TUTORIAL: Hemp Balls

I first saw these nifty little pieces on one of my favorite home decorating blogs (craftynest.com) and I just knew I had to try it!  The original instructions showed how to make these as pendant lamps, but I was actually inspired to use them as part of my centerpieces for my dad's birthday party. The original directions called for hemp string but because I had to make close to 15, I decided to go for a more budget friendly route and chose to use crochet string. Hemp is obviously a lot more sturdier, but the crochet string worked just fine for my purposes.

Whenever I find a DIY project I want to do, I always look up multiple tutorials because I feel like each of them offer a little more detail in some areas more than others. I would encourage you to do the same, but please don't hesitate to contact me for any questions. My goal is for all of you to say at the end of this tutorial, "That's it? That looks so easy!" So let me know if you find anything difficult to understand or if you have any questions at all.

I thought these were so cool and easy to make and they definitely added flair to all of my decorations. Some people used them as pendant lamps, I used them for centerpieces...what will you use them for???

MATERIALS:
- 1 Small/Medium size bouncy ball
- Hemp String or Crochet String, for a wallet-friendly alternative
- Ailene's Clear Tacky Glue
- 1 Red Solo cup
- Scissors
- Black Marker
- 1 Bike Needle (Very Important!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the cup over the inflation hole and draw a line around the cup.

If you're not too sure which hole I'm talking about, it's this one:

2. Next, you're going to pour out some of the glue on a disposable surface (paper plate, plastic cup, etc.) Just keep in mind that you're not going to want to keep whatever you put it on.

3. This is where it starts to get a little messy. Take your index finger and dip it into the glue and apply it to the end of the string.

4. Rub the glue down the string.

5. Then begin to wrap the string around the ball. I usually start at the bottom where I drew the circle, but it doesn't really matter where you start.

Just keep on gluing and wrapping, gluing and wrapping...

6. When you feel like you've achieved the desired look, cut the string and secure it with a dab of glue. Let it dry for 3-4 hours. When it is completely dry, you can take the bike needle and poke it through the hole. 

When it begins to deflate, just let it be.

You may need to help it along at some point, so carefully stick your hand in and squeeze the ball to let the air out.

When most of the air has come out, gently remove the ball from the shell.

Just like this! 

And voila, you've got a very cool piece of art, all for very little effort and almost no money!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to hear about your experiences! And no, I haven't forgotten about the flower pom pom tutorial...coming in the near future!