Happy 4th y'all!
Break out your barbecue & your American flag gear and lets get geared up for this much needed long weekend. I love this holiday because it filled friends, family, potlucks and too much Coors Light. If your anything like me you still don't have concrete plans, but you know your most likely going to have to bring a dish or something. Ugh. If your the hostess with the mostess and throwing the party, your going to need a few extra touches to make your party stand out from last year. Cuz baby you're a firework...too much? Whatever. Look up a cute cocktail recipe and trade your red cups for mason jars! Your friends will think you're so fancy because glassware. I already had these colored mason jars laying around my house, but clear mason jars will work even better. Fins them at Target or King Soopers or just about anywhere. Adding a striped straw completes the color pallete. You go girl!
If your feeling crafty and don't feel like adding another American Flag to your collection we will teach you how to make a red, white, & blue pom pom garland. I was feeling the pom poms because they're almost like mini fireworks. Cute huh? I think the garland is a fun and unexpected addition to any buffet table or door way. Making the garland is easy to make (under an hour of your precious time), but took me way longer than it should have because I was all wrapped in the new season of Orange is the New Black. Stop your Netflix binge for one whole hour and turn on some music instead. Here's the step by step:
1. Go to any craft store and buy red, white, & blue classic yard. Also buy a thin twine or fishing wire to tie your pom poms too. This is what I bought. Candle and antler not necessary but added for cute factor.
2. Find something that you can wrap the string around. I used an upside down bar stool. Select your first color of yard and make a small knot around the first post to secure the yarn. A single or double knot will work perfectly.
3. Now wrap the string around two of the poles. Wrap the string around tight enough too keep it taut, but don't wrap it too tight. You will have to slide the string off the ends later. The amount of times you go around depends on the size on the poms you want to make. I made medium sized poms so I would say it was wrapped around about 60-75 times (Sorry I didn't count! Orange is the New Black remember?)
4. When your finished wrapping, cut the string off the ball of yarn with about 6 extra inches on the tail. From the ball of yarn cut off an 8 inch piece. In the center of the wrapped yarn, between the two poles, tie the sting around both side and create a tight knot. This will be the center of your pom so you want it to be a tight as possible. I wrapped the 8 inch piece around twice and then tied it in a double knot to secure it. Repeat this step about 6 times leaving 2-2.5 inches between each center of the pom.
5. Now that you have all the centers secured, you are going to want to grab your scissors and cut in between each center in the middle. Make sure to pull the yarn tight before cutting for crisp edges.
6. As you cut a pom pom will form. Roll the pom around in your hand to fluff it up and even it out. Then you should have a little pom with a tail. This tail will be used to secure the pom to the twine or fishing wire, so do not cut it off!
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 using the red string and then the white string. Soon you will have a bunch of little pom poms laying around. Depending on how long you want your garland or how close you want the poms to be to one another, you may want to repeat the first 6 steps with each color again. I created my garland to hang over a door way so I needed more poms.
8. Now grab your twine. Start with the end on your left side and the ball of twine to your right. Pull out about 8 inches of twine. That will be the end. 8 Inches in, pick whatever colored pom you want to start with. Now use the two long strings to secure the pom to the twine. You can double and triple knot it to make sure it is secure. I pulled about 3 inches of twine away from the first pom and tied on the second pom. Repeat this step until you run out of poms. When your finished, leave an 8 inch tail at the end and cut twine.
Congrats! Now you have a pom pom garland!
(Sorry the finished product photo isn't as cute. It was dark by the time I finished this.) Anywho, now its time to deck out your party in something cute and festive! Have the best Fourth of July weekend my friends! Stay safe and happy crafting! Or drinking and eating as I'll be doing...CHEERS.