Wedding DIY balls

 When I first saw my wedding venue I wanted Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling of the outdoor tent.  Since I am having a day wedding and don't need the lanterns to actually be lit I have been creating 'string pendants.'  Here is where my inspiration came from, minus the light (as it isn't needed in daytime). I hope my pendants look as great on my big day as these do!




Here is how I create my string balls:
1- Gather all materials.  You will need crochet string, balloons, and fabric stiffener.  I get my balloons from the dollar store.  You can use regular old party balloons and also the large punch balloons.  The stiffener I get from any craft store.  One bottle will complete about two large balloons. The crochet string can also be found there.  One spool of string does about 5 balls or so.  I recommend the neutral as it is easier to spray paint. 


2-  As a lesson learned (so you don't have to torture yourself), precut the crochet thread so you don't have to try and do so while you are covered in fabric stiffener.  I make mine about a foot and a half long.  It is less likely to knot up and still goes around the ball a few times.

3-  Put your string directly in an old tupperware (or new one from the dollar store) and put in enough fabric stiffener to cover it all.  That allows the string to be easier to mold.  Also, the more gluey it is, the easier it will stay on the ball.


4-  Take your time wrapping the ball in string.  I want to cover as much area as possible, but not too much so you can see through it when the ball is popped.  Whenever the string isn't sticking enough I will use a paint brush to paint that area with the fabric stiffener.  I also do this at the end to make sure no pieces are falling off while it dries overnight. 







5-  Hang your ball to dry overnight or longer.  I put mine in the garage with a trash bag underneath to catch drips.








 6-  Once your ball is dry pop the balloon and carefully pull the balloon out.  You might need to help the ball keep shape.

*** If you spray paint the ball without popping the balloon it will look slightly shriveled and have extra chunks filled in (like the ones on the left) ***

*I also recommend the large balloons verses the regular party balloons.  They hold shape longer and allow for the balloon to dry in the correct shape*

I really like the look of popping the balloon first and then spray painting (see below)...






7- Then you can spray paint the balloon whatever color you would like. Allow it to dry overnight again.


I did this one green.  Disregard the other ones (orange and pink) drying....




8-  Tie a cute thread (I just find some at the dollar store or the cheap racks at a craft store) to the top part and hang.

Final products (green and gold)

(Excuse the flag... it was raining today)

Creating one ball costs roughly 4 dollars.  It probably takes me about 1 to 1.5 hours (I watch movies while I do it) to create the ball from start to drying time.  I plan to make about 10 to 12 balls for the wedding venue and spray paint them different colors.  I will stagger their hanging from the tent ceiling to create a different dynamic.  Hopefully it will look cool.   I guess we will find out in 7 months!