living room diy part 2: pom-pom mobile, tissue paper puffs, and paper scrolls

Yesterday I had a lot of laundry to do, which meant it was a perfect day to watch movies and make things instead. I've been wanting to give our living room some love for awhile and after last week's banner and garland, I was inspired to get the job done.

Leftover yarn. The knitter's dilemma. It just accumulates everywhere. Never have I ever knitted something that took exactly (#) skeins. There is always something leftover. One of my favorite challenges is finding ways to make use of all the leftover yarn. Yesterday I grabbed some of the leftover whites and beiges I have laying around and I made this:

Pom-Pom Mobile

embroidery hoops...$1 each

yarn...leftover

twine...already had

So, this is really easy to do. I used different sized pom-pom makers that I bought a few years ago at Hobby Lobby, but there are lots of tutorials online on how to make your own pom-poms without a fancy tool. There was a point in my life where everyone I knew (exaggeration. more like 20 people) was asking me to knit them hats with tassels and pom-poms. The fancy tool was totally worth the investment.

Once you've made a bunch of pom-poms in varying size and color, tie them onto the interior ring of the embroidery hoop. Put the outer ring back on and tighten it. I just used regular craft twine to hang it, but you could get crazy with it if you want. 

I think it would be sweet to make a really huge brightly colored one. Someone else should make it and send me a picture!

And then I made these:

I did not make either of these up and therefore cannot take credit for them.

Tissue Paper Pouf

tissue paper...$1.99 per color

craft string...already had

And here is a tutorial you can use to make your own. It's easiest to make big poufs. If you make a smaller one, then use very few layers or you won't get the tissue to fluff. If you make a larger one, use more layers of tissue of it won't look ruffly enough. The tiny one here has 4 sheets, while for the larger ones I used 6.

Paper Scrolls

cardstock...$3

stapler

tape

Normally I have cardstock laying around as well, so this would have been free. This paper scroll garland comes straight out of the best store ever, Anthropologie. One of my dream jobs is to decorate Anthropologie stores. They are super beautiful and filled with the best DIY ideas ever. 

So in the store these scrolls were turned into a garland and hung in the window. If I ever have an area big enough for an entire paper scroll garland then I will be all over that, but for now I just made a few small ones to compliment my tissue poufs. 

Here is the tutorial that I loosely based my scrolls on. Honestly I kind of just looked at the picture and went for it...sometimes I'm just not into reading things. But if you look close, her scrolls look nicer than mine, so maybe you should just read the tutorial.

I also made a quick garland from some of the left over cardstock and some heart shaped doilies and hung it on the window. I'm pretty happy with how the wall turned out. The extra bits filled it out nicely.

Our living room is much cozier these days. Decorating has been a slow process at the Treehouse, but we're getting there! Next project to tackle: the kitchen.