How to Make Silk Flower Pomanders
This tutorial shows you how to make silk floral pomanders for both indoor and outdoor weddings and events! Beautiful, endlessly customizable!
Servings: 1 Pomander
Cost: 5
Equipment
- Wire Cutters
- Chopstick or BBQ skewer
- Scissors
Ingredients
- Styrofoam balls - I used 3" you can use larger if needed.
- Ribbon Preferably satin type, ½" - 1 ½" wide
- Silk flowers - MANY*
- Silk greenery or accent flowers such as baby's breath, if desired
- Pins I like beading pins. Perfect length + bit larger head
- Decorative accents optional**
Instructions
- Using a chopstick (preferred) or metal grilling skewer, puncture a hole right through the middle of a styrofoam ball.
- Cut a length of ribbon. You'll want it big enough not only for the loop, but for the ribbon through/under the styrofoam ball as well. As an example, if I want a 12" drop (IE: the ball sits 12" below whatever it's being hung from), I'd allow 24" for the loop, 6" for the two ends to pass through the 3" ball, and then another 6" or so for knotting, etc... meaning a 36" length.
- Fold the ribbon in half, "good" side out.
- If using a chopstick, fold the two edges of ribbon over the end of the chopstick by 2", and push through the styrofoam ball, before knotting them together on the other side.
- If using a (sharper, pointier) skewer, knot the two ends of the ribbon together (small, tight knot). Use the skewer to GENTLY push the knot through the styrofoam ball.
- Carefully pull the knot out of the other side and knot another time or two - you'll want the knot to hold the ball on securely, and pushing the knot through - rather than un-knotted ribbon - has a tendency to leave a fairly wide hole.
- Start affixing flowers to the styrofoam ball. I like to push the ~¼" rubber/plastic nub on the back of the flower into the styrofoam, then secure with a pin. I push the pin through the flower somewhere near(ish) to the center of the flower, but not through the hole in the very center of it.
- If you're using larger flowers with the small pieces of stem attached, just push the stems into the styrofoam.
- If your flower type has several layers of petals, try to push it through a spot where most of the layers overlap - it'll be more secure that way. On this type of flower, I made sure to catch the pin through part of the plastic center, so that it'll remain on the ball. If I had pinned it just through the petals, there's a good chance that the center would eventually fall out.
- Continue attaching flowers over the entire surface of the ball. Be sure to lift petals of an already-affixed flower to be able to place the next flower fairly close to it - you don't want any styrofoam showing between the individual flowers.
- Once your ball is completely covered with flowers, attach your decorative accents, if using.
- If you would like to attach a decorative bow, tie one in a length of ribbon, then push a pin through it.
- Pin the bow to either the very bottom of the pomander (hold it up by the loop to see where the very bottom actually is!), or to the top, near the loop.
- Your pomander is complete, and ready to bring some color and visual interest to your celebration! Now... make a bunch more.
Notes
* Flowers: I like to buy stems with many small flowers attached - ideally the kinds where the flower heads are easily pulled off.
It'll require a LOT - the small pomander pictured took about 50 smallish flower heads! (1.5" - 2" in diameter, when pressed flat)
** Decorative accents: Depending on the look you're going through, there are SO many options for what you can do to really customize these.
Metallic airbrush accents, spray glitter, stick-on rhinestones, sprays of wired beads, etc. I've seen steampunk bouquets with gears glued on, and I've seen pieces of Lego successfully use in a wedding bouquet.
Have fun with it!
Alternatively, you can use larger flowers (such as the silk roses pictured above). Cut the stems to 1.5" - 2" long instead of pulling the flower heads off the stems.
