The trials of Doing it Yourself

Before (on the left), and after getting the right punch (right)

There’s a lot of debate in wedding-world over making things yourself. Is it really any cheaper once you buy all the supplies? Is it worth your time? Do things ever really look like Martha made them?

I ran into my first trials over the past few weeks.

Remember my “Guess what I’m making?” posts?

Yeah. I scrapped all of those flowers I made.

Why? Because for the paper pomanders I was planning for my flower girls, the flowers were just too small. The balls looked like balls of pin heads, not balls of flower. I tried several different techniques to see I could make them better and after showing them to Charles, I finally realized I simply needed bigger flowers. The poms were looking much more kindergarten than Martha.

After buying the right sized punch yesterday, things went much better (and quicker!).

First, I punched petals in two shades of yellow. I spread the lighter shade of petals (the one I wanted on top) on a circle of Styrofoam I had from when I made cake pops. This made it much easier to put the pins through their centers.

Then, I’d hold a darker flower onto the Styrofoam ball and push a previously pinned flower through the center. By pushing the pin in firmly, the petals would naturally pop up, creating a more three-dimensional affect.

With bigger petals, it took much fewer pins and punches to create a ball. I ended up making three of them in about 5 hours.

My biggest tip of advice on the project…although I don’t normally splurge for the name brand…buy the Martha Stewart punch. because you want to see what you’re punching in order to save paper, hers are much easier to hold and punch and watch. Most punches are made to be used on a flat surface and you can’t see what your punching. Hers have a handy lever system that’s easy to hold in one hand and saves your thumbs from a ton of soreness!

What I used for this project: 5 inch foam balls, cardstock, Martha’s hydrangea punch, yellow-ball tipped straight pins.

In the end, for me, doing it myself was worth it. I probably spend about $30 all together on the balls, but I like that they’re something I made myself, and something the flower girls can keep after the wedding if they want to. Flowers die. These balls won’t even need watering!