DIY Garden Art Glass Garden Balls

I LOVE blue glass of all kinds but especially in my garden.

Years ago my family got me a big cobalt blue gazing ball for my daisy flowerbed and I knew I wanted more, more, more! But hey, those gazing balls are surprisingly fragile. Basically they are just giant glass Christmas balls and they break if they fall over. Also, they only come in solid colors. Plus, $$$$$!!

What to do?

I made my own original garden ball using a thrift store bowling ball and glass gems from the Dollar Store.

I LOVE how this came out!

 I used Silicone II adhesive for half of the ball and E6000 jewelry adhesive for the other half. I prefer the jewelry adhesive.  The bowling ball cost me $4 at a thrift store and I used about 6 bags of glass marbles, more or less. A 40% off coupon from Michael's snagged the E6000 and voila!!! My first blue glass garden ball for about $14. I was hooked!

 

I snagged this round glass light fixture for 25 cents and knew it would be my next ball project. Dollar Store half marbles and garage sale finds gave me the blue glass I needed. I decided to go with this Amazing Goop silicone adhesive because it was CHEAP. It is basically the same formula as the E 6000 and the Silicone II. The total cost on this pretty ball is less than $10.

This is definitely an OUTSIDE project since all the glues I've mentioned are incredibly smelly. 

Even outside I have a fan blowing across my work area to avoid the fumes. I settled on my front porch and started gluing. Put a small blob of glue on each individual marble, you do not have to goop it on. Smear a layer on your big ball and put your marble in place. I twist them a bit to make sure they stick together.

IMPORTANT! The adhesive does not set up quickly so you will have to do small areas of your ball and let it dry for several hours then turn it over to do the other sides. Try to skip this step and you'll have glass marbles falling off all over the place! Don't ask me how I know.

And DONE!

Here she is (of course she's a lady! LOL!) nestled in a soft bed of creeping Jenny. A hot pink petunia will join her soon. I love the bright blue glass against my blue deck railings and house color.

Oooh aaah!

I've found loads of half marbles at thrift stores and yard sales so my garden ball projects are getting cheaper and cheaper to make.