My fireplace mantel has been empty, literally, and I have always loved the look of glass hurricanes and moss balls. The ones I'm showing today are made out of terra cotta saucers, glass and newspaper.
Here is a picture of my glass hurricanes. I found them at Hobby Lobby for around $8.00 each... some of the glass hurricanes can reach upwards of $50.00 a piece. I was shocked! Then an idea hit me... just use plant pot saucers and paint them for the base. The saucers were around $1.00 each and then I just used up some spray paint I already had. Regular acrylic paint would work well, too!
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Supplies:
Here is what I used for the moss balls. Newspaper... and moss! I grabbed two different colored bags just for variety. They have some straw colored moss that would look cute, too. Don't forget to check store apps on your smartphone for coupons.
You'll also need some hot glue. I like to keep my hot glue gun, and glue (not shown in picture as the gun was warming up) in an old cigar box. Elisabeth and I found a local cigar shop that sell old boxes for $1.00 each. The box makes it easier to grab and go whenever I need it. Best part? It can warm up in the box and make globs of glue at the bottom and it doesn't matter/won't get glue all over the place.
Anyway... you grab a piece of newspaper... any size you like. I did mine in half sheet sizes.
Then you roll it up in a tight ball. I used hot glue to glue down edges and to pack it as tight as I could.
Next spread some hot glue over the top of the newspaper ball and add the moss on top of it. The moss is all connected in the bag so I had to cut out large squares to work with and somewhat wrap it around the newspaper ball as I was gluing.
Here is a finished newspaper moss ball. There will be little moss 'crumbs' all over. I used those to put in any holes or spots that needed touch-ups. I just glued the newspaper and rolled the ball over the 'crumbs.'
Here is a picture of several moss balls finished.
...And the finished product with the hurricanes on top of the painted planter pot saucers.
Can you believe these were made out of newspaper?
I also love how the saucers turned out with white paint. :) These moss balls would also be cute in a large bowl on an entry way table or dining room table.
When I first began this project I had the plan of using Styrofoam balls but there were nearly $5.00 a bag! I wanted an inexpensive easy project and newspaper proved to be very helpful!
Just plan for a little mess while working with the moss but other than that I finished this craft in about 30 minutes. You could make the moss balls in various sizes and colors or even change up the saucer colors. I considered etching the glass of the hurricanes, but I might just leave it like this for now.
Now I just need to figure out what else to add to my mantel... Hmmm... Any ideas?
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