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

Terri, There are two methods for attaching the plastic animals which have been successful. My wife glues them on with Super Glue (as with the gold gazing ball above). Place the glue on the bottom of the lizard (the belly and four legs), then hold in place for one minute. Be careful not to get the glue smeared around on the ball...you'd have to sand it off later. I use a different method, as with the antique copper ball above...I just nail them on with small brads (3/4 and 1 inch). Nailing into the plastic bowling ball is just like nailing into a block of wood. Once they're all nailed on, I set the nail heads a little deeper and then fill the holes with a drop of model cement. Of course, the first thing we do before we attach the animals is to fill the finger holes with auto body filler ("Bondo"). Then sand the outer surface of the ball to remove any defects. After the animals are attached, we spray the ball with primer, and finally, with a coat of paint.

I was given a blue glass gazing ball that is supported by three frogs embracing. The guys who gave it to me used another term to discribe the frogs. It took me over a year before I finally displayed it in my back yard garden. lol Now the glass covered bowling balls are another matter. I have quite a few tucked here and there. I also covered croquet balls with glass beads and put them with the bowling balls. I have left mine out all year and some are cracked so it's best to take them in for the winter. Go to your local bowling alley and ask if they have any balls they no longer use. They are usually free. Connie

For the longest, very longest, honestly the longest lasting bowling ball, use fortified thinset (acrylic admix already added). Don't buy the premixed. Mix it yourself in small batches (butter parts of the ball or each tile - whatever works for you). You can get white or gray so your transparent glass will pop. Sand the ball lightly before you start. Grout with an exterior grade grout and seal the grout when dry. Cement products just seem to last the longest outdoors (in my climate, which is zone 5 - in Wisconsin). CLEAR Silicone (GE Silicone II for doors and windows) is a VERY close second and much easier to use than thinset (IMHO). However, that means one has to paint the bowling ball some color amenable to you which also means you are now mosaicing on a thin layer of paint rather than the bowling ball itself . . . . Have fun deciding!