I have been endlessly eyeing these chic straw market tote bags with gigantic bright pom-poms on them. I scroll through instagram and see them popping up in style bloggers’ posts and on celebrities, but I couldn’t justify spending an arm and a leg on what is essentially a beach bag. I decided to try and make one myself after sourcing some inexpensive straw market totes on Amazon. Making the pom-poms is super easy, but since these were so big and there several of them to make, I decided to finally invest in a pom-pom maker — and it was totally worth the $7. The pom-pom maker made the DIY process go super fast, and I think it created a much more dense, uniform result. After making each pom-pom, I simply used two pieces of the string to tie a pin to the back of each one and attached them to the tote bag (hot glue would work too, but I liked the flexibility of being able to switch around the colors, or take them off all together!). With all of them materials, the whole project came in under $40 — and I think it looks like a million bucks! (If you don’t have a pom-pom maker, follow these instructions to make them by hand).
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I am totally behind and haven’t brought out a single holiday decoration at my house yet this year. That has to change this weekend, I’m in the market for a cute little apartment sized tree that I plan to wrap up with vintage tinsel and big twinkly bulb lights. But in the meantime, I’m adding a little festive flair to the blog today and rounding up a few of the Christmas decorations I have my eye on! Have you started decorating yet?
Mistletoe print | Pom-Pom Garland | Cheers Tumblers | Holiday Cards | Glitter Ornament | Deer Wine Stopper | Christmas Napkins | Macaron Ornament | Donut Ornament
A few snaps from my fabulous cousin’s wedding this weekend — it was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous venue! She had perfect little touches like paper fans to keep guests cool and fun paper garlands and pom-poms on the chairs and around the reception. I’m a sucker for the details! Not to mention I had so much fun with my siblings dancing the night away — what’s better than that?
Now that our wedding is over, I’m back in the bridesmaid saddle and helped host a shower for one of my best girlfriends this weekend. It’s so fun when your fellow bridesmaids love party planning, this was an all-star team of girls working to put on this shin-dig. The shower had a Palm Beach-inspired theme with bright pinks and greens, lots of friendly lawn flamingos, and pom-poms galore. My favorite detail? The flamingo cocktail stirrers!
I love a good high-low collaboration, and right now Jonathan Adler and Conran have just that — two new collections at JC Penney. What’s interesting is how perfectly the two collections work with each other! I pulled together a few of my favorite items below, that couch is a major deal, and I’m eyeing the knit pillow and greek key tumblers (just $6!). What do you think? Time to redecorate?
Clockwise from top left: Nightstand, Greek Key Mug, Pillow, Bookends, Lamp, Pitcher, Tumblers, Pom Pom Pillow, Couch
I’m miraculously half-way done with my Christmas shopping already, so now comes my favorite part: the wrapping! This year I plan to forgo my usual grosgrain ribbon and try something a little more three-dimensional. Leftover baker’s twine inspired me with the festive red and white colors, so I decided to whip up some fluffy pom-poms to top my presents. Making them is easy as pie; all you need is some baker’s twine, a fork, and a pair of scissors.
To start, wrap the twine the fork until it starts to look round and full. Then, thread the end of your twine through the center of the fork and tie it around the ball of twine. Finally, trim the loops and slide the ball of twine off the fork. After a few fluffs and puffs you have a pom-pom for the top of your gift! 
My mom gave me some crafting materials for Christmas, and among the presents was a Martha Stewart Pom-pom kit. I have wanted to use these at a party for-ev-er, and was so excited to hang them from the ceiling for NYE. Unfortunately the ceilings in my ancient apartment must have 30 layers of lead paint on them, because it was impossible to get tacks into the surface to hang them up.
Plan B: decorating the mantle. My boyfriend suggested I use them to make a display above the fireplace with some big glittery numbers.
A late night trip to Michael’s and we were on our way… I cut numbers out of foam, slid them on a stick, and glittered-the-heck out of those babies.
The numbers stood up on another block of foam…
… and then I nestled them behind the pom-poms…
Of course the night ended with drunken guests wearing pom-poms on their heads and tossing them around the room. We’re clearly not ready to be grown ups yet. At least I got good pictures at the beginning of the night.
It’s time to celebrate, this is my 100th post! Just eight short months ago I started DomestiKatedLife and let me tell you, it’s getting more fun with each click of the ‘publish’ button. So I thought for the big 100 I’d share some eChampagne and decorate with tissue pom-poms. I adore the Martha Stewart pom-pom kits and love the ways that people have incorporated them for parties and sometimes even in their every-day decor… afterall, we should be festive every chance we get!
Images via Country Living, Martha Stewart, DesignSponge, and Star+Flower Flickr stream
