Copper (looking) Frog Ball Tutorial

Monday, August 23, 2010

Don't you just need a new piece of junk art for your yard? Whew, I sure did! How about a copper frog ball? Isn't she purrrrrdyyyy?

You can make one too!
Materials:
Bowling Ball - got mine at a thrift store.
Plastic Toy Frogs - Dollar Tree
Scotch Tape
E-6000 Adhesive
Copper Spray Paint - I used this one by Rust-Oleum.

Wash and dry the bowling ball and place somewhere to keep it from rolling around while you work on it.

Take pieces of Scotch Tape and make small rolls with sticky side out.

Use these rolls to tape the frog's little hands to the bowling ball like so.

Cover the entire top side of the bowling ball with the taped frogs. This tape will soon hold your frogs in place while the adhesive is drying.

Add the E-6000, to the bottom side of each frog.

Firmly press the frog to the bowling ball, then let the tape hold frog in position. I did not apply any adhesive to the hands.

Now comes the hard part, you must wait for the adhesive to cure/dry/whatever you call it. I waited about 24hrs.

Once adhesive is dry, flip ball over and repeat the tape/glue process on the other side. Be sure to leave an open area where the ball will sit on it's stand. And the hard part again, wait for the adhesive to dry!

Once the adhesive is all set, remove the tape from the frog hands. It's like shaking each of their little hands, thank you, thank you very much. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to glue your little butt to my bowling ball! lol! Do this for every frog. :)

Spray paint the entire ball with the copper spray paint. Give it a few coats to fill in the groves. I cut a hole in a box to create a place for my ball to sit while I painted it.


Let paint dry and that's it, all done! Simple right? Now place her in your yard!
You can use a gazing ball stand. or whatever else works for you. In the first photo at the very top it is on an old, large fire extinguisher.

Thoughts:
-I should try it on a glass light cover/globe instead of a bowling ball.
-I think I should try rubbing on some dark wood stain or black paint to add dimension to all the groves.
-Next time remove the runaway strings of adhesive before painting. Duh! There was only one though.
-I wonder why my bowling ball did not have any finger holes?
-Man I wish I had an Iced Mocha right now! Oh wait did I say that out loud? ;)

Do you think it's cool? Do you think it's weird, ugly? What are your thoughts?

Linking up at:
S- The DIY Showoff, Under the Table and Dreaming, MThe Girl Creative, MM Party at BNOTP, Making the World Cuter, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping it SimpleT- Coastal Charm, All Thingz Related, Today's Creative Blog, Hope Studios W- Trendy Treehouse, Blue Cricket Design, Life in the Pitts, Me and My Bucket, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Room to Inspire, Creations by Kara, Just a Girl, T- The Shabby Chic Cottage, Life as Lori, Somewhat Simple, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and JellybeansF- A Few of My Favorite Things, It's FUN to Craft, The Shabby Nest, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk InteriorsS- Along for the Ride, I Heart Naptime

23 comments:

  1. I love it. I'm currently making my own personal disco ball out of an old bowling ball my hubs had for years but never used.

    Come join my giveaway at http://froufrugal.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. This made me smile! I've made garden globes from bowling balls and half marbles (they are all over my blog header). Love your froggy ball! I first saw these bowling ball creations over at the garden junk forum at garden web, lots of good ideas over there! Very clever project you've done.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Too cute! How did you think of such a thing?

    Lindy

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is just too cool!
    Thank you for joining us this week for Anything Related!
    {Rebekah}

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are such a nut ;) I say that with affection...I've seen people use mosaics to cover old bowling balls. Yours probably didn't have any holes because it never got drilled...I had one of those in my garage forever! It was a gift and I had to have my gall blader removed and couldn't lift anything over 7 lbs for weeks...so into the garage it went...lol BTW...black shoe polish works really well for aging the cracks and crevices...you'll have to seal it after...but you would anyhow if this is going to stay outside. Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love this! If I had a yard, I would so put this in it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think it's quite charming!...and absolutely would have never thought of something like this on my own...haha!

    You are so likeable :)
    Most instructional posts can be a bit static, but I was chuckling thru yours...in a good way, of course!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks so much for your comments! I got the idea on the garden web forums. Someone posted a pic of one with lizards.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love it! Now I know what to do with my old bowling ball,

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is such a cute idea and a great way to reuse an old bowling ball!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I sort of love it, though I am not sure why. ha! Very whimsical!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Who'd have thunk a bowling ball could turn out sooo cute! The frogs - what a great touch. Clearly I have to expand my creative horizons!

    Hope you'll stop by tomorrow and link it up to Passion for Paint! Would love to have you!

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I adore this and I want one!! I am not a huge fan of copper but they have that really awesome paint that is marblesque. That would look awesome or even those super shiny ones like RED!! I think it's totally creative!! This is getting a book mark from me!

    ~ Thanks Nikki

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a clever idea - Love it! The frogs are adorable. Fantastic job! I have featured this today - stop by and grab a featured button if you like. Hope you are enjoying your weekend! Thanks for linking to The Sunday Showcase. ~ Stephanie Lynn

    http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/08/three-scoops-of-love-winner-last-weeks.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. That is AWESOME!! I want one! I love the idea and all the variations are limitless. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love projects like this where I learn from the comments as well as the tute.
    Having several frog loving friends, and an extra bowling ball or two, all I need is glue and plastic frogs!
    (and find the tape and paint)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Now I need to find an extra bowling ball! Thats a cute idea.

    New follower

    Carole
    http://frogbellysoup.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Now I need to find an extra bowling ball! Thats a cute idea.

    New follower

    Carole
    http://frogbellysoup.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks for the easy step by step directions. Oh and thanks for the great idea! I just had to make one too.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Well I'm hungry!! LOL!!! Looks like decadent chocolate to me. VERY outside the box and fun!

    Donna

    ReplyDelete