pottery barn balls with the create studio girls!

this week i had a lovely time joining up with the sarah from create studio and the craft club girls! my sweet sister-in-law asked me to come co-teach a craft for their montly meet up that she was hosting. after much deliberation and tutorial-swapping, we decided on pottery barn-inspired decorative balls as our project, thanks to the v & co. tutorial.

we started with some clearance "snowball" styrofoam balls in two sizes, some twine, some faux flower petals, some spray paint, some fabric strips, some spray paint, and an army of glue guns. this is what we ended up with:
probably my favorite thing about this craft was that everyone was thinking about all the different ways the balls could be decorated... one idea led to another as we sat around the table chatting, every once in awhile someone would say 'you know what else you could do on these?' i love that about a craft- when it's enjoyable in the moment, and also opens the little doors of inspiration in your mind.
i think all of us had a moment of thinking the balls would never be done [especially those of us that started off, optimistically, with the larger size!] but our group had a warm, cozy feel as we each concentrated on our work. there's something so nice to me about women working together- it felt like a quilting bee! just a tip- coffee and brownies help if you start feeling a little woozy from all the wrapping.

the original idea was twine-wrapped balls, with the option of spray painting them after they were wrapped. i love the all-natural look of the un-spray-painted... makes me think of the beach! and they're so neutral, you could pair them with a shell-covered ball for a summer beachy look, or with pine cones and grapevine balls for fall. it takes a lot of wrapping and a bit of time [especially if your glue gun dies in revolt over the cheap glue sticks you've... erm... i've been stuffing in it!] but looks totally great when it's done!
then we tried it with some faux flower petals, which turned out completely beautiful and wedding-y. i'm picturing these hanging from the backs of chairs or in the trees or even in little piles as centerpieces at a wedding reception. of course, it helped that my sis picked these gorgeous, soft, creamy colors!
sarah brought some fabric to try out some ripped and twisted strips around the balls. it seemed to go quite a bit faster and turned out very cute! i'd love to try these in springtime colors, maybe on those egg-shaped styrofoam balls at easter?
she also had a great idea with the scrap felt i brought. i thought we could do it in little circles for a snowball effect, but she scrunched them up into a beautiful ruffled ball!
so are you inspired to make balls now but not sure what to do with them after you do? pop them in a wide bowl on your table, a birdcage or trifle on your shelf, in an apothecary jar, put some ribbon around them and hang them on your doorknob or cabinet pulls, or even get a little crazy and make a topiary out of them!
my twine ball [completed despite the glue gun travesty] went straight into my little birdcage on the shelf and is waiting for some friends to join it! thanks again to sarah, my sis, and the create studio girls!