Making Pom-Pom Garlands

For the past year or so I have been a little obsessed with pom-poms on Pinterest.  I think they are so charming and whimsical.  And when you make them into garlands, they are fabulous on your mantle, strung over chalkboards, hung in children's bedrooms, or casually draped on headboards... 

There are a few different ways to make pom-poms, but overall pom-poms are fairly simple and inexpensive (especially when using up all that leftover yarn!).  One thing they do take, is a bit of time (which in my case, is in the evenings after the little ones are asleep, or during the day while listening to them do their reading to me.)

I chose to go the cheapest route possible, and used a fork (and my fingers) to make mine.  The size and density is up to you!  And if you want to make red and white garland like this, just keep reading.

Materials needed:
- red and white yarn
  (I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn, in "Cherry Red" and "Soft White")
- kitchen fork
- scissors
- twine (or yarn)
- blunt-end craft needle (I think I got mine at Wal-mart with the knitting stuff) Just be sure it has a BLUNT tip, or it will end up pulling out some of your pom-pom strands.

Note: This tutorial is to make the white pom-poms small size, and the red pom-poms large size, but feel free to switch it up!

To make the Small White Pom-Poms:

(I'm so embarrassed to admit, that with the first 50 or so pompoms I made, I only wrapped the tie through the middle of the looped yarn, and not all the way around the looped yarn, which made them incredibly lopsided, AND I was having to trim off almost half of my pom-poms to make them even.  Finally I looked closer at another picture, and realized I had to wrap the tie all the way around the looped yarn!  Let's just say, after that it went much better, and I had far less waste.  =)

 

To make the Large Red Pom-Poms:



 

To make the Pom-Pom Garland:

Cut your twine to desired length.  (Note: keep in mind, if you are going to add knots in between pom-poms, you will need to leave extra length on your twine)

Now here's 2 options:

Some tutorials I've seen just have you use the extra ends of the ties, and you tie the pom-poms directly to the twine.  I chose to NOT do it this way, as I feel like they look like they're hanging off the twine, vs the twine going directly through the middle of the pom-poms.  But it's your call.

Trim all the long tie ends on each pom-pom.  And when you get to the end of your twine, make another loop knot. 

(having loops at the ends will allow you to connect strands, if you are ever so inclined.)

Can't wait to see what you make with your pom-poms!

 

:: What a little (or a lot) of work will do

I've been looking for a sewing hutch - a place to store my extra fabric and supplies, as well as my patterns and quilting tools.  About a month ago I found this beauty at our local GoodWill store - AND it was on Half-Off Saturday!  (Yes - I was practically dancing right there in the store).  Even though it was a little bit bigger than I had in mind, the bones were exactly what I was looking for, the detailing was beautiful, and it was a Thomasville - which means high quality craftmanship, real wood, and dovetail drawers.  It wasn't the color I was looking for, but we all know THAT is how you get a good deal.  You can't have Pottery Barn beauty and quality, AND a Goodwill price tag.  =)  Good thing I know how to paint.  So it came home with me.

 With the first few brush strokes of primer, I began getting very worried.  I knew I was either crazy...or brave.  I decided crazy.  It was a bear to paint every surface of every shelf and door, but at that point I knew I didn't have a choice but to continue.  Let me just warn you: if you're thinking of painting your first piece of furniture, don't start with a china hutch.  =)
But now that the final coat of creamy paint is on, I'm so glad I did it - despite the many hours of work. 
Our eating table and countertops are covered, so the family's been flexible and we've enjoyed eating on a folding table.  It's so funny, things that adults find an inconvenience, the kids' think exciting.

Can't wait to show it to you finished!



:: Project - Bare Walls

I might have mentioned I've been busy with walls over here lately.  After getting the main floor painted this summer, I finally had enough of bareness.  It's like something snapped inside me.  See this huge, empty wall in our dining room?  Bo-ring.  It's amazing to think we stared at that wall during every meal for the last 3 years, isn't it? (excuse the wood plank on the ceiling - it's for attaching the baby's jonny-jump-up - but back to walls...)

I laid everything out on the floor and was able to work out an arrangement.  I did have to use some brown paper to save spots for the chalkboard we were making, and a few other things I didn't have ready to hang.

Last year for Mother's Day my husband bought this growth chart for me.  It's my favorite.  And yay - it's finally up!   (You can find it here.)

My children measure themselves all the time. Just in case someone has grown overnight.  I love it.

I wanted a chalkboard in the dinning room so we could work on the verses we are trying to memorize as a family.  It's a great visual prod while we are sitting there eating.

I found a large piece of wood in our garage, and after applying a few coats of chalkboard paint, Josh was obliging enough to attached some inexpensive pine trim, and with a bit of cream paint and slight distressing around the edges, it was ready to hang.

 

I used a vintage matchbox holder for our chalk and eraser.  It's quite charming, and works perfectly.  You can find them in a wide range of prices on ebay.  (I bought the cheapest one I could find for about $7, covered in years of grease, and then just scrubbed it over and over once it arrived in the mail.  Good as new - or old - again.)

Obviously I still need to get new pictures printed out for all the frames, but at least now they are on the walls.  Most of the frames were ones I already had, a few are new, and the plates are either from the Goodwill, or ones my grandmother hand-painted years ago.

I have a few ideas floating around in my mind for that empty space directly over the chalkboard.  But that's for another day.

 

:: Project - School Room: Map of the US (tutorial)

I've been busy over here.  I've been obsessively doing projects for 2 things: making things to hang on my many bare walls, and working on getting our school room organized and ready for school to start in just a few short weeks.  I can't wait to show you what we've been working on. And today I get to share with you one of the things I'm most excited about and begin a small series:

 

Project - School Room: Map of the US (tutorial)

Project:2x3' wall map of the US

Cost: $7.00



This year in home-school, we are going to be doing "Adventures" (with My Father's World) and we will be spending the whole year studying American History.  I am so excited!  We needed a wall map of the US, but when I began looking for maps, all of the ones I found at big office stores had WAY too much information on them for my children (3rd grade on down).  I really just wanted them to see each state, and maybe the capitol. 
I found just the thing at World Market (here) on sale for $63.99.  That's a lot of money when you know you can do it yourself for less than $10, a little time, and a lot of satisfaction!

I found a US Map at www.mrprintables.com that was exactly what I was looking for (here) - just states and capitols - and FREE!  I also liked the narrow lettering font, since I wanted the full name of the states (not just the abbreviation).

I downloaded it to my computer, and then had Staples print it as a 2 x 3' Engineering Print, for just $3.59. (go to their website, and look for "printing services".  Then click on any links that say "engineering prints" - it's super easy.)  They had it printed out for me and waiting just a few hours later.
I pulled a bunch of old decking out of our scrap pile, my (very patient) man ran them through his saw (to cut them in half width-wise).  I think lumber stores have thin (pine?) fencing boards that would work great too, and are pretty cheap, if you don't have a scrap pile to pull from.  You can also ask them to cut them to the right length for you.
After a quick lesson on how to use his (very powerful) Bosch saw, I lined them up and cut them to the desired length (approx. 3 feet) - and boy did I feel like superwoman!  I made the edges look worn by cutting a little off in random patterns.

We used these Simpson Strong-Tie Mending Plates (from Home Depot) over the joints to attach the boards together.  And are they wonderful!  On previous projects we connected the boards with other boards, but this was so easy - I even hammered a few.  As we used them, we realized we would have only needed the narrower ones - they were plenty strong (wide ones were $.69, narrower ones $.59).

And here they are, ready for paint.

I painted on a coat of primer, using some I already had, and being sure to get in all the little cracks and holes - these are old boards, remember? (Side-note: buy yourself a can of Kilz primer - you will use it for everything!) 

Then I gave it 2 coats of black paint, in eggshell finish that I pulled off our garage shelf.  (again, a staple for many projects!)  Make sure you let it fully dry between coats.

 

 After drying all night, I taped my "architecture print" map onto it.

Using a flat head screwdriver, I pressed down slightly with my pointer finger as I "traced" the border of the US and the outlines of the States with the edge of the screwdriver.  This is why it's good to have really soft wood!  Then I marked where the capitols (stars) were supposed to go.  I started out by making a small star, and then gave that up (it was too time-consuming) and made a dot with my screwdriver.  I'm all about fast, remember.  Lots of kids = limited time for projects!

Pouring a small amount of white acrylic paint onto a disposable plate and using a small paintbrush, I painted in the outlines of the states.  Don't be scared - it's much easier than it looks.  Your traced outline provides a nice ditch for your paint to follow.

For reference, I used the paper map as I painted the names of the states, free-handing it and trying to keep my lettering as narrow as possible.  I started in the larger (western) states since they had more room for the lettering, and as I practiced, it was easier to move east into the smaller states and paint smaller lettering. 

Then, using a tiny dab of silver acrylic paint, I painted a star where each state's Capitol is.

Once that was done, I used a scrap of heavy sandpaper to rough up the edges.  I like the way the white primer shows through a bit in spots.  I was able to bend the boards along the joints, and sand a little along the edges, too.

 oh yeah - and I painted my name and date in the corner.

We hung it in our school room last night, by using 2 long screws and screwing directly through the front of the wood, into the stud behind the wall. (I'm all about fast, remember).  Then I dabbed each screw head with a bit of black paint.  Now you don't even see it.

I just love the way it turned out, don't you?   Even if you don't have a school room, I think these would make adorable wall art in a boy's room or a family room. 

Now, go and make yourself one.  Or two.  And be sure to let me know if you do.  I'd love to see pictures.