Life, Love, & Happiness

This morning I came across our video on YouTube (what would we ever do without social media?). 

I have watched it numerous times, all of which bring tears of joy, but all of those were before we found out about having our first child, which changes everything. I could have never imagined my life today, as a mom, wife, & step-mom.  I am so blessed to love and be loved more each and everyday by my husband, my father, my step-daughter, and all of the many friends and family who surround us daily. 

May this video bring you as much joy as it has brought Cham & myself.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/GoGkExavAH4

God has blessed us with Life, Love, & eternal Happiness!

How to make... TISSUE POM POM'S

This year, for Jaydyn's 5th Sweet Shoppe Birthday Party, I decided to try a little DIY.  One of the many projects on my list were tissue pom poms. Who doesn't love little pom poms hanging from the ceiling? I had made about 12 smaller poms for my husbands surprise birthday cookout last year and they ended up in Jaydyn's room, hanging over her bed. Need I say they are still hanging and look fabulous! Pom poms can add pizazz to any room or event.

Supplies:
Entire package of tissue paper
Scissors
Pen/Pencil
Wire
Ribbon or something to hang the pom poms from

Step 1:

Unfold the tissue paper and lay it out flat on a table. Keep all layers of the paper even and all of the corners matched up.

Step 2:

You are going to 'acordian fold' the tissue paper back-and-forth. I made my folds about 1.5 inches wide, but you can go smaller or larger. (Note- the smaller the fold, the more difficult to separate the tissue paper later)

This is what your tissue paper should look like after you are finished folding..

Step 3:

Fold the entire thing in half to find the exact center, which is where you are going to attach the wire.

Step 4:

Cut a piece of wire (length doesn't matter, you can trim later).  Wrap it around the middle.  BE careful not to crease the paper. Make a loop so you can attach a ribbon or something to hang the pom pom.

Step 5:

Get your pencil or pen ready.  This step involves shaping the ends.  This is what makes the pom pom look like a flower. I like mine rounded (scalloped) so I just traced half of a circle on the ends to look like this..

Please ignore my lack of nail hygiene.. I was in between painting the "lollipops" and candy pieces while making these pom poms.

Step 6:

This is the most time consuming step of them all.  You want to separate each tissue layer.  Be careful not to pull to hard or the tissue paper will rip.  I usually do one end at a time.

It should begin to look like this:

Step 7:

Separate the other side of the tissue paper. You should start to see a "ball" forming.

Step 8:

Hang your pom pom for all to see!

I re-hung them in the hallway for additional color in the hallway for Easter!