So, we’re finally at the part when we can start talking about the little DIY projects that my family and I did up for The Boy and my quickie Alaskan civil ceremony. One of the DIY projects that I had us do was some cutie-patootie paper pompoms. I’ve been seeing them at every wedding ever on Ye Olde Blogosphere and figured that I could make some up for my civil shindig… an obviously super cheap!
And then it came to me… use coffee filter! Normally destined for a sloppy wet mess of caffeinated messy in your coffeemaker – just follow this tutorial to make 'em pretty and totes appropriate for your wedding! This is an easy craft (my tween bridesmaid helped do it) and requires only a few items.
Supplies:*
- Coffee filters (I used a pack of 250 small white ones)
- Washing machine
- Fabric dye
- Staples and a stapler
- Scissors
- Fishing line or twine
Step One: Open the package of coffee filters and hunker down in front of your washing machine (you’ll be there a while). Separate each one and toss each individual coffee filter into the washing machine. **Yes, that photo is of me and if you look closely, you can see that I am kneeling on pile of my sister’s dirty underwear. My poor knees couldn’t hack the hardwood floor any longer and I found the nearest pile of soft to rest them on… only realizing later that it is undies!**
Step Two: Add the fabric dye and wash (then dry) according to the directions on the package.
Step Three: Remove from dryer and gently unwad each coffee filter (but don’t smooth them out completely – you want them to be crumply). This is a good time to start an assembly line of slave labor volunteers. Have each person do one of Steps Three through Six and this DIY really moves along.
Step Four: Start to layer the pompoms. I did layers of ten apiece (one right on top of the other).
Step Five: Use a stapler to staple the layers together in the center of the layers (I did two staples – one on each side of the center of the coffee filter).
Step Six: Use scissors to cut a small slice through all the layers right between the two staples.
Step Seven: Use the fishing line (invisible) or twine (visible) to hang the pompoms wherever. Be sure to use your hands to gently scrunch them up into puffy ball/pompom shapes before hanging.
This project is pretty simple – it’s just time-consuming (making the same thing over and over). We ended up hanging them in a bunch from the ceiling of the gazebo that we got married in (and the whole project cost less than $4.00!). How would you use this project in your wedding? Is it important for you to incorporate inexpensive DIY crafts into your wedding? Do you think that your washing machine would ever forgive you for all that dye? Share your thoughts in the comments!