Decorative balls are so popular right now... And for a good reason--they are so cute!! There are so many different kinds, to match ANY home decor--but have you priced these bad boys?!?!? Let's just say, $$$. So, here's AP31's best crafter ever to the rescue, with just one example of how to make your own for ¢ !! : )
I love to repurpose stuff! It's a great challenge! I am lucky enough to have some great thrift stores in my area, but by far my favorite is the Goodwill Last Chance Warehouse! They sell stuff by the pound, and the more you buy, the cheaper it is! I seriously LOVE this place. I went there the other day and picked up these 10 shirts for under $5!!! I decided to rip them up and make decorative rag balls out of them : )
To do this project you'll need :
* New or repurposed fabric
* Scissors
* String
* Hot Glue Gun
First, anytime you repurpose fabric, make sure you WASH IT FIRST! 'Cause you just never know... ;P
After they're clean and dried, cut the back panels out of the shirts and rip off thin, long strips. To rip fabric, make a small cut with your scissors first, then grab each side and RIP! (I find this VERY enjoyable...) Remove any loose threads.
My strips were about 1/2 inch thick.
For the ball, I cut up t-shirts and balled some fabric up in my hand. I secured everything in place by wrapping some string around the ball. Try to make it as round as possible.
Instead of balling up fabric, you can use styrofoam balls--but for me, the purpose of this craft was to re-purpose! : )
Next I started wrapping the strips I ripped around the ball. Hot glue the end of a strip to the ball and tightly wrap until you reach the end of the strip and hot glue that end in place.
Continue wrapping with new strips until your whole ball is covered.
The flannel prints reminded me of Fall!
This craft can be done in ANY fabric. Choose any theme or color scheme, and use your imagination!
Send us some pictures and we'll host them on the blog! Can't wait to see your designs!
*Jes*
love it jes! fabu and stylish(great plaid)! big and bold! looks like art instead of deco! appeals to the minimalist in me
ReplyDeleteEEK! I LOVE it too! I love the idea of repurposing old things : )
ReplyDeleteWow, very pretty! They look like something you'd buy in a high-end store, know what I mean? I have this linked to my decorative balls post too today, well done!
ReplyDelete