Friday 18 January 2013

Getting some balls

I've been telling you all about the stash of craft supplies I have and that I think it is about time that some of it got used up.  Well, here is some of it!
Straw, template and cutter for making straw stars - German style
I tend to buy a lot of my 'stuff' on Ebay - there was a distinct lack of craft and haberdashery shops near me at the time.  And I admit that I've bought some bits when I've had a 'bright idea' about something and then it hasn't come to fruition (e.g. the key rings that I was going to make to sell for charity, but never found charts small enough that I liked).  Other items I've bought one or two of at somewhere like John Lewis when I've had an idea, like the polystyrene balls, and then liked the idea so much that I've bought lots (again on Ebay).  And once again, haven't actually used them all.

So, they are my next target.  I've no idea where I got the string idea from, but it is simple and effective.  Once again, they've adorned my Christmas tree and my parent's tree for years.  I do remember that I first made them when I was sharing a house in Walthamstow.  Anyway, as you can see I've added a bit of bling to the idea by using sequin string too.

I'm not sure how, but our cats got hold of one of the polystyrene balls and have been using it as a toy in our kitchen for over a year now.  As they seem to like them (they tend to make a bee-line for them on the Christmas tree) I think I'll treat them and make them their own string covered toy using jute string (again, another Ebay acquisition).  I even got adventurous and used two colours!




3 comments:

Helen said...

Glad to see I'm not the only one with a secret stash of unfinished and unstarted projects! How do you get the string to stay on the polystyrene balls? Do you glue it? How do you stop the ends from showing?

Unknown said...

You guessed it Helen - glue, and lots of it. I also use pins to help keep the sequins in place as they slip around a bit more than the string. As for the ends, I make a hole in the polystyrene ball and stuff it in (with a blob of glue to keep it there) and with the two-tone string ones, I wrapped the ends together 'a la shoe laces' with a bit of selotape first.

Helen said...

You make it sound so easy!