Bowling Ball Gazing Project
Having you seen them yet? Gazing balls are making a comeback. I have my great grandmother’s gazing ball and stand and recently made my own mirror and glass tiled one too. This bowling ball gazing project couldn’t be simpler!
Procrastination Can Sometimes Work in Your Favor
When we purchased our home seven years ago the previous owners left behind a bowling ball. I always meant to go and drop it off as a donation at our local Goodwill but just never got around to it. For once, I am glad that my procrastination worked in my favor.
We had went to a small town garden center and they had many local crafters that created gazing balls with the base of them being old bowling balls. I said gee, I could do that too. So, when I got home I checked out the internet for additional pictures and directions. I found some ideas but not as many as I had hoped for.
Really, it just boils down to creativity and your willingness to dedicate some time to the project.
Options, Options
There are so many options, like decoupaging a ball. Which I happen to think can be highly creative too. Plus, the supplies are easy to come by. Scrapbook paper and decoupaging glue are both easy to locate in a craft store.
Another option was to glue glass gems, pennies, marbles, broken mirror, tiles or plate to the ball and then grout.
I thought this type would hold up the best in outdoor creations. So, I knew I would be gluing and grouting.
So, many options!
I went to my local home improvement store to gather up some materials. I purchased tile adhesive to glue the tiles to the ball, tile grout and a sponge.
Finding a Stand that FIT and Was Cheap
Then I set out to find a stand. This proved to be the most difficult tasks of the entire project. Most local hardware stores do not carry what you need. I was able to locate stands at Stein Gardens and gifts. The cement ones were expensive and the plastic ones looked cheap and were still around the $15.00 dollar mark. I decided to keep looking around.
Purchase Crafting Supplies Here:
Reasonably Priced Gazing Ball Stands
Assortment of Glass Gems Crafts
Buy Mirror Mosaics in Bulk
Grout in Just About Every Color
Recycled Tiles
I then went to town on cutting up a decorative mirror art piece into square pieces that I found at a local thrift shop for a buck.
Gluing the Tiles
Once I had the tile pieces I started gluing the tiles to the bowling ball. I placed the adhesive tile glue on the back of each tile separately so I could work on the project in my spare time.
Grouting
After all the pieces were glued, I spread the tile grout evenly over the entire ball. I followed the directions on the back of the grout for wait times before sponging off the extra grout.
I still had to find that stand though. I stopped at a yard sale that I saw an old beat up plastic stand at. I ended up purchasing it for a quarter and took it home and washed it up.
(My grandmother’s didn’t work – it was to narrow just incase you were wondering)
Spraying the Used Stand
We had a can of stone spray paint in the garage so I spray painted the entire stand to look like stone. It turned out much better than I had hoped for. Perfect in fact!
How did I get the Ball to Stay on the Stand?
One question I get often is how did you get the ball to stay in the hole of the stand? In my haste I forgot to mention this. I Liquid Nails glued a heavy metal can to the bottom after I was done creating the ball. Then shot Liquid Nails under it to attach to the base. It worked perfectly.
Get Creating!
Now, go out there and create your own. It is relatively easy to do and all the supplies can be either purchased from home improvement stores, second-hand or maybe you are like me, you just happened to have most of the items sitting around the house.
