Pom-pom Flowers

There's no better way to show someone how much you care than with a handmade gift. So this Valentine's Day, give that special someone something to smile about with these fun and easy pom-pom flowers!

To make these flowers, you'll need:

• Sharp Scissors
• Large Fork
• Pipe Cleaner
• At least two different color yarn

Begin by deciding which color of yarn will be in the center of the flower. Take that color and cut an approximately four foot-long piece. Take the outer color and cut an approximately twelve foot-long piece. Don't worry about being too precise with the measurements.

Tip: the longer the yarn you use the larger the flower you get, so experiment to find a size that works for you!

Take your two pieces of year and tie them together. A triple know tends to work best. Once you have a tight knot, trim the excess with the scissor.

Now you're ready to begin constructing the flower! Take the fork and place the pipe cleaner on one side lining the end of the pipe cleaner up with the end of of the prongs. Leaving a little space at the base of the prongs, begin wrapping the yarn around the fork with the the inner color yarn first. Continue wrapping all the yarn around the prongs. You will want to try to cover all of the inner color while still keeping the ball as narrow as possible.

Take another six-eight inch piece of the outer color yarn and feed it through the opening in the prongs nearest the pipe cleaner. Tie a single knot tight to bind the yarn. Wrap the yarn around again and tie a very tight triple knot. Remove the yarn ball from the fork and trim the excess yarn from the knot.

Fold the pipe cleaner down and tightly wrap it around itself as shown in the picture.

Time for the exciting part! Let's make the flower bloom! Insert the scissor in the loops of the yarn and cut along them to open the flower. Be sure to cut all the loops! Spread the yarn strands and fluff with the fork or by rubbing it in the palm of your hand.

Trim the flower to even out the yarn strands give in a uniform shape.

Grab the outer color yarn one last time and cut a three foot piece. Wrap the yarn around itself starting on the stem just below the pom-pom's base and wrap up to cover the pipe cleaner. Tie the yarn around itself a couple of times to secure it and trim any excess.

Bend the stem in half and cut the pipe cleaner at the bend. Use the cut piece of pipe cleaner to form a leaf by wrapping the ends of the cut pipe cleaner around the stem.