DIY Tulle Balls

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Is March almost over? I had every intention of getting this tutorial to you sooner, but February and March kept me busy. Better late than never; below is a tutorial for the tulle balls from my daughter's swan lake inspired, fan wall birthday backdrop that I adapted from the wonderful tutorial from Heidi Hope Photography. 

But first, some housekeeping: 

• I used pipe cleaners instead of ribbon to tie the balls together. This allowed for better manipulation when I adhered the tutus to the wall. 
• I cut the tulle first so that I could easily bring it through the donut hole stencil. 
• It is important to keep your fabric taut to create a cohesive, finished tulle ball. 
• I varied the thickness of each ball to allow for different dimensions. If you want your tulle ball to be full, overlap, overlap, and overlap. 
• I marked one side of the top and bottom piece of my donut stencil so I knew what direction the pipe cleaner was going. 

For this project, you will need:

• Circular base to create the stencil for the ball. I used a large mixing bowl for the outside of the stencil and a cup for the inside of the stencil. 
• Thick paper for the stencil. I used cardboard from an old moving box. 
• Tulle
• Scissors to create the stencil and to cut the tulle.
• Marker to create the stencil guidelines.
• Pipe cleaner to keep the tulle together to form the shape of the ball. 
• Tape to adhere the pipe cleaner to the stencil as you loop the tulle through the stencil. 

As mentioned above, use your circular objects to create a nice stencil. However, no one says they have to be pretty :). 

Next, adhere the pipe cleaner to one of the stencils. 

As noted above, I added guide marks to the top and bottom stencil so I knew what side to pull the pipe cleaner through once the tulle was spun. 

I started the end of the tulle at the end of the stencil, so the length was even throughout the ball. 

Once you have enough overlapping and fullness, cut the tulle at the end of the stencil to ensure the length of the ball is even. 

Next, you will cut the tulle in between the two stencils, and then twist the pipe cleaner with the stencils still in place. Be extra careful not to move the stencils up too much when you twist the pipe cleaner so the tulle stays in place. 

Once the pipe cleaner is tight around the tulle, you can pull the tulle out of the stencils. Voila! You have a fun show stopper that you can use in many different capacities. I think this fun decoration can be used a photo backdrop, in a fan wall, garland, table centerpiece, as part of a tutu skirt, and the list goes on and on. 

I hope you have just as much fun with these whimsical decorations as I did.