This Christmas I wanted to give some handmade gifts to our friends and families that would be fun for the kids and adults alike. I had seen Indoor Snowball Kits in previous years and decided to try making my own version. It was an easy project and each one came together quite quickly. Even though Christmas is over this is certainly a project that can be made anytime of year.
The supplies I used are:
- Clover Extra Large Pom-Pom Maker (This makes the job SO much easier.)
- Fiskars-Heritage Seamstress Scissors (A good pair of sewing scissors really helps.)
- Chart Toppers of the 80's CD (Ok, this one isn't exactly necessary but it helps to have some fun tunes on when you're crafting.)
To make the pom-pom snowballs, first I measured and cut 7 yard lengths of yarn. Then I used that one piece as a guide to cut several more 7 yard lengths of yarn. Eventually I noticed my later snowballs were seeming skimpier than my earlier ones so I remeasured a piece of yarn and found it was closer to 5 yards. I guess I hadn't been too careful in my cutting :( I found that for the best snowballs that two 7 yard lengths per side made nice poofy pom-poms. They are soft enough that if you get hit in the face it doesn't hurt and they don't feel too yarn-bare in the hand.
Using the Clover Pom-Pom Maker took a bit of getting used to as there are several moving parts on it but once you've made a bunch, it's really easy and way less time consuming than the traditional way using cardboard templates.
Here's how I did it:
- Wrap one side of the Clover Pom-Pom Maker with two lengths of 7 yards of yarn. You could always use one 14 yard length of yarn but I was concerned it would lead to too much tangling.
- Wrap the other side of the Pom-Pom Maker with two lengths of 7 yards of yarn. Also, as you can see in this picture I folded my yarn into fourths which made it easier to wrap since it wasn't so long.
- Slip your scissors in the grove of the Pom-Pom Maker and cut the yarn loops into loose pieces.
- Tie a length of yarn in between the grooves, around the entire pom-pom and double knot it tightly.
- Remove your pom-pom from the Pom-Pom Maker and trim off any long pieces of yarn. The more you trim, the denser your pom-pom will become. I left mine longer so the snowballs would be softer.
I ended up making 70 pom-poms (I still have two Indoor Snowball Fight kits to ship.) It was everything I could do to keep the girls from stealing them.
I found these cute plastic buckets with lids at the Dollar Tree store and made the personalized labels.
All in all I think they were a success. My brother, K, and her cousin A definitely had fun with them on Christmas so I count that as a win. :)
Oh my goodness! Joe (and John) really love these. We're still playing with them! It's fun to throw at daddy, and John has fun throwing them at the cat (lol).
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get your buckets to hold the snowballs ? How much would you say each bucket of balls cost ?
ReplyDeleteThe yarn and pom pom maker are on sale right now at Jo-Ann Fabric and the bucket was a dollar from the Dollar Tree. However, if you're only making one kit, you can find You Tube videos on making pom poms with cardboard templates instead of buying the Clover Pom Pom maker I used.
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