How to Make Basketball Placecard Holders

Create basketball place card holders for a birthday party.

Basketball place card holders are a creative way to boost the aesthetic appeal of any event. Turn a pre-championship basketball dinner into an enjoyable meal with relevant place card decorations, for example, or give the party reception of mutual sports enthusiasts a relaxed feel with the crafts. A paper mache technique is ideal for giving your basketball models a consistent texture and a supreme surface for the application of paint.

Things You'll Need

• 5-inch-wide Styrofoam balls (multiple)
• 2-inch-wide shipping box cardboard circles (multiple)
• Ruler
• Craft knife
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups flour
• Pot
• Medium size bowl
• 1 by 3 inch newspaper strips (multiple)
• 1 by 3 inch paper towel strips (multiple)
• Orange and black acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• 4-inch-long 12 gauge wire (multiple)
• Paper clips (multiple)
• Permanent epoxy

Instructions

1. Place one 5-inch wide Styrofoam ball and one 2-inch wide shipping box cardboard circle onto a work surface -- one of each for every place card holder required.

2. Slice off the bottom edge of the ball one-quarter inch deep with a craft knife to give the bottom of the holder a flat surface on which to sit.

3. Add 2 cups water and 2 cups flour to a pot to create a paper mache mix. Boil the mix for three minutes. Allow five minutes for the mix to cool. Pour the mix into a medium size bowl.

4. Submerge a 1-inch by 3-inch newspaper strip into the mix. Press the mix into the ball. Continue until the ball and the cardboard circle is covered in one layer of newspaper.

5. Submerge a 1-inch by 3-inch paper towel strip into the mix. Press the mix into the ball. Continue until the ball and the cardboard circle is covered in one layer of paper towel. Allow three hours for the craft pieces to dry.

6. Coat the ball and the cardboard circle with orange and black acrylic paint to emulate basketballs. Allow two additional hours for the paint to dry.

7. Stick a 4-inch long 12 gauge wire three-quarter inches deep into the top of the Styrofoam ball. Bond the backside of the cardboard basketball to the front of a paper clip with permanent epoxy. Glue the basketball onto the clip without bonding the two portions of the clip together. Bond the backside of the paper clip to the top of the wire with permanent epoxy, without gluing the two portions of the clip together. Allow 20 minutes for the epoxy to fully dry before inserting the place card into the clip.

References

• DLTK Kids: How to Paper Mache
• Craft Stylish: How to Make a Fun Place Card Holder