If you are like me you have seen bowling balls like this on Pinterest. I love the colorfulness as it brings such a bright spot to the garden. Plus I am doing a round/orb theme to the front garden. So here's how I made mine...
I bought my marbles, it took 15 bags to cover a regular bowling ball. I bought the marbles at the local dollar store but Walmart carries them too, $1 each. It says 50 but one is the larger shooter which I set aside.
I bought 2 tubes of GE all purpose clear silicone that is waterproof, we already have the caulk gun to put it in. See this post to see how to keep your large tubes from drying out. I did not use all of the second tube.
The bowling ball I picked up at Goodwill for $2, it is a solid black one.
I glued a canning jar ring to the ball where the finger holes are and filled in parts of the holes that showed with silicone, the ball was hole side up for this part. This makes a nice stand for while you are working on it, it won't show in the garden.
Once the base was dry I flipped the ball over to stand on it. Then squeezed glue in a small area on the top and started pushing the marbles into the glue. I worked in a circular pattern and tried not to have very much glue squish up between. I worked in small sections as I came down the sides, sometimes you have to push the marbles back up into place but they will hold as the glue gets drier. Do try to use different color marbles next to one another if you can.
After the top was done I waited until the next day to work on the bottom. Same scenario but I worked from the marble edge up to the ring base. This was a bit easier as the marbles could not slide down now.
And here it is completed. The silicone glue made kind of a frosty colored grout in the gaps. I'm not sure what it would look like with a multi-colored bowling ball but any solid color I think will work well.
Now to find the perfect spot in the garden.
8 comments:
Honestly, I'm not trying to be negative, but even though the cost is minimal, isn't there a better way to spend these dollars?
Jim, I appreciate the comment and your thoughts. Could I have spent the money on better things? I guess I could have depending on one's idea of what better things are. I like working in the garden and I like to decorate it modestly and at a low cost. I also like colorful things and making them myself. It's a hobby and I truly believe it helps keep me happy. So maybe the dollars I spent over several months time to make this, and the pleasure I got out of making it and looking at it, balance each other out. I know it's definitely cheaper than a shrink or a piece of sculpture from a gallery. It may not be everyone's idea of art, but I like it.
Thanks for visiting, hope you'll stop by again.
I have my blue, marbled bowling ball from my bowling days in the early 70s. I was going to stick it on a piece of rebar and shove it in the ground outdoors. However, I bought and orange, marbled one for $1 at a yard sale. When I left it outdoors, all the luster disappeared. So, I know what I will do with the orange one. Maybe I can find cheaper marbles at a yard sale or thrift store. I have my marble bag from my childhood, filled with marbles, but I won't use those. Great idea for a bowling ball, one that was going outdoors in an unadorned state!
I like it! That's using your creative noodle.
Linda, I have used unadorned bowling balls before and they were fine as long as they were in all day shade. I guess that sun can pretty much destroy any finish.
I would probably put it in a shady place, but not full shade. I am thinking about waxing it to bring back the shine and maybe preserve it. Thanks for the tip.
I hadn't seen these before. I like it a lot! Let's face it, we could always spend our money more frugally, but making beautiful things are an important part of life, too.
Darlene
I'm with you Darlene! Thanks for visiting again!
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