Last week I had the privilege of doing a guest post at
Here is a rendition of the post I made for her blog. I hope you all enjoy another decor ball post.
More decor balls. Yes, I am crazy.
I promise this.is.my.last. decor ball post. Maybe.
I want to show you how to make a variety of decor balls. These are very popular right now – who doesn’t love a basket of decor balls?
Here’s a tutorial on how to make pretty much any type of decor ball you could ever want.
First, load up on your “gear”.
You need a basic ball to start with. For this tutorial I used ping-pong balls, foam balls in assorted sizes, and training balls.
You also need some materals to wrap around the balls. I used twine, cotton string, jute, and wicker. I also found some black string with sparkles in it.
For basic decor balls, just start with whatever size ball you want and wrap the twine around it gluing every 1/2″ or so.
Keep wrapping and gluing until you reach the opposite side of the ball.
Ta Da! Super easy!
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Now for the two-toned decor ball:
Start by gluing down two colors of string side by side.
Then just start gluing down both strands together in a spiral motion.
When I got to the end I realized there was a big hole in the ball, so I just cut out a circle from a piece of thin cardboard and glued it on the ball.
Then I just glued the strands over the piece of cardboard.
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Braided decor ball:
This one was a little more tricky, but still doable.
Start by gluing three very long pieces of twine to your ball. Braid them about 3″
From there just start wrapping the braid around and gluing it down in the same spiral fashion that you did the other balls.
I would just braid a little, then wrap and glue, then braid more. Make sure you cut very long pieces of twine, otherwise you are going to have to try to add more in the middle of making your ball.
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Two-tone twisted decor ball:
I made this one the same way as the basic two-tone decor ball, but instead of just gluing the twine down, I twisted it together before I glued it.
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Wicker balls:
The tutorial for the large ball can be found here.
For this set of balls, from largest to smallest I used: a fake nerf basketball, plastic training ball, foam ball, and a ping-pong ball.
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Baby balls
For the baby balls I used jute and ping-pong balls.
Jute balls
Different ball sizes I used:
I’m pretty sure you now know how to make any type of decor ball you could ever want.
I’d love to see some that you’ve made!
Here are links to balls I’ve already taught you how to make. No use posting the same tutorial twice, right?
and
I loosely promise to not post any more decor ball tutorials ever again! for at least a month.
If you’ve made any decor balls recently, post a link in my comments section!
All of them are fabulous! Love the two-tone one.
Hugs
SueAnn
Hi! I loved your idea and I will definitely use it as a center piece at home. But I was wondering where you got that black looking basket/bowl. Thank you and keep up with this beautiful ideas!
http://jackiethejunkjunkie.blogspot.com/2010/04/tested-but-not-bested.html
There is the link for the ones I copy-catted from you. . . I’m working on some more and will be posting those soon
Love the decor balls. I made a few this week with yarn. I am hoping to do more in different sizes like you did. Thanks for the ideas.
not only i find ur tutorials extremely useful but also u totally crackin me up cause we have exactly the same sense of humor
You are so talented. I’m totally going to steal this idea. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think I have read the word “balls” used more times in any other post. hehe
(sorry,hanging my head in shame)
Dang you are the ball making queen! good job! i love the braided ones! stop by some time dejavucrafts.blogspot.com
Well, that is about every kind of decor ball I have ever seen. They all look great. Thanks for sharing.
Brooke
These are awesome!
you can never have too many balls! coming from like in the pitts
Fantastic! Thanks for the great tutorial!
I love it! Especially the black one that looks a bit sparkly.
Q: Does the just you use smell? I’ve only ever bought one roll of the stuff, but it had a very strong scent to it!
Er, I meant the “jute” you use.
apparently, they are addictive to make!!
The possibilities are almost endless. You seem to like the earth tones, but I would go with bright primaries myself.
SO cute and clever! Now I want to make a load of decor balls and I don’t even have room for them. That won’t stop me tho! Love your stuff!
Nice job! I love all the different styles! Thanks for sharing!
Lovin’ your balls!
Thanks for linking up at Sugar & Spice.
Love your balls (snicker) Great job!
So totally unrelated but! I have that same wire bowl!
I bought a long time ago and originally made it into alight fixture [upgrade from those ugly glass disks] by lining the inside with velum.
P.S. Totally thought I could post a photo in a comment, here is a link.
The Bowl!
My goodness-what an excellent variation of ways to make decorative balls! I am going to try a few. Thanks for linking up!
Love this idea too! They’re so expensive to buy so this is a great alternative and cheaper way!
I only got as far as jute wrapped balls~but you have an awesome variety here! FUN!
I tried and tried to find where I saw the bean balls, it was you, I made some and they are posted on my blog, I painted them black then put on some gold antique as accent. I also did the twine balls, I used whiffle balls but had to put duct tape around them for the beans because of the holes..but they worked great!!!
I never thought about using the different types of plastic balls for this project.
I just love these!
Thanks for linking up to Saturday is Crafty Day!
They look great! Ive yet to make any, but I think I might try some fun colors.
Wow you have become a master at wrapping with twine! I really like how you combined two colors, super creative!!
Awesome! Now that I don’t have a dining room table anymore, I am running out of places to put my decor balls. Sadness.
Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!
And I thought styrofoam was the only way to go. Not so anymore. I have a 3 foot large glass vase that I could fill up with some of these. Great inspiration. Thanks so much!
Thanks for the tutorial.
These are great!
Alyssa
I’m so doing this after my remodeling dust settles (someday). Those things get pricey! Yours all turned out beautifully!
I love the bean ones. So cool
Wow! That is easier than I thought. Love them.
You’ve infested my mind with these. I just went on a shopping spree picked up balls of all shapes and twines, jute, braided rope of all sizes and colors. I can’t wait to show you when I get pictures up.
just found ur site and i luv it!!! more more more hurry!!!
You’ve got a lot of balls to post something like that! Bahahahaha (snort, snort) hahahahahaha. Whew! I kill me.
I just found your site this morning. I love your crafts! I keep showing them off to my husband. He thinks I’m pretty crazy…. You have inspired me to go to the Goodwill and start crafting over Spring Break. Keep posting these fun things.
Melissa from OR
Oh my! these cost 15 bucks and up! so very cool! thanks for sharing!! I can’t wait to make a million!
Nice tutorial and they look fantastic – I like the textures and the natural colours! I’ve got this linked to my decorative balls post too today, for inspiration!
I love balls. I am going to try it,then l posted it.