Decorative Pomander Tutorial

Hi all! Hope you had wonderful holidays. It looks like we are fully inside of the summer wedding/shower season! This time of the year is characterized not so much by invitations or save the dates, but by wedding/shower decor and stationery for the big day. I like to call this "day of" season! Think programs, escort cards, signage and decor.

In keeping with this season, I wanted to bring you an idea for a simple project that can be tasteful, beautiful and affordable.

Hanging Pomanders
I've been kind of obsessed with paper flowers ever since I joined the Cut Card Stock design team. I've seen so many and they look like such fun to make. I decided to tackle some (vs. just a few) to make a great pomander (pronounced poh • man • der, which literally means "ball") that can be hung with ribbon or hemp rope.

Pomanders can be hung on string or branches at your reception, shower or on chairs. Be creative with these!

You will need to punch an excessive amount of florals. I used Neenah Teton card stock. It is nice and thick and has a nice texture. Perfect for a floral. I will say that each ball will take 16-17 flowers and each flower uses three base layers... So with that math, you'll need to start with approximately 50 punched out shapes.

Rotate each floral slightly as you glue the florals on top of each other. This way it will be filled out. Also lift the "petals" to mimic the look of a real flower. You can use as many layers as you like, but I think three base layers, along with a smaller one on top (see below) will more than suffice.

You can get creative here and use self adhesive pearls, rhinestones or punch a circle for your center... I always think rhinestones look great for any wedding or shower decor, so I went with the crystals.

After you get the florals layered and embellished, you can add them to the styrofoam ball. You can get this at a craft store. I wanted to use a 2" ball in order to get multiple pomanders, but my florals dwarfed that size! I'll probably try it later with smaller florals. The ball I ended up using was 3" in diameter. Careful to cover up the cracks as you adhere the paper florals... Glue dots are great for this. Your floral will immediately adhere and you won't have to worry about pressing and holding them in place like you would when using glue.

Once you are done with the ball, you can simply staple, or glue (make sure its secure) your ribbon or string to the ball. You can also choose, as an option, to add complementary colored florals (just a couple), to the hemp string or ribbon as a finishing touch. Now you are ready to hang!

CutCardStock materials used: