Painted Ping Pong Balls Wreath

6 Materials
$20
3 Hours
Easy

I love the look of stylish wooden beads wreaths - made with real wood beads, and the wreaths made with half wood beads, too! And of course, the wreaths that are all the rage now, ping pong balls - faux wood beads wreaths using items from the dollar store! All of these have inspired me so much - that I just want to make one right now.

Let's start with the ping pong balls: The first thing I did was to make holes in the ping pong balls. It was easiest for me to use an ice pick to gently punch a hole in one side, centering it through the ball and out the other side. This way the holes are evenly spaced on the ball. Then use a drill just to open the holes a bit wider on each side (one at a time) to accommodate the metal craft ring fit. Quick and easy!

Next, use a heavy duty wire cutter to open the ring where it was soldered together.

And then begin to push the balls onto the ring, one at a time - twenty-two total . . .

leaving space for a bow, floral stems and flowers. 

Next, paint the balls using a wood tone color acrylic paint. This color is called Cafe Au Lait by Anita's, an all purpose acrylic by Rustoleum that was 79 cents a bottle. Can you believe it? Hobby Lobby was out of wood tone colors in the more expensive and popular brands and I was desperate when I started looking at Anita's. But when I saw the Rustoleum label on the bottle, I knew it couldn't be that bad. And it wasn't. One coat was all I needed! 

I guess you're wondering why I didn't paint the balls first before putting them on the ring. Well, it was easier to prop the ring up using clamps while painting, allowing the balls to dry completely without touching anything. 

After the balls are completely dry, join the ring ends to close using hot glue. The hot glue will grab the metal ends right away and keep them together temporarily. Once the hot glue cools off, add a permanent glue or adhesive to the spot to keep the ring intact. Hot glue will not hold forever and will eventually loosen and cause the ends to separate. In addition, I covered the area with duct tape (can be painted) to further secure it.

Next, arrange the floral stems in opposite design directions around the open area of the ring. Use the faux beads as anchors, gluing the floral stems with leaves in place and wrapping the floral wire of the stems around the ring for extra stability.

And of course I had to use my  Bowdabra  to make a pretty bow with eight, 4" loops . . . folding and twisting the ribbon back and forth . . .

and attaching the finished bow to the metal ring using the  Bow Wire to secure. Then add additional faux fall florals like mums, and more stems with leaves, filling in gaps . . .

including a small raffia tie for hanging, to complete the look! 

Don't you just love how the ping pong balls look - just like the real thing - wooden balls! 

Lovely in any Fall Decor!

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Gail@Purple Hues and Me
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  • Ginger Ginger on Sep 08, 2020

    Beautiful job! I wonder if one could use a 14 inch and a 12 inch craft wire and then wind fishing tackle back and forth between the balls to hold the two together for another dimension to the wreath?

  • Barbara Barbara on Sep 08, 2020

    Would you ever use Styrofoam balls?

  • Can you use any kind of Ping-Pong balls to make this?

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  • Rory McBean Rory McBean on Sep 17, 2022

    Dear Gail,

    Your projects are my favorites on hometalk, everyone of them!

  • Tammy Tammy on Sep 07, 2023

    Great- since can usually find these fairly cheap at dollar tree stores or discount stores, much better than using wooden beads- which can run costs up!!!!

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