Friday, October 14, 2011

How to Make a Pomander (Kissing Ball)

Tape a 24 gauge wire with green florist stem tape, and bend it in half, forming a loop by twisting. Trim the ends of the wire so they are even.
Start with a ball of wet Oasis (you can get it at craft stores, or from a florist). Cover it with mesh or chicken wire. Here I have used a mesh covering that is used to protect gerbera daisies during transport. I think onion bags might work as well. NOTE:  wet Oasis is use for pomanders made of fresh flowers. If you are making one using silk flowers, you would start with a styrofoam ball (also available at craft stores or florist shops.)  There is no need for mesh with silk flowers.


Here, I have inserted the wire through the mesh, all the way into the ball and out the bottom.

The bottom wires are twisted and the trimmed ends are inserted into the oasis ball. This will help to keep the wires from pulling out of the ball at the top. This is especially important if a child will be holding the ribbon handle on the ball.

Any good quality florist glue can be used to adhere the flowers to the Oasis ball. This glue is unscented and dries quickly.

Cut the flowers off their stems, leaving about 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches. It is best to cut those stems with a sharp knife, on a slant. This helps the stem insert easily into the Oasis ball.

Here I have begun to insert the flowers into the Oasis ball, through the mesh covering, after putting a dot of glue on the stem end of each flower. I have used an old department store display stand to hold the oasis ball while I make the pomander. You could hang it from an upper kitchen cabinet door while you work.

Continue inserting the flowers until you have reached the top; making sure that you cover all the open spaces. If you are making a pomander with only spray roses (as I am here) it is fairly easy to get the flowers all at the same level. If you choose to make a pomander with different varieties of flowers, then you must make sure that you insert the stems in such a way that the ball is uniform in appearance (easier said than done.) Feel free to insert buds and partially open roses as well as fully open ones.

Here is a finished pomander (kissing ball). I made nine of these today; they will be used on Shepherd hooks lining a wedding aisle, and others will be hung from an arbor. Sometimes, flower girls carry pomanders instead of dropping rose petals. Younger children must be reminded to be careful with their pomanders. While we always make them as sturdy as possible, they will not withstand vigorous shaking or swinging from their ribbon handles. NOTE:  This is my way of making pomanders; I am sure that various others have different ways of doing them, which will work just as well.

13 comments:

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Oh Judy...I just loved seeing that Kissing Ball come to life...The colors are so very pretty....
And the way you explained it all, and showed us how---I feel I could do it, if someone asked me....!
Thank You So Very Much, my dear....!

MaR said...

Thanks for this cute tutorial, love those kissing balls!!

Granny Annie said...

I will never forget the first time you wrote about these and just titled your post "Kissing balls". You have a huge number of readers. LOL

Thanks for showing us how to make them. I'm not sure I would attempt such a feat but your never know.

Grannymar said...

Good clear instructions, thanks Judy. You make it look so easy.

Looking to the Stars said...

Wow, this was really cool. Thank you :)

Sparkling Red said...

I have never heard of floral adhesive! Very cool. Can I use it to glue flowers into my hair? ;-)

Arkansas Patti said...

Wow, that is a lot of work. Just think how many perverts will be disappointed when they check out this site.

Pat said...

They are very lovely but with my handcraft record I'll sit this one out:)

Gilly said...

Judy, those are just so pretty! And you have explained it so well, with essential illustrations and photos that I am wanting to make some now! Only I have no flowers, no oasis, no wire and its Sunday and everything is closed!

Anonymous said...

Judy--You do fantastic work. This is one blog friend who likes looking at your products, who will never ever attempt to do the same. If it is a flower, I poke it into a container and I am done. You artistic-types earn my esteem and appreciation!
Cop Car

LL Cool Joe said...

How cool! I bet you could use other things as well as flowers. I wouldn't mind making some funky kissing balls myself! :D

Phyremons_Flame said...

Hi Judy. Just curious how big is this kissing ball that you show. I'd like to try to make a large one, approx. 10". What size of ball would I need to start off with and how many flowers approximately do you think I would need?

Thanks!

kenju said...

You would need an 8" oasis ball. If you are using roses, I'd plan on having 75 available. If you are using hydrangeas, have at least 6 heads. A lot depends on how closely you place the flowers to each other.