Step 1: For flowers that are 3" in diameter, wind the yarn around your palm 100 times (try not to wind too tightly- you'll have trouble getting it off your hand and you'll cut off your circulation). For smaller pom poms, wind the yarn around a few fingers. Alternately, you could wind the yarn around a piece of cardstock about half an inch wider than the diameter of the pom pom that you want. If you want thicker pom poms, wind the yarn around a dozen or more times extra.

Step 2: Carefully remove the yarn from your hand, making sure to keep the bundle from spreading out. Cut a length of yarn (about 10 inches) and lay the bundle centered on top of the length of yarn.

Step 3: Tightly knot the length of yarn around the bundle.

Step 5: To make a tidier, more rounded pom pom, you'll need to give it a haircut. Trim away until you get the shape you want.

Step 6: Wind the florist tape around the wire until it's covered, making sure to overlap as you wind the tape. Tip: Wind the tape diagonally.

Step 7: Even though the florist tape has a certain stickiness to it and adheres to itself, I recommend adding a bead of glue at the end to ensure that it doesn't come undone.

Step 8: Cut some leaf shapes from the green felt or crepe paper, making sure to add a little tab to attach the leaf to the stem. I folded the leaf in half and ironed it to give it a more realistc leaf crease.

Step 9: Add another bead of glue to the end of the stem and insert it into the pom pom.

Step 10: Use more florist tape to attach the leaf to the stem, adding more glue to the end to firmly attach the tape to the stem.

Easier and longer lasting than forcing bulbs indoors, I find my new little "flowers" to be pretty endearing. If I ever get tired of them, I guess I could use them to dust around the house.