Fun & Beautiful DIY Gazing Ball

This is my finished product, gleaming in the bright sun. This project was so much fun and really pretty simple, I think it would be great to do with kids.

This project was complete trial and error. I ended up using one full package of clay plus a small amount of a second package but ran out of gems which required a plan b

I used 1 1/4 packages of Sculpy which I found to be very easy to work with. I purchased these at Joann many months ago during their remodel/mega clearance sale.

First, find something to set the ball into so it doesn't roll away. I didn't think of that until I had to chase it around a few times

I wasn't sure how sticky this clay was going to be so I opened the wrapper and slowly began rolling the clay out inside the wrapper using a dowel left over from my Drying Rack DIY

Once I realized it wouldn't stick to my surface I continued rolling it out to the desired thickness- just tick enough to cover the ball without tearing.

I added a thin layer of Tacky glue to the surface of the ball just to help it stick. I highly recommend wearing gloves at this point

Here's a shot of the ball completely covered in clay

I keep a spritz bottle at my work station at all times. It comes in handy for keeping acrylic paint and glue wet, wiping up mistakes and keeping air dry clay pliable.

I was shocked to find the gems stuck to the damp clay without any added glue.

As I was doing the happy dance I realized I didn't have nearly enough gems. Sigh

I began searching my stash for items I could add.

I decided to add the clear pieces of this old bracelet and some small beads from a fan pull I bought on clearance years ago.

It's coming along but I've stretched what I had as far as I could, I'm going to need to go back to Dollar Tree for more.

I made several trips to various Dollar Tree stores and they were all out of gems so I went to an art supply store. They did have gems but at 7x the price for one container and in different colors I decided to wait.

Dollar Tree got gems in but in a much different color pallet than what I'd purchased before. I bought three more bags and some self stick gems and off I went to finish this project.

Since the clay had now dried I did several things

• mixed a combination of diluted glitter paint with Mod Podge and drizzled it between the existing gems
• for additional adherence and water proof the dried clay
• Glued the rest of the gems on with Weld Bond multi purpose glue

I already had all other items on hand so there was no additional cost

Dollar Tree self stick gems. I cut these to fit and stuck them in between the glass gems and jewelry pieces.

All of the gazing balls I've seen are completely round and displayed upon a stand made specifically for them. I plan to put this on the patio either free standing among my plants or on a plant stand so it was important that it could stand on it's own. While the clay was wet I imbedded a plastic jar lid into it, made sure it was level and added some diluted glue around the edge. I then stood it on my lazy Susan where the weight allowed it to dry in place & made adding gems much easier for me. I covered the based in small gems and sealed with glitter glue.

• Let dry.
• Dampen a towel with rubbing alcohol and wipe off all of the gems to remove any paint and glue that may have gotten on the surface.

This is a close up of the ball completed and standing outside my front door. I'm pretty happy with the outcome especially since I really was winging it.

I found this project so relaxing and so much fun that I may do something similar with my niece.

Playing with clay, sparkly things and glue is FUN and not just for kids.

Enjoy