This elegant wedding ball features an etched glass ornament that can be personalized with the bride and grooms names. Substitute the all white flowers for the bridal party colors. We have many shapes of ornaments available, including a bell.
Hang this bouquet from a chandelier, over a table, in a hallway or on an ornament stand. Use as a kissing ball!
Materials:
#15-0150 Armour Etch Cream
#29-2442 Clear Thick bevel diamond ornament
#21-1650 Over N Over stencil- Happily Ever After
#20-0480 Rub n Etch stencil-Wedding Dates
#61-3328 White Rub n Buff
#08-9606 Brushes
#08-9999 Gloves
#08-9415 Masking tape
#08-9777 Scissors
3" or 4" Round Styrofoam ball
White or assorted small silk flowers
silver "greenery" w/ stems trimmed to 2 inches long
White bridal leaves
White, silver (optional: gold or a color) satin ribbon-1 inch wide
White lace ribbon- 1 inches wide
White cotton wrapped floral wire #20 or 22 (sturdy by pliable fine gauge)-18 inch
Pearl sprays- 3 inch
Low temp hot glue gun
Pliers w/ wire cutters
Paper clips of floral pins
Long skewer, chopstick or shisha bob stick
Directions:
- Apply Over N Over bell stencil to the middle of the diamond ornament. Cover over the Holly leaves with small pieces of tape.
- Cut out the "Our Wedding Day" from the stencil sheet. Place right under the bells and secure with a piece of masking tape.
- Rub down the stencil with the popsicle stick according to the package instructions.
- Cover all exposed glass on both sides of the face of the ornament with overlapping strips of masking tape
- PAT the etch cream onto the stencils until about 1/4" thick. Wait 3 minutes and rinse under very warm water until visible etch cream is gone, Remove stencils and rinse again
- Assembling the ball: Carefully drive the skewer through the center of the styrofoam ball.
- Fold one 18 inch strand of wire in half. Feed one end of the wire through the hole in the ornament and slide the ornament down to the fold in the center of the wire. Twist the 2 pieces of wire together several times leaving a gap of about 1/2 inch so the ornament swings freely inside the loop.
- Thread the ends of the wire through the hole in the styrofoam ball. At the top of the ball, take one end of wire and fold it over in half forming a loop. Twist the wire together to tie it to itself. Take the other strand of wire and wrap it around the twisted part of the loop several times to secure the two strands together. Squeeze a bit of hot glue at each end of the ball where the wire protrudes to secure it to the styrofoam
- For the flowers on the ball, assemble mini bundles of bouquets. Start with 3 rosebuds twisted together. Add a pearl spray and a satin leaf. Also assemble mini bundles of ribbon and lace by cutting 8 inch strips of white ribbon, silver or colored ribbon and lace ribbon trim. Take each piece and crisscross the ends over the center. Layer one strip of each type of trim on top of the other forming at least 3 kinds of bows. Lay a strip of wire over the center and twist the ends together on the backside and cut off the wire close to the twist. Flatten the end of the wire against the backside of the ribbon
- Cut a long strip of white satin ribbon, twice the length of the distance required to hang the ball. Thread one end of the ribbon through the wire loop at the top of the ball. Even up the ends of the ribbon and tie a firm knot.
- If you do not have floral pins, open up some paper clips so they are U shaped trim with wire cutters so the ends are even.
- Starting at the top of the ball, take a bundle of flowers and twist all the wires to form a pick. Spread the wires with some hot glue, allow to cool a few seconds and push into the ball.
- Now take a ribbon bundle and straddle a floral pin or paper clip over the center of the bow from the front side. Squeeze a dab of hot glue on the back side. Hold the bundle between your forefinger and middle finger with the ends of the paperclip dangling down between them. Place your thumb over the center of the bow and push the ends of the paperclip firmly into the ball until the bundle makes contact.
- Alternate the bundles of flowers and ribbon into a pleasing arrangement and until the entire ball is covered. Fill any small gaps with loose stems of flowers or more ribbon and lace.
- Wrap a small piece of soft paper towel around your finger and squeeze a small dab of Rub N Buff to the tip of the towel. Smear the Rub n Buff over the etching. It will look messy, but thats ok. Keep your finger rubbing over the etching while the RNB is still wet and as it sets up, the RNB will start to clean up off the shiny parts of the glass and stick only to the etching. Once most of the excess RBN has been removed, take a clean piece of paper towel buff to a luster.
