DIY fancy disco ball

It's that time of year again... the time for church youth group fundraising! Fundraising is probably my least favorite activity in the world (aside from eating brussel sprouts...sorry mom); however, I love being a youth sponsor at my church and I adore the kiddos... so I don't mind helping out. Well, more than help out... I'm in charge! How did this happen?
    Truth be told, it seems I may have some sickness called "nobody can do things exactly the way i want them done so i never delegate and i micromanage". Pretty serious situation... hope I'm not in over my head!
    This year we are planning our Second Annual Valentine's Banquet; the theme is 70's. The wheels are turning in my crafty little brain already, particularly because of our tight budget.

First project on the table:  DIY Disco Ball

I couldn't see the sense in spending money on a disco ball that we would use only one time... so I set out to make one.

Materials:
      1. Bouncy ball from Wal-mart

          (You may be wondering why I didn't use a styrofoam ball?
           Well, styrofoam is much more expensive and comes in
            limited sizes...the bouncy ball is light, large,
            and best of all.... CHEAP!)

      2. Silver spray paint        

          (I used silver metallic ....love for this stuff must
           run in the family) 

      3. Adhesive   

          (Modge Podge, found at any craft store)

      4. Glitter   

          (found at any craft store)

      5. String, safety pin....anything to hang the ball with.

START by rigging up a hook to hang your disco ball from. I used a safety pin and, after a little bit of grunt work, managed to hook it into the "skin" of the ball without going too deep (never having worked with a bouncy ball of this magnitude, I wasn't sure what would happen if I punctured  all the way through....probably  deflation and possibly an exploding rubber ball... EEK! I chose to err on the safe side). You can also attach a string using duct tape, but I wanted to avoid bumps.

 

(hmm...not the prettiest hook, but it does the job!)

THEN begin spraying the ball ... it may take a few coats to cover the bright color of the ball (be sure you've covered all surrounding surfaces with a drop cloth to protect them). I thought about hanging the ball while painting it... but the spray paint dried quickly enough that I was able to coat all sides numerous times in just 10 minutes; just be patient before you roll the ball to paint another side.

NEXT, coat your silver ball with an adhesive. I used Modge Podge, but you can use any type of liquid adhesive. Coat small sections at a time...

THEN cover the wet adhesive with glitter. Repeat this process, modge podge-ing and then glittering, until the ball is completely covered.

*Notice the poster board under the ball? That's so I can easily return excess glitter to the container :)

Once that dries... brace yourself for a super sparkly, extra large disco ball -  ready to be hung for a 70's party!


The 70's party isn't until this weekend, so I won't have pics of this baby in action until next week... I just couldn't wait to try my hand at glittering.