The Inspiring Bee

Finding purpose in climate action.

Creative Friday: Having a Ball

While I’m crafting up my second article for my brand new column Inspiration Zone with The Writer magazine, I thought you’d enjoy this post on one of my favorite crafts. Thinking back, I don’t know how I had the energy, time or ingenuity to do this (not that it was that hard, but I also consider myself clueless when it comes to crafting). But every time I watch TV and see them hanging above, I’m so glad I found a way.

I hope you enjoy this end of the week post.

I’m happy to take a mini-writing break and reflect on how using creativity inspired me to keep pursuing my dreams. Whether you’re looking for creative holiday ideas (hey this could work for Halloween too. i see orange and black balls made with tissue paper.) or you’re just looking for inspiration, I hope you’ll check out my post below.

The Story of a Faux Flower Ball

My poor thumbs are raw from pushing in faux hydrangeas all night. But sadly, I still have one more flower ball left to go. I did get two up however, and the results are already starting to look like party central.

Here’s how I did it:

I started with a foam ball, a handful of faux hydrangeas, fishing line and a green floral wire from Michaels. Since I didn’t read any how-tos online, I basically made this craft up on my own. {I later learned that it’s much easier if you start by poking the thin wire through the foam ball-from the bottom to the top-first (kind of like threading a needle). Leave a little extra wire and then poke it back into the foam ball at the top making a loop. You’ll need that to hang the ball to the ceiling.}

What I did instead was use pinhead needles to adhere the flowers to the ball. Again, after a few tries I learned that I didn’t need the needles at all. When you remove all the flowers from their faux stems, you’ll see that they already have a sharp plastic tip, which fits nicely into the foam ball.

I had no strategy of where to push them in. I just made sure to fit as many flowers in one space to cover any bald spots.

 

Several hours later, I had this.

 

Here's the hook I made with floral wire.

 

You can't see it here. But I threaded fishing line to the top of that loop. I put a thumb tack through the ceiling and then tied the two ends of the fishing line to it.

 

I couldn't find another green foam ball so white would do. I also used blue faux hydrangeas on this one.

 

After much repetition, several hours and a few days, I had this.

 

Hallelujah they're done!

Just goes to show that you anyone can be creative. Takes a little work, okay a lot, but I think the feeling of seeing something you’ve accomplished is so worth it.

What have you created lately?

2 responses to “Creative Friday: Having a Ball”

  1. Margarita

    Wow, Brandi, what a fantastic idea! I think they turned out so well. And talk about having to be very patient. 🙂 By the way, your house looks so pretty!

    1. Brandi

      Aw thanks for your sweet comment Margarita!