How to Craft With Bowling Balls
Bowling balls can be decorative accents in your garden or on your patio if you transform them into mosaics with tiles, broken ceramics and mirrors. You can find used bowling balls at local yard sales and thrift stores and mosaic supplies at your local craft store. This inexpensive project is simple to complete and may become a striking feature in your landscape.
Things You'll Need
- Bowling ball
- Thin-set mortar
- Latex gloves
- Ceramics
- Plastic bag
- Towel
- Hammer
- Prop
- Exterior grout
- Sponge
- Grout sealer
Instructions
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1
Fill the holes in the bowling ball with thin-set mortar and let dry. This will give you a solid surface over the entire bowling ball so you can make your mosaic.
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2
Break your ceramics into small pieces. You can use plates, bowls, cups or any type of ceramic figurine for this project rather than purchasing mosaic tiles. While searching for bowling balls at yard sales, look for inexpensive ceramics that you can break. Place the ceramics in a sealed plastic bag and wrap them in a towel. Place them on the ground and hit the towel with a hammer. The pieces should be less than 2 inches in both width and height to fit the curves of your bowling ball.
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3
Prop your bowling ball between two heavy objects to keep it from rolling. Apply a thin layer of thin-set mortar to one small section of your bowling ball. Make sure that you wear gloves for this craft project as thin-set is harmful to your skin. You could use a spatula to spread the thin-set, but the curves on the ball adapt best to your hands.
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4
Randomly press the bits of ceramic into the thin-set. Leave 1/8 to 1/4 inch between the pieces. Don't worry about being perfect--the variations in the design help make this craft project interesting. Cover as much of the bowling ball as you can and let the adhesive dry according to the manufacturer's directions.
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5
Roll the ball into a new position so you can cover another area with thin-set and ceramics. Let the adhesive dry and then roll it again until the bowling ball is covered.
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6
Apply grout to the surface of the ball in stages--the same way you created the mosaic. Make sure to clean the grout from the surface of the ceramics before it dries. Seal the grout within three days.
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