Cupcake Toppers DIY

I've had this idea for a cute DIY for a long time now, and I'm glad that I've finally had time to create it!  These needle felted toppers are super easy, and it's a really fun way to jazz up some cupcakes.

You'll need these supplies:
--wool in your chosen color(s)
--felting needle(s)
--felting foam
--floral stem wire (I used 18 guage)
--wire cutters.

Ball up your wool to the approximate size that you'd like your balloon topper to be.  Hold the ends of the wool fibers together--these will be the bottom "knot" of the balloon.   Start felting the top into a rounded shape.

Once the rounded part of the balloon is to the desired firmness, start guiding the loose end fibers toward a point.  Keep felting and tightening the fibers, but leave the very ends loose.

When you have a good balloon shape, it's time to make the "knot".  Gather the loose ends with your needle and felt them into the center of the "knot."  You'll end up making a ring around the base of the balloon.  If you need to, you can felt around the top of the ring to make the "knot" a little more defined.

If there is not one already, make and indention in the middle of the ring.  This is where you'll insert the floral stem wire.

To insert the wire, hold the balloon firmly and twist the balloon back and forth while pushing in the wire.  Make sure you don't push the wire all the way through the balloon.  If you keep your fingers at the top of the balloon while you're doing this, you'll be able to feel the wire when it's close to the edge.

 Now it's time to make your wire look like a string.  Carefully bend it without making any angles.  I used my thumb and forefinger to hold the wire and pushed my thumb into the wire to slightly bend it. 

Now you can make as many as you need.  The balloons will slide off the wire, so be sure to handle them by their "strings" only.  You could add a dab of super glue or hot glue to the wire at the base of the balloon to make them a bit more secure.  Just keep in mind that gluing fibers is tricky. 

Let me know if you try this out! I'd love to see photos!!