Felt Pomanders

For my wedding I decided against real flowers and opted for something a little different instead.  Felt pomanders are a great alternative to having flower girls throw petals, they help keep little hands busy and, best of all, they’re nearly indestructible.  The night of our rehearsal, one flower girl was batting hers like a tetherball, and, the day of our ceremony, another decided that it would make the perfect foot rest as her feet didn’t quite reach the ground.  Both pomanders survived and still looked great afterwards.  If you’re planning a destination wedding these pomanders are light and won’t get crushed along the way.  So, now that you know how awesome they are, let’s get started!

What you’ll need:

• 4 inch styrofoam ball
• Ribbon
• Colored felt (any colors; I used 3 shades of blue felt)
• Corsage pins
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Scissor
• Circular object to trace

Directions:

Step 1: To start this project, trace circles onto the felt and cut them out.

Step 2: Cut a spiral shape into the circle using a scissor.

Step 3: Using the glue gun, create the rose by gluing the center down and continuing to glue around until the spiral is used up.  Continue steps 1-3 until you have the desired amount of flowers.  Note: I used eight 9 x 12-in. felt pieces to complete one pomander. 

Step 4: Insert a pen or pencil into the styrofoam ball to create a small hole.  Use a marker and divide the styrofoam ball into fourths.  Cut a length of ribbon, fill the hole with glue and insert the ribbon into the glue to make the handle.

Step 5: Now, it’s time to attach the flowers.  Use the corsage pins to attach the felt flowers (Note: the flowers can also be hot glued on if you’d like to have a button or sequin center instead).  I found it best to first attach the flowers along the lines and then fill-in from there.

Step 6: Continue attaching flowers until you have a nice full pomander.

We’d love to know what you think of this project?  Do you have any ideas for embellishments?

Wedding photo by Jeff Sampson Photography