Pomander balls

[ginastorm]

Does anyone know how to make these? I think they would make the perfect pew decoration for my friend's wedding. She's on a tight budget because the original florist skipped town after Hurricane Katrina. I was thinking of using silk flowers because it would be more cost effective and the pomanders could be assembled days before the wedding. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[*Jen*]

I haven't personally done these but I have been taking notes from this thread on the WC (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=499292&tstart=25)

That's the only place I've found something about those. They seem fairly easy and you can make so many different sizes. Hope this helps!

*~Jen~*

[Sare79]

I made mine for my wedding. They ended up costing more than I thought they would. My tips:
- I bought silk flowers from craft stores and Wal-Mart, 4 inch styrofoam balls, pretty ribbon and used a hot glue gun.
- First cut all the stems off the flowers, and try to leave a 1 inch stem.
- Buy the flowers in many different sizes and colours/shades so that you can fill in any blank spots

At the wedding:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce37b3127cce94f20b6bed0d00000026118AauWbVwzZOf

At home:
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3A79523232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E233%3B%3D999%3D74%3A %3DXROQDF%3E2323834739%3A59ot1lsi

[sublime311]

This was my inspiration. I wanted something uniform and pretty easy to make.
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3A%3B764323232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2334%3D48%3A%3D425 %3DXROQDF%3E232356%3A%3A%3A889%3Bot1lsi

And the finished product. The smaller one was for my flower girl and the other was a "kissing ball" for my ceremony arch:
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3A%3C664323232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2334%3D48%3A%3D425 %3DXROQDF%3E232357888%3A777ot1lsi

I created mine just like Sarah did. I bought A LOT of silk red roses, the foam balls, and a LOT of hot glue. I cut the beds off the roses and added quite a bit of hot glue to the tip before inserting it into the foam ball. I bought flowers that had two difference size buds, so I just alternated small and large buds to give the balls some texture. Also, you need to decide what kind of ribbon you want to use. We used a simple black grosgrain and bought long florist's pins to secure the ribbon to the balls. Once I added the ribbon, I went in and filled the area with more buds.

My florist talked me out of using REAL flowers for my pomanders. She said they weigh a TON because the oasis foam they use is soaked in water before adding the flowers. Not only expensive, but heavy, too.

ETA: Depending on where you get your silk flowers, this could actually turn out to be quite an expensive project - especially, if you need a lot of balls. I think each bunch of flowers we bought cost $1.99. I used about 30 bunches, I believe.

[maplekitty]

I made mine exactly like Sarah did. However, in hindsight I have a few tips:

Buy silk flowers on clearance wherever you can. The flowers really do add up and tend to cost mroe than you originally thought it would.

Buy the green florist foam balls (if you can find them) instead of the white styrofoam. The hot glue gun actually "melt" the foam when you you stick in the flowers and makes for a very messy projects and burnt fingers.

If you have one, use a "low-heat" or craft glue gun, for the same reason above.

[Sare79]

I originally tried the green florist foam and it melted the same way a plain white styro foam block did. I ended up using all white anyway.

I did use the green blocks for another project and I found the same thing.

[♥Chelle♥]

Sublime311's directions are right on the money but if you are wanting fresh pomanders and are doing them as a DIY project...you can buy the green floral oasis at any craft shop if you are wanting fresh but they are very heavy because of the water in them.

They are a little over $1 for each oasis cake....go for the multi pack of oasis...its more cost efficient.

GOOD LUCK

[maplekitty]

I originally tried the green florist foam and it melted the same way a plain white styro foam block did. I ended up using all white anyway.

I did use the green blocks for another project and I found the same thing.

Oh really? well then, I guess there is no way of getting around that other than being very fast in sticking the flowers in before the foams melts away too fast. Or like I suggested above, they do sell a special "low-heat" glue-gun, if you want to spend the extra money.

:)

[ginastorm]

sublime311, Sare79, timzgirl, ♥Chelle♥, maplekitty,

Thanks so much for all your help! I was concerned that using silk flowers would start to add up. Thanks for all the great tips!

[megs7384]

At home:
http://images.snapfish.com/3436%3A79523232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E233%3B%3D999%3D74%3A %3DXROQDF%3E2323834739%3A59ot1lsi

I absolutely love these!!! Do you mind sharing the names of the flowers you used (if you can remember)?