How to Make Flower Balls for Baby Nurseries

Hang homemade flower balls above your baby's crib to provide visual stimulation.

Create colorful flower balls to hang from the ceiling of your baby's nursery with folded fabric circles and a Styrofoam ball. The edges of the folded fabric create a soft undulating surface, giving the ball the appearance of a rounded mass of flower petals. The flower balls will provide visual stimulation for your child while acting as a decoration. Hang a grouping of different colored and sized flower balls over the crib instead of a mobile. They can also be hung in a corner of the room to create a focal point over a dresser, photo wall or toy box.

Things You'll Need

• Cardstock
• Scissors
• Fabric or felt
• Fabric pencil
• Styrofoam ball
• Hot glue gun
• Ribbon
• Straight pins

Instructions

1. Trace a 3- to 4-inch circle on a piece of cardstock. Cut the circle out with a pair of scissors.

2. Lay your fabric or felt out on a flat surface. Place the cardstock circle on top of the felt or other fabric and trace around it with a fabric pencil. Continue to trace circles onto the material until you have created 60 to 70 circles. Cut the circles out.

3. Select one of the circles and fold it in half. Apply a dot of hot glue on the bottom center of the fold. Fold the circle in half a second time, sandwiching the glue dot between the folded sides. Press the sides together until the glue dries.

4. Place a Styrofoam ball of any size on your work surface. Apply a drop of hot glue to the pointed end of the folded fabric circle. Press the end of the circle onto the surface of a Styrofoam ball of any size. Position the fabric circle so it is sticking vertically off of the Styrofoam's surface. Hold the fabric in place until the glue dries.

5. Continue to fold and glue the fabric circles to the Styrofoam ball until it is completely covered. Position the circles side by side in a random pattern over the surface of the ball.

6. Cut a length of ribbon that is twice as long as the desired hanging length of the flower ball. Choose ribbon that matches or coordinates with the color of the fabric. Place a drop of hot glue on one end of the ribbon. Spread apart the fabric circles at the top of the ball and press the end of the ribbon to the surface of the Styrofoam. Insert a straight pin through the glued end of the ribbon into the Styrofoam to further secure it. Repeat this step with the opposite end of the ribbon. Secure the ribbon ends to the ball side by side to create a loop for hanging the ball.

Tips & Warnings

• Create multiple flower balls in different sizes with loops of varying length to hang in a cluster in your baby's nursery.