Pom Poms are my New Winter Decor

The other morning, when I was up earlier than I wanted to be, I decided the house looked kind of bare after removing all the Christmas decorations. I've now decided that yarn pom-poms are the perfect after-Christmas item to add to your home. Here's how I came to that conclusion.

I started moving around decor items. Using what I have or "shopping my house" is always way cheaper than running to the store.

I had made this pom-pom garland for a MOPS meeting, and it seemed more wintery than Christmasy. Kind of like snowballs, I guess. I was glad that I hadn't packed it away. I might make some green poms for a garland in Nora's room.

It was easy to make and even easier to drape across the top of my hutch.

You can find all kinds of videos showing you how to make pom-poms on forks or your fingers. But for these pretty big poms, I used my pom pom makers (purchased here). It makes a uniform pom everytime. (And there are videos showing you how to use these contraptions too).

To make the garland, I threaded some of my favorite baker's twine (buy it here...) onto an ordinary sewing needle. Then I simply strung the poms, in no particular pattern or order, onto my twine. I didn't knot the thread in between poms, so the poms can be re-positioned easily.

And once you start making these poms on the pom-pom makers, it's really addicting. So, I just started making and making them with cream yarn, using the bigger blue pom-pom maker. And all of a sudden, I had enough for a wreath.

I had seen this wreath in an Anthroplogie catalog some time back. It was my inspiration.

This little spot at the top of my stairs (we have a split level entry) has been a work in progress. While I was pregnant, I was always working on random little projects. I couldn't sleep well but didn't really want to do housework. ha. And that's how this painted canvas came to be.

I had several large canvases (read about their origin here). Once night, I painted over the crazy design on the canvas. I printed some letters out from a Word document, cut them out and traced them onto my canvas. I roughly (not neatly) painted the letters, then outlined each one with a sharpie (because there was no way I could paint that neatly...I'm no artist, but I can trace). 

I have always loved this verse from Psalm 91. I memorized a good part of this chapter in fifth grade Sunday School and can still quote it today. My teacher had these awesome illustrations to help us learn the verses...and it worked. (In fact, I wish I still had a copy of those illustrations). I love surrounding myself with Scripture. What a comfort! The feather image is copied from my MOPS workbook cover. 

The peg coat rack came from a trash pile at an old elementary school. They were selling furniture and lockers, and they let me have these pegs for free. A fresh coat of black paint dressed it up nicely. Since I don't have a foyer, I thought it would be a great place for guests to hang their coats. 

The wreath, is a straw wreath form from Hobby Lobby. Using the 40% off coupon, this wreath cost a little over $2. It is a 14 inch wreath. I left the plastic packaging on the wreath because I didn't want to deal with the shedding straw pieces.

After I made the poms. I attached them to the wreath with 2 straight pins each. T pins or the U shaped hair pins might hold the poms more securely, but I wanted to use what I had on hand. 

I maybe should have wrapped the wreath in fabric or yarn first, to hide the straw. But since my poms are cream, it isn't too noticeable. I didn't cover the backside in poms so that it would lay flat against the wall. This would be cute using different colors of yarn as well.

I'm pleased with my pom-poms. They are easy to make, cute and kid-friendly!

How do you decorate after Christmas? 

A Few Nails and Some String

While I was in Virginia a few weeks ago, I was glad to be able to attend a ladies' event with my mom at church - the annual Ornament Exchange and Craftime!

I was super thrilled to be able to work on Joni's craft.

The ladies arrived and munched on yummy snacks.

Grinch Kabobs

 

We each brought an ornament and went home with a different one. I was given a large jingle-bell ornament. I love it!

After a devotional and some Christmas carols, we each selected a piece of wood.

Each lady decided on a shape or pattern. We then nailed our shape into the wood.

 

Once the nails were in place, it was fun to decide on the color string or yarn that was used.

Then we got to wrapping. I loved seeing everyone's creativity.

Since I was taking pictures, I didn't get my star wrapped that night.

During one naptime, I sat down with some yarn and finished it up. I didn't wind in a particular pattern or order, and was pleased with the result.

I'm now ready to tackle a more intricate shape. Joni let me take an extra piece of wood for a future project.

Have any of you tried this yarn craft? If so, I'd love to see your finished product. Just comment with a link to your instagram picture or blog post! 

Easy Free Decorations...It feels like Spring!

During my weekend with family, I packed in lots of projects. From Green Eggs and Ham to remaking an old man shirt, I had a blast. 

I also helped my parents add some vinyl letters and shapes to the church nursery walls. I had never used my Cricut to cut vinyl, but it was so simple! I will definitely be adding some favorite quotes or verses to my walls at home.

And if you read this post, you'll know that I had a great time hanging out with my blogger friend, Joni. Her house is beautiful and who wouldn't be inspired in this craft room.

While she was finishing up her old man polo remake, I snuck around her house taking pictures. I loved this vase of branches on her kitchen table. 

I had also noticed 2 forks on her craft table.

Little did I know that these supplies were the makings of an awesome craft.

There's no need to reinvent a tutorial that someone else has successfully written. Find the original tutorial here.

She had adorable colors of yarn.

I quickly fashioned a few pink pom-poms. I also had made a couple gray ones. One of my gray ones fell off in the car. As we were packing the car for our trip back to Tennessee, I heard my husband say, "What in the world is this?" Apart from the branches, those gray poms look like the biggest dust bunnies you've ever seen.



I proudly took my new spring decorations to my parent's house. I think the pom-poms look like beautiful little flower buds. I was in love...and apparently my mother was too. She thought that it went great with a picture she had in the living room. So, being the great daughter that I am, I found another vase at her house and put the branches in them.  I just wish I had taken a real picture of it, but all I have is the blurry one from my phone.

Yesterday, I went out to the back yard and selected some branches for my vase. I also grabbed a few extra to make one for my neighbor. Before taking the branches inside, I made sure they were bug free.

I made some cream colored pom-poms for my branches.

I am loving the fun wispy look. I put my friend's branches in an empty mason jar. Mine however are proudly displayed in the milk bottle than Joni gave me. She thought it appropriate that the dairy farm was called "Goodwill."

This project is one of my new favorite crafts. It took less than 30 minutes to complete and all the supplies were free. And, it was a fun way to brighten my neighbor's day. It would be super easy to whip up one of these bouquets for anyone feeling down. And, it will be super easy to change out the pom-pom colors to reflect the time of year. It's also a great way to use up those random bits of yarn you may have laying around the house.

And, before you throw away the little bits that you trim from your pom-poms, why not give it to the birds?

Pin found here.