Make A Gazing Ball Using A Bowling Ball,Bottle Cap Ladybugs,Spring Is Here Photos

oooh,I've been lazy. But I've finally finished a few things and have photos to show you of how I make a gazing ball out of a bowling ball, and a cute little project for kids and gr'ups to make out of bottle caps. They came out much cuter than I thought and I even put the finished ladybugs on the butterfly bush next to the front porch. When it blooms in it's bright blue color, the ladybugs will really show it off.

If you always wanted to know how to turn a bowling ball into a gazing ball, here's how I do it. First of all..find a bowling ball,LOL! Somebody always knows who has one stashed away, or find one on Freecycle or your local bowling alley. Free is always better :D Then you'll need some flat backed marbles and those are inexpensive; you'll need about 3 bags or more. These I'll buy at yard sales when I see a vase full of them.



Here I've washed and dried an old bowling ball and spray painted it silver. You'll need some clear silicone sealant, and this is what I use...the Walmart brand, and it's less than $3. Don't forget a caulking gun,too. My caulking gun has the cutting tool in the handle to snip off the tip of the nozzle, and the nail-like thing in the handle to puncture the tube if it needs it. After you snip off the tip of the nozzle and the silicone doesn't come out...stick that nail-like thingy into the nozzle and see if that's what's wrong. Oh, and just in case you need to know how to get the tube into the caulk gun, push in the trigger and hold it down while you pull out the long metal rod. Now slip the tube in and squeeze the trigger a few times til it begins to squeeze out. Remember to click the trigger after you squeeze to make it stop coming out. I laid my bowling ball in an old shallow box with a wadded up towel in it, to keep the bowling ball from rolling around. You could use a large bowl or bundt pan to set it on,too. Use a paper plate or an old plastic butter lid or something to squeeze out a puddle of silicone., and use a popsicle stick or plastic knife to use to spread it on with. Now..there's 2 ways I do this. On this particular bowling ball I used the stick to dab some silicone onto the back of individual marbles and placed them where I wanted them. If you're impatient, you can use the stick to frost the bowling ball with silicone in a large area and quickly place the marbles down. Don't spread out too much silicone at once until you realize how fast you can stick the marbles on :D


I decided to make flower shapes.....using 6 colored marbles with a black marble center, surrounded by clear marbles. The silver paint really looks good peeking out through the marbles. This is Rustoleum silver spray paint, by the way :D The silicone dries so fast you don't have to wait long to move it around to get all sides of it done quickly, and the silicone holds the marbles down and they won't fall off. I had a few things going while I had the silicone out, so I didn't have to get too antsy waiting for it to dry. I patched up the cement mushrooms the grandkids made a couple years ago..the tops fell off,lol! And I glued the tea pot totem back together where the top tea pot broke in half. And I glued the ladybugs together :D


Here it is finished..yay!..it's for my sister's new house..surprise :D Too bad the colors don't show up, they're much brighter, and so is the silver. But you get the idea! Check yard sales and thrift stores to buy something to use as a stand. Those old candle holders work great, so do bundt pans and flower pots. And you can paint them any color you want. Or..pound a length of rebar into the ground and set it on that by one of the finger holes. They get mildewed down here, so every now and then I'll spray them with bleach and hose them off.
Very pretty!! Everyone will want one now!

A cute use for bottle caps....painted ladybugs! I used up some Miller Lite caps, and some of those fruity girly drinks my daughter prefers...yuck on the girly drinks :D

Paint the bottle cap red..spray paint might be easier, unless you just need to occupy the time with some fidgety kids :D You'll need red, black, and white paints. I used a black paint pen, it was easier for my grandson to use. And a drop of white paint on a plate is all you need;dip a toothpick in it to paint on eyes. I glued 2 bottle caps together with the silicone, with a piece of fishing line tied in a loop for hanging. Just sandwich it all together, and it dries fast! You don't have to put 2 together, but I figured since the butterfly bush is right by the front porch, we'd use 2 together so when they twirl in the breeze, you'd still see a ladybug. I finished off with some clear spray before I glued them together. I found this ladybug project here at Craftideas...very cute projects!! Check them out....

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We took a walk in the woods and I took a few photos; and some photos of stuff around the place.
Grandson checking out the cat briers..watch out for those! And these look prehistoric....Land Before Time-ish!.......lol




the little monkey told me he found a deer track..."look Meme, "mutation" deer tracks"....LOLOLOL...the little booger!




what's left of the blueberry orchard...lots of blossoms, it's looking good....let's hope there's no black frost ...




ha.....this is the devil...see all the bright yellow pollen in the pine trees? this is the front yard and this tree dusts the cars and everything with yellow powder....and it's what makes us sick


til next time,
kudzu