Decorative Balls for Tables

As I said before, I love picking up shells.  Have you ever been to Sanibel Island?  It is full of shells.  My husband and I went, and it really looked like someone came in the middle of the night with a dump truck and left huge piles of shells on the beach.  When we went, they were worried about red tide, so we couldn't go in the water.  Since I was there for the shells, that didn't bother me too much.  We did wash our shells in a diluted bleach solution when we got back to make sure that there was no bacteria on what we picked up.  (I have found that if you have a crab claw or carapace, soaking it in bleach will take all of the colors out of them, so that may not be the best plan.  The shells are okay.)  Today's post is an idea we came up with for using our shells and decorating our home.

I decided to make some of those balls that people put in bowls and canisters to decorate their homes.  I like the results, and I also made some smaller ones that I turned into ornaments for a Christmas tree.









Here is the tutorial:

You will need plaster of paris, styrofoam balls (white will probably work better than green)(the size and shape is up to you--some of my ornaments are egg shaped), and a disposable container to mix the plaster in.

Mix a small amount of plaster according to the package directions.

Roll the styrofoam ball in the plaster.  A thin coat of plaster will stick to the styrofoam.  I must give a warning about this part.  I cannot do this step without getting the plaster on my fingers.  The box of plaster of paris warns that the plaster can burn.  I have never had any problems with this, but I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself!

Once your styrofoam ball is covered with a layer of plaster, let it dry.  The plaster will be lumpy.  You will be covering a lot of it up, so this won't matter.

Now, to decorate.  You should decide if you want to make a hanging ornament or balls to put in a bowl. I used the 4 inch size balls to put in my bowl, and I used the 2 inch balls and eggs for ornaments.

If you want to make an ornament, add a hanger.  I used a glue gun to attach a loop of ribbon to the top of my ornament.  I try for an X shape with the ribbon.  You can add a small bow here if you want.

Next, choose the shells you want to feature and use the glue gun to attach them to the plaster.  You will end up with some plaster showing between your shells.  The amount of space in between is up to you.  I did some balls with more and some with less.  I like them either way.

Once you have added all the shells that you care to, arrange your balls in a container and hang your ornaments!  I added a piece of driftwood as an accent.  Enjoy!

What else would you try decorating these with instead of shells?  Leave a comment so we can try something new!