Several years ago, my sister and I drooled our way through Domino and Blueprint Magazines.  Sad, sad day when they flew the coop.  Lucky for me they printed a book!  OK, I know this is not a new release or anything, but it was my first time looking through the whole book.  I can hardly believe that it was on the shelf when I passed by the arts/crafts section of the library.  I figured it'd be wait-listed/requested by a million people.

If you're even thinking about the remotest decorating project, you should check it out!  Inspiration galore!

Some of my favorite things about this book?

1.  The "so you're gonna be decorating but don't know how to start" section in the front.  Steps 1-8 will get you onto the yellow brick road.

  

2.  Have a specific room you want to decorate?  It's in there!  From entry way to bathroom, bedroom to living room-  each room has it's own chapter.

3.  Tips, tricks, and what to do with small spaces ('cause most of us don't own enormous houses).

 4.  A game of Dominoes and the effect.  (You'll see what I mean!)

If you don't already have a project planned, I bet you'll start one after looking through this book!  Decorator heaven I tell you! 

I'm So Not Sentimental

 

Am I a keeper?  If you've read this blog for over four months, you'll know the answer to that question.  How many purges have I blogged about here?  At least once a quarter and probably more than that.  It seems the older I get the more frequent the purges, and I'm only in my thirties.  Just think what I'll be like when I'm 80!  I even have a load going to Goodwill today.  So, no I'm not a keeper.  I'm not sentimental either.  I have a few items I've stored as the boys were growing up, but most of it gets its picture taken and then out it goes to find another happy place.

Joel on the other hand is VERY sentimental.  He gets very attached to things and almost grieves when they have to go.  I don't know how many times I threw his favorite tie (from his college days) in the trash.  He'd dig it out and hang it back up.  A few months ago when I finally convinced - no that's not the right word - more like begged him not to dig that twisted thing out of the trash again, you'd have thought he'd lost his best friend.  He hates change.

So Tuesday when I started hanging our new art on the walls in the bedroom I knew I was in for a rough time.  He was ready to part with all but one picture.  I must admit it is a very nice picture, and we've had it for about 8 years.  I was going to try to make it work, but sailboats just don't go in our revamped space any more.  I got up the nerve and asked him if he would mind if I take it down and hang two of my new pictures in its place. 

Shock!  Horror!  Then I showed him what the new ones would look like up there.  He admitted they looked really good, sadly took the picture down, and promptly took it to the schoolroom/boys rooms/hallway/anywhere that he could think of to hang it, with me running along behind him saying, "NO!  NO!  NO!  It just doesn't belong here any more!"  He then started thinking of every single newly married couple at church to give it to.  "NO!"  Put it in the attic?  "NO!"  Sell it?  "Where and how?"  I'm not doing a garage sale and have never done Craig's List or Ebay before.  I think it should go to Goodwill, but he has decided to wait and see if the guys that work for him want it.  "Oh, all right!  But if not, out it goes."  I'm so hard hearted! 

I've got to buy one more frame and do a patch job where the old very heavy sailboat picture hung.  When I get that done I'll show you the whole thing, but for now the picture above is your sneak peak.  I really love my new room!  He does too, but already has asked me if we can just keep it this way and not change it.  I'm making no promises!