How to Make Pom-Pom Flower Centerpieces

These pom-pom flower centerpieces are an inexpensive and easy to make. These are a great idea for events where the budget is for more important things than the decorations. Such as fundraisers, nonprofit events, schools, girl scouts, boy scouts, community events, or any low budget event. Especially great if you need a lot of centerpieces to fill a lot of tables. It would be wonderful if every event could have fresh flower centerpieces but that just isn’t always the case. These pom-pom potted flower centerpieces will fill in nicely.

These pom-pom flower centerpieces provide some height to the table but don’t impede conversation. The best term for these are a flower impression, because they give the impression of a hydrangea.

Since I was on tight budget for these, I shopped around for the best prices. I suggest if you are in the same position you do the same. Below are links to the items I purchased however the prices I got may not be the best anymore when you are shopping. I also physically picked up everything from my locals stores. With small items around $1 each, I have found going online can be more expensive, so I opted to pick them up myself.

how much does each centerpiece cost?

Roughly around $1.50 – 2.00 each. Obviously it will depend on the deals you find and how many tools and supplies you already have. I already had the paint, filler rock, moss, paint brushes, glue gun, etc. I only had to buy the pots, tissue paper and dowels. So at the time, mine only cost me $1.47 each.

how to make a pom-pom flower centerpieces

supplies needed

terra cotta pot (4-1/2″ dia x 4″h) *shown painted in the photo
green acrylic paint
white spray paint
paint brush
filler rocks or Styrofoam
moss
dowel (3/16″ x 12″)
3 sheets tissue paper 20 x 20″
paint brush
glue gun
scissors
newspaper or wax paper
floss

instructions

painting

In a well ventilated area, place down some newspaper or wax paper. Place the terra cotta pots upside down and spray paint the sides with the white spray paint. Once they have completely dried turn them over, right side up. They must be completely dried so they don’t stick to the newspaper. If you use wax paper it should prevent the pot from sticking. Spray the top rim and about 1″ down into the inside of the pot. There is no need to coat the entire inside because it won’t be seen once it is filled. You can also go over any missed spots on the outside at this time.
Lay the dowels on wax paper and paint green. Allow to dry before turning and painting other side. No need for these to be perfectly painted, they are supposed to look like stems after all. Also you can leave the bottom end unpainted so you can hold on to the dowel while you paint. This end will be buried in the pot.

pom-pom flowers

Cut three pieces of tissue paper in half, so you end up with 6 pieces measuring 10″ x 20″. You will only need 5 of pieces so you can set one aside or use if you prefer a fuller look. Stack the pieces and from the short (10″) side start according folding them. Fold over the paper approximately one inch or little less, then flip over the tissue paper and repeat another fold the same size. Keep folding and flipping till you have the entire sheet folded and reached the other end.
Fold this stack in half to mark the center. Unfold and cut a 1/4″ in on each side of the fold line. Be careful not to cut entirely in half and leave some in the center uncut. Take about a 12″ strand of floss, wrap around center line and through the slits you just created. Tie off and leave extra floss for now. You will use this floss to tie on to the dowel later.
To make the pom-pom ball look more like a flower, cut off each end of the accordion in a half circle. You just want to round off the edges. If the tissue paper doesn’t align up perfectly at the ends, just cut from the shortest layer so all layers are rounded.
Carefully pull apart and separate each layer towards the middle. Fluff and fold to look like a flower. If you accidentally rip the tissue paper during this process, no worries, cut off any obvious pieces and tuck the rest in. No one will notice.

Assemble

Fill the painted terra cot pot with filler rock or cut Styrofoam to fit inside. Top with moss. *If you want to glue your dowel into place so it doesn’t move, you will have to do step 8 first, glue the dowel into the bottom of the pot and then fill. I just used the rocks to hold the dowel in place.
Find a fold near the center of the tissue flower on the bottom where you can stuff the painted end of the dowel into. Using a glue gun, take the dowel out, apply a generous amount of glue and stick back into the fold. Now tie the extra floss around the dowel and add another bit of glue to hold the knot in place. It should be up as close to the bottom of the tissue flower as possible, so it doesn’t show. Cut off any extra floss. Bury the other end of dowel into the pot.