I've been lurking here for weeks and this bowling ball holder problem forced me to join up so I could share my idea. I was having trouble finding anything cheap...uh, inexpensive. Now I make holders out of two 6" azalea pots (they're squattier than regular pots). I glue them together bottom to bottom with liquid nails, then reinforce with a fat bolt and washers thru the drainage holes. Seal and spray paint and add a few appropriate colored flat marbles to accent the ball. Of course, right after I bought 8 pots to make 4 holders, I started finding big candle holders every time I went in a 2nd hand store. Fortunately, I have friends who are so taken by the whole idea, they bring old bowling balls to me. I started doing these last August and have made 6 and have 7 waiting for their transformation. I love this group! jan

I thought of mosaicking one of those clear glass light shades with stained glass pieces but then noticed the ball shaped shades have all disappeared at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I'm wondering if people are buying them up or if they are throwing them out. I'll have to ask. I like the green on this one.

Well, the one my wife made was quite easy. She used a bowling ball from a local Salvation Army store. First, she plugged the finger holes with auto body filler (aka "Bondo"). She filled in any small scratches and nicks as well, and lightly sanded the entire surface so the glue would stick better. Next, she found some plastic and rubber lizards at a dollar store. She found some at a craft store and at Party World too. If you don't want to use lizards, you can get snakes, frogs, insects, spiders, scorpions, dinosaurs, butterflies, ladybugs, or whatever appeals to you. She glued them on with Testors model cement, but pretty much any glue should work including silicone, Liquid Nails, polyurethane, etc. She set the bowling ball in a bowl so that it wouldn't roll around and glued the lizards on one at a time. After applying the glue to the bottom of a lizard and placing it on the ball, she put a piece of soft foam over it and a little weight to press the lizard down while the glue was drying. Then she would do another one, until the whole surface (except the bottom) was covered with lizards. Finally, she cleaned off any excess glue and sprayed the whole surface with glittery spray paint. And she will add the final touch by highlighting the lizards in another color of paint.

I use those 4' orange electic fence stakes from home depot (about $1 a piece)for lots of things in the yard & gardens. Pound it in the ground and then slide the PVC pipe over it and into the soil a bit. Set out several of these with holes drilled in the PVC pipe and string wire through them to make a fairly sturdy, portable & cheap trellis. I use these stakes to build easy fencing. I use plastic cable ties to secure wire or plastic mesh fencing to them. Because I dislike the orange and it stands out like a sore thumb, I paint my stakes black. Pound 2 rows of these stakes in the ground about 4' apart and slide each end of a flexible PVC pipe over them, making an arch. Cover this with garden cloth or plastic to protect plants. I "sew" the fabric to the pvc with fishing line. If you are using plastic, cut some flaps in it, to keep it from blowing away in a big wind. I use them to brace non secured retaining walls. At my old house I built a raised bed using them to hold the lumber together. I drilled holes in the timbers and slid them over the stakes, then I lined the interior side with heavy plastic.