Wish I could help, Laura. But it sounds like something I'd have done too. LOL. I'm too chicken to paint my BB, want to try mosaic instead.

I imagine you'll get some great tips tho, those painted bowling balls I put in our Inspiration Album are fabulous.
Of course it helps to be talented with a paint brush. Which I for sure am not.

Welcome out of Lurkdom and have fun with us.
hugs, Karen

Maybe if you can find some wide rubberbands,they would be better than tape.At least they would form around the ball.
Kathi

coming out of lurkdom myself.... I have never painted a bowling ball, but I was thinking maybe electrical tape? Because it stretches, it may be more bowling ball friendly.
don't throw your bb away... surely there is something you can do with it! :)
good luck and keep us posted as to what you do with it.

gail

Don't throw your BB away! Even if you can't figure out how to do the bee, you can remove the paint and reuse the ball. I would think the painters tape (blue) would have worked. Just do one stripe at a time, put the tape on each side of the line you want to paint and concentrate on really sticking only the edge next to the part to be painted down well. (won't matter if the other edge is sticking up.) Paint that stripe, let it dry, then tape off and do the next one. Worth a try, I think.

Make sure you either use "outdoor" paints or seal it really well, so all your hard work won't be in vain.

Good luck. Luvs

Did you try putting the tape on in smaller strips? I would think you could get a cleaner line that way rather than putting one length of tape around the entire ball. And don't forget, real bees don't have nice clean lines. Because they are almost furry, the lines are rather squiggly. So don't feel as though the lines have to be perfect. It might look just as sweet if they were a little rough around the edges (see bees below for inspiration).

{{gwi:136065}}
{{gwi:136066}}

I wonder how one of those bees would look mosaicked with the marbles? I see they come in amber and black. You could even glue them on over your botched paint job. Below is a link to some amber and black "globs" as they are called in the stained glass world.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amber & Black Glass Globs

Yup I agree, don't try to make the tape so uniform in one piece, use smaller pieces. Nice pics of the bumblebees!! I also agree that the edges where the colors meet doesn't have to be absolutely perfect. I would do an "up and down pouncing" with the "scruffy brush" (check out Donna Dewberry One-Stroke Paintbrushes at Michael's or Joann's craft stores or Walmart) on the color edges and I bet it'll look awesome. I'd also do about three or four layers of thin paint rather than trying to cover it in one or two layers. The scruffy brush is oval in shape and the bristles are about 1/2 inches long. You can make one actually by cutting down the bristes on a paint brush till they're about that height. If you type in "onestrokepainting.com" in your web browser line, her site will come up and you can check it out.

Don't give up, we all have trial and errors with projects. Just be patient and I bet your bumblebee BB will turn out fantastic.

Sal

I am late in chiming in - but I would also wonder why anyone would remove any of the paint? These outside wonderful treasures allow for less than perfection. I would just repaint the entire thing in one color ....black perhaps ....and then once it is dry, do the yellow stripes.

HTH

Maybe they make a narrow tape that would work?

I am in the process of painting a bee on a bowling ball. I think I will try the electrical tape. I also liked th wire wing idea. I usually put the holes on the bottom but I will try putting the wire in the holes.I was going to cut slits in the sides of the bowling ball and make fine screen wings and glue them into the slits on the ball. I am going to use a sawzall to cut the slits. I also painted a lady bug and a frog and a pumpkin on bowling balls. I don't know how to post pictures. If someone would tell me how to post pictures I will post some of my frog and ladybug.
elliejo

I am SOOO against painters tape! I hate that stuff. Stencils, too...just don't work for me! I have learned to use a brush and do everything free hand. It won't be perfect the first time around. Take your time and a smaller brush and go back and slowly fix up the "mistakes". The more you do this, the easier it gets!

With something like a bee, you could make the edges a little less straight because like the pictures above show, they aren't perfectly straight lines!

If it's such a mess you can't stand it now, then just grab a can of spray paint and cover it and start from scratch again :)

Luna, did you take those pictures of the bee? They're wonderful! They look almost cuddly!! chuckle

~Sandy~

How about using quilters tape. It is narrow and sticks well to anything. I have used it in jewelry work.

I painted a ladybug about 3 years ago and faced the same issue about going around the ball. My son suggested I get the tape they use when painting details on cars. Any supply shop that has car painting supplies will have it. I forgot the name of the tape but if you ask the people at the counter they can get it for you. It works wonders. It is narrow and you can make very sharp curves with it. In fact I used it to make the round spots of my ladybug. The only issue I found with it is the fact that it is narrow and you have to mask off the remaining larger areas beyond the curved part.

Another suggestion is to remove the tape immediately after the paint sets up a little. This prevents the tape from pulling the paint off the item whether it be a BB or a car. Thats how the automotive repair shops do it. It seems to go against logic but if works.

Good luck