I fell in love with these feather ball ornaments from West Elm, but I'm sure not going to pay $9 for a Christmas ornament, especially when I want a bajillion of them. Then I realized that they looked kind of like the Martha Stewart tissue paper pom poms that are so popular right now. I decided to make a mini version to hang on my Christmas tree.
I had some white tissue paper with silver glitter specs (who doesn't like glitter specs?) leftover from last Christmas. I also used some string, a ruler, and twist ties. You could also use ribbon or wire or whatever else you can tie with in place of the twist ties and string.
I cut 5 pieces of tissue paper into 4 inch by 10 inch rectangles, stacked them up, and began folding them accordion-style. I made each fold about half an inch wide.
Once the accordion is finished, secure in the middle. Make sure your knot is along the folded edge, not the flat edge. It will make for easier hanging. Then cut the edges so that they are pointy. You could also do a rounded edge.
Then begin unfolding, poofing it a little. This is a great tutorial with a video better explaining how to "poof."
I tied a loop with string to hang it up with. You can use anything, ribbon, string . . . or just stick an ornament hook right on your twist tie (or wire, or ribbon).
I've only made three, (four if you count the purple, blue, and pink striped one I made for my daughter), but I plan to make a whole set to hang sporadically around the tree.
Merry Christmas!
amanda
