a pretty ball of flowers.

I've always loved the look of a flower girl carrying a pomander. They are just too cute (both the flowers and the little girls of course!)

(source)

Oddly enough, the pomander was the first elements I knew for sure would be making an appearance on our big day. As usual, I took the opportunity as an excuse for another DIY project. Here's what I came up with:

I'll admit, I was a bad blogger and didn't take pictures of the process. But this is an easy one, so no pictures are required!

Materials:

Silk flowers

Styrofoam ball

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Ribbon (I used a little less than 2 yards)

Something to poke holes with--a pencil works well

Instructions:

1. Take your flowers off of the main stem. There should be a small stem left on the flower so you can attach it to the styrofoam ball. If you're using small flowers such as hydrangeas like I did, you don't have to separate them into individual flowers, just separate them into smaller groups.

2. Use your pencil to poke a hole in the styrofoam ball (go into the ball about an inch or so to make sure the stem will fit.)

3. Fill the hole with some hot glue.

4. Place the stem of the flower into the hole and let it dry.

5. Repeat these steps until your styrofoam ball is completely covered in flowers, only leaving a small bare spot at the top to attach your ribbon.

6. Cut a slit in the bare spot of the ball to attach the ribbon. Make sure the slit is as wide as your ribbon width so it fits properly.

7. Fold your ribbon in half. Measure the desired length of your wrist strap from the folded end (mine is about 6"). Mark this spot.

8. Fill the slit with hot glue.

9. Place the marked portion of your ribbon into the slit on the ball. Do not put the folded end or the two open ends into the slit, only your wrist strap marks. You are basically just glueing in a little fold at that mark to hold the ribbon in place.

10. For good measure, stick a few straight pins in on an angle to make sure the ribbon doesn't fall out if the pomander is whipped around (it is for a little girl to carry after all, this will probably happen).

11. After the glue is dry, take your two open ribbon ends and tie a bow with the folded wrist strap coming out of the top of the bow.

12. Trim the ends of the ribbon as desired.

13. Find a cute flower girl to carry your pomander!

Did anyone else use a pomander for their flower girl?