Pom Pom Garland

Hey Y'all!  So, I've been absent lately.  Sorry! (for the 3 readers that probably noticed, that is!)  I've been busy with Thanksgiving, my birthday, fulfilling lots of etsy orders, crafting, and, to be totally honest, I just haven't felt like writing.  And I promise that you don't want to read what I write when I don't feel like writing. But, I'm back to share this cute little craft I've been working on while watching tv at night.  

Every year at Christmas time, we hang the stockings on the mantel above the fireplace.  And then I take them off.  I have to take them off, because we actually use our fireplace, and it gets too hot for our stockings to be hanging in front of them.  So this year, I decided to make garland that can be there all the time, and I'll hang our stockings up Christmas Eve.  

Our mantel is huge.  About 14 feet long.  It covers the fireplace, the tv, and our entertainment stuff.  So this project took me several nights of watching tv (the entire second season of The Walking Dead, to be exact) but hopefully won't take you as long, especially if you have a normal size mantel.  But it's not like it's hard work, or even tedious.  Just time consuming.  

Start off by making a ton of pom poms.  Here's how: 

First, you cut out two identical circles out of cardboard.  The bigger the circle, the bigger the pom pom.  

Then, you put the circles together and wrap yarn around it.  Make sure the ends are facing out, not inside the circle.  I used three pieces of yarn put together to help speed up the process.  Each piece of yarn was probably about 3 or 4 yards long. 

Keep wrapping it around until the circle is completely covered.  The more you wrap, the bigger and fuller your pom will be.

Here's the somewhat tricky part.  (Especially when you only have two hands and need to take a picture too!)  Cut the yarn along the outside.  You'll have to keep your hands on the inside where you've cut to keep it from falling everywhere. 

Once it's cut, slide a long piece of yarn between the two circles and tie it very tight.  Double knot it. 

You'll have some random long pieces so you'll need to give it a bit of a hair cut.  Fluff it up too. 

Once you have all the pom poms you'll need,

Take a needle and yarn and thread it through each one.  (Note the cute baby in the background.  He's not a necessary step in this process, but he makes everything more fun!)

I think this could also double as a really cute caterpillar!

Then I used some 3M removable clear plastic hooks, stuck them on the underside of the mantel, and hung the garland, spacing out the pom poms as needed. 

I think it's a fun, simple little project. 

I kind of love that it looks homemade and isn't perfect.

I still need to add a ton of Christmas decorations to the mantel, and the rest of the house, but I'll get there. 

"Seymour", our Elf on the Shelf even helped!