DIY Martha Stewart Tissue Poms

When I was planning our wedding, I was totally gung-ho on the DIY train. I knew that there would be some things I couldn’t do myself, but I also knew there was a whole world of things DIY. The Martha Stewart Tissue Paper Poms was one of them. It was one of those projects that I had been staring at for months and wanted to tackle. Some way, somehow. I didn’t even know how I was going to use them. I just thought they were cool. And I kind of wanted to see how easy (or not easy) they were to make.

Now having finished off 150+ of these puppies, I can say that they are not difficult to make. It’s best however to practice a couple of times to get the hang of it. I also recommend having a nice sharp pair of scissors (an pinking shears if you want edge variety) and wire cutters (it’ll prevent you from dulling your scissors).

Note: I only have experience making the mini poms, so this tutorial only covers how to make the mini “napkin ring” style poms.

1. Cut a 10×5 rectangle from four sheets of tissue paper. From standard size tissue paper (I bought packs from Target), you can get 4 sets.

2. With the four sheets of rectangles stacked, accordion fold the paper. The sheets will most likely slip, but it’s okay, because you can trim the edges, you’ll see.

3. With the paper accordion folded, take a piece of floral gauge wire, slip over center of tissue, and twist to secure. Trim ends of tissue. You can do a round shape, pointy shape, or use pinking shears for a fun zigzag shape.

4. Now the part where the magic happens. Or at least it feels that way. Starting on one side of pom, pull apart the accordion into a fan shape. Then carefully pull apart the layers towards the center. Repeat on the other side.

Here’s me smiling before I made too many. And just after a new haircut, I wish my hair looked like this everyday!

So, like I mentioned at the beginning, I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do with these poms. I kind of just decided to make them and then decided it would be a “good” idea to make one per guest. I ended up making more than 160. The day before the ceremony, I gave three paper bags full of poms to our wedding coordinator. I told her, “I’m not sure what to do with these, but I want them to tie into the decor, somehow.”

And this is what we walked into:

(Photo by Travis Hoehne)

And then, unexpectedly, all the ladies wore the poms in their hair. It was so fun!

(Photo by Travis Hoehne)

These poms are not as intimidating as they might seem. They just take a lot of time if you need to make more than 10. I made them in about 3 weeks time. I suggest to fold and wire tie them first, then you can fluff them at your leisure in front of the TV. That’s what I did!

Happy Saturday!