Faux Yarn Balls and Felt Mums

I love accessories that make my home feel warm & cozy and I've always loved the way a knitting basket full of yarn balls looks. Unfortunately knitting went out the window when I had a baby so this is my way of pretending it's still an active hobby of mine. (;

1st here's how you make the faux yarn balls, then I'll show you the felt mums.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

You'll need:
Styrofoam balls, yarn, hot glue
We're basically going to wind the yarn around a Styrofoam ball in the same manner you'd hand-wind a skein of yarn, start off by attaching the end of your yarn with a dab of hot glue. Wrap around the ball 5 or so times before switching directions and wrapping yarn another way. Continue to do this, dabbing with hot glue every so often, until you've covered the entire ball. Seal end with one final dab of glue.
Now for the mums you'll need:
Flower color felt & green felt for leaves, needle & matching thread for flowers, hot glue

Begin by cutting out your petals and a circular base to attach the petals to. Depending on the size of your pattern you'll probably need 10-14 petals. (I used 12 and my flowers are around 2" wide)The petals are a soft + shape and don't all need to be exact.Next use your needle & thread to attach petals around the outside of your felt circle base piece. You'll want to attach each petal slightly underneath the next so they make eachother stick up a bit.Once the petal cover the outside of the base fill in the center. You'll notice that if you tug hard on the string when you attach each petal that it curves the base & gives the flower it's dome shape.

Finish by attach your last petal directly in the center.
Next cut out your leaves, mums have a tri-shape rounded leaf. I did one stem with two leaves and one single one for each flower. Attach leaves with a dab of hot glue, then you'll need another felt circle in green to cover up the rest of the back.

You can use these mums for all sorts of Fall decorating, here are some I attached to lace headbands and just added to the Samster Etsy Shop!Pink Mum on Purple Stretch Headband

Pink Mum on Ivory Lace Headband
Blue/Purple Mum on White Lace Headband with Swarovski Crystals

Orange & Yellow Silk Mums on Ivory Lace Headband

(By the way if you have advice/comments about the etsy shop and it's items I'd love the feedback! You can comment or email me at samstermommy@gmail.com)