DIY Twine Balls

Super easy and possibly messy!  These twine balls are awesome hanging, as part of a visual collection, or piled into a decorative bowl.

Get a friend to help and, if you are making the giant ones, get more friends!  I did some with those giant balloons (3 feet in diameter), and I had one person feeding the twine to the glue person.  The glue person then fed the goopy twine to me and I needed two people to help hold the balloon.  So we needed five people to do the biggies.

Supplies:

balloons

vaseline

string/twine/jute/yarn

toothpicks

glue

water

plastic plate

plastic tablecloths

Directions:

1. Blow up your balloons, making sure they stay as round as possible.  Some balloons can get really egg-shaped quickly, so use them for the tinier balls.  Once inflated, rub a small amount of vaseline onto the surface, coating thoroughly.

2. In the plastic plate, mix up your glue by blending 3 parts glue to 1 part water.  Saturate the twine by running it through the glue, wiping off excess with your fingers.

3. Wrap the twine randomly around the balloon.  Tuck your end under the twine to hold it in place.

Thanks to K & A for being my photo models!

4. Hang the balloons to dry.  We tied them onto a large dowel (a hockey stick or unused broom stick would work too) and let them dry for 24 hours.  Make sure you put a plastic tarp or tablecloth underneath to catch all the paint drips! (Note: you don't need to use a fan or hairdryer on these.  We were only trying to accelerate the dry time.)

5. Poke the balloon gently with a toothpick to pop it.  Pull the deflated balloon carefully out through the open spaces of the twine.  Use the toothpick to remove any bits of dried glue from between the twine, and you're all done!

6. To hang, using fishing line to attach to the twine balls and a tack to attach to the ceiling.

Linking up with some great parties!