One of our favorite traditions here at Tiny Prints involves decorating our colleagues’ desks in elaborate ways on their birthdays, from post-it covered cubicles to forts built out of server boxes and dozens of balloons. But one of my personal favorite party decorations are these adorable tissue paper poms. Not only are they fun, colorful and chic, but they take mere minutes to make and cost only a few cents each!

If you’re hosting a birthday party, baby shower or summer soiree, there’s no better way to decorate than with these DIY tissue paper poms. You don’t even have to buy those pricey kits from the craft store—just follow the steps below to find out how fun and easy it is to create them.

Supplies

Step 1: Create an Accordion Fold

Fold the tissue paper up and back repeatedly to create a 1–2 inch wide accordion or fan fold. You can vary the sizes of your poms by folding along the longer or shorter edge of the tissue paper.

Step 2: Attach Wire

Fold the tissue paper in half and wrap the wire around the fold, as show below. This will become the center of the pom, so make sure it’s tight and that the folds are well-creased.

Step 3: Trim the Edges

Giving your edges a rounded appearance will make your pom look fluffy and flowery, whereas pointed ends give more of a sunburst effect. See the difference between the green finished pom (rounded edges) and the yellow finished pom (pointed edges) below.

Step 4: Fan Out the Tissue

Start by lying the pom flat on the table and fanning the folds out in a circle.

Then, pull the individual pieces of tissue apart from each other to create a fluffy texture.

Once you finish one side, hold the pom by the wire in one hand and continue separating the tissue paper layers with the other, rearranging the layers to give the shape and texture you’d like. Be careful not to tug too hard or it might rip!

Step 5: Enjoy!

Now that you’ve made one pom, start experimenting with size and shape to create a few more. Don’t be afraid to experiment as you make the decor you’ve been dreaming about!