DIY Paper Pom Poms

My Mum turned 50 this month and what was originally going to be a very low key gathering at the house, very quickly turned into a huge party when I became involved. I love organising parties and one of the first things I knew I wanted was paper pom poms and a lot of bunting. I had seen these pom poms all over pinterest and a friend of mine told me how easy they were to make so I decided to give it a go myself. They really are so easy and look so effective. There are tons of video tutorials on Youtube about how to make them but I thought i would do my own step by step guide in pictures.

You will need lots of sheets of coloured tissue paper, some thin metal wire, some string and a pair of scissors. I experimented with various amounts of tissue paper and for the large pom poms shown in the picture above I used about 6 sheets of tissue paper. some of the videos recommend you use up to 15 sheets of paper but this gave a much denser effect and I liked how mine looked slightly more floral.

Next you need to line all of your sheets of tissue paper up and start folding them in a concertina. It is important that all of your sheets of tissue paper stay in line because it makes it easier when you come to cut them later on.

One you have finished folding, you need to find the middle point and pull each side out to make a double ended fan. 

Next, take the wire and wrap this around the middle. 

My wire was pre cut and was quite long so I twisted it together and then wrapped it around again to make sure it was extra secure.

After this you will need to attach the string. It is best to do this now because it is quite tricky to tie it on once the pom pom is finished. All I did was thread the piece of string under the wire and tie it in a loop. 

The next step is to cut the edges of your fan to the shape you would like. I went for a scalloped edge because I wanted my pom poms to look like flowers. I have seen some with pointy edges that look equally as good. I found it easier to cut a few layers at a time because my scissors weren't good enough to go through all of the layers at once.

This is what it should look like once you have finished cutting the edges. You need to pull it out so that it looks like a double ended fan again. You can also see how I have tied the strong on a little bit better in this photo.

All that is left to do is start lifting each layer of the tissue paper. You will quickly start to see the shape of the pom pom come together. You need to be quite careful when doing this because the tissue paper can rip quite easily (I had a few casualties!) Luckily it doesn't matter if they aren't perfectly formed because it adds to the quirkiness of them. 

Once you have finished lifting about half of the layers, flip the pom pom over and start lifting the layers on the other side, This creates the sphere effect you are looking for and also makes the pom pom look more even.

Here is a cheesy picture of my holding the finished product!

I hope this post is helpful to anyone who is planning party decorations or just likes a good old DIY.

I have a few more blog posts on the way from the party including a DIY Photobooth and the Birthday Cake so keep your eyes peeled. 

Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Today's bake was very much spring inspired. It has felt so warm recently and definitely not like winter at all. The daffodils have started blooming two months early and there was some definite frog movement in our pond this afternoon! 

I have always been a huge fan of lemon drizzle cake but it is never a cake I have attempted to make myself. It is traditionally made in a loaf tin and cut into slices however I do enjoy mixing things up a bit when I bake so I decided to try making them cupcake style. 

Ingredients

for the cake:

8oz margarine or butter

8oz caster sugar

4 eggs

8oz flour

zest of 2 lemons

for the drizzle:

5oz caster sugar

juice of one lemon

for the icing:

4 tablespoons icing sugar

enough lemon juice to mix to the consistency you want

lemon zest to decorate

Method

for the cake:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees c/gas mark 5

Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy

Crack in the eggs and beat until the mixture is smooth

Mix in the flour until fully combined

Stir in the lemon zest

Spoon into cake cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

for the drizzle:

Mix your caster sugar with the lemon juice and stir until combined

While the cakes are still hot poke small holes all over with a skewer

Spoon some of the drizzle over each of your cakes

for the icing:

Once the cakes are completely cool you can ice them (this step is optional)

Mix your icing sugar with lemon juice until it is a pourable consistency

Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over each cupcake to create the line effect

Sprinkle a little lemon zest on top for decoration

Then all you need to do is grab a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy!

Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes

It is no secret that I love to bake and I spend hours of my life scrolling through the internet looking for new cake ideas. This was one of my favourite recipes from the summer. I made these cakes for my Parent's 30th Wedding Anniversary and they were a big hit. 

Ingredients:

6oz of caster sugar

6oz of margarine or butter

6oz of self raising flour

3 eggs

1 punnet of blueberries

2-3 lemons (depending how lemony you like it)

softened butter, cream cheese and icing sugar (for the frosting)

mint leaves to decorate 

Method:

pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/ gas mark 6 and line a 12 hole cake tin with paper cases

cream together the margarine and caster sugar until light and fluffy

beat in the eggs

sift in the flour, add the zest of one lemon and two tablespoons of lemon juice

mix well until combined

fold in the blueberries slowly (leaving some to decorate) being careful not to crush them

spoon into cake cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

while the cakes are cooking, prepare the frosting

I did this by eye so I don't have the exact measurements but you can find cream cheese frosting recipes easily online.

once the frosting is to the consistency you want it add lemon zest and juice to taste

remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool

once they are completely cool pipe or spread the frosting onto them

to decorate i put a couple of blueberries on top and finished them off with a mint leaf, i love the pop of colour you get from the blue and green!

How to: make your uni room feel like home

When you first move to uni it can sometimes be hard to make your room feel homely. It may have taken me three  years and copious amounts of blu-tac but I think I have finally done it! I love posts like this (mainly because I am massively nosey) but also because I like getting inspiration from other people, so maybe this will inspire one of you.

This is probably my favourite area of the room, mostly because I am always tired and love to sleep! The lights around my bed are stuck up with blu-tac, as are the photos and the little bird is hanging on a hook that was already in the wall.

 On my bedside table I have scented candles. The lavender helps me get to sleep which can often be very hard in a noisy student house, but I also think they look pretty. 

I also have a poster, a full length mirror and this cute bunting which my mum's friend made for me.This is stuck up with pins. Obviously some landlords wouldn't allow this but I have been quite lucky with mine.

This is my dressing table/chest of draws area. I did a DIY post on how to make the blue and cream drawers here

 This jewellery hanger is from Pia, I love it, and it is definitely better than the horrible plastic bag that my necklaces were in before.

Last but not least is my notice board, I basically stick any old bits and pieces in here but I think it has ended up looking quite cool. 

I obviously have a desk area as well, but I am in the midst of essay writing so it is a total mess. No one is going to want to see a picture of a bunch of law textbooks so I will leave that to your imagination!

Feel free to leave a comment, I would love to know what people think/if anyone even reads my posts. Haha.