What a neat idea! No one would ever expect that those are rubber lizards now that it is painted! I bet she could sell those on Etsy if she could make them with something lighter (bowling balls are a tad heavy to ship!). Maybe a local garden shop would carry them if she is interested in starting her own business! I even like it as it is now, but please post the finished product once she adds the silver. :)

Thanks for sharing. I will be on the lookout for an old bowling ball now!

What a wonderful idea! I would never have thought of the lizards either/ Great craft when painted. I love your view with the water in the background. Is this from your home? what a view! Where is this
Faye

duplicate

This post was edited by almosthooked on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 13:53

That looks really good. I am also surprised at the look achieved by using rubber lizards... appears very un-rubbery...

Don B.

The first pic had me wondering, but I love the transformation after painting. What an interesting piece of garden art. I may have to take your idea and run with it. I'm thinking of the possibilities....

When I looked at the first picture and your comments, I didn't really understand. But when I saw the transformation and reread your post, I then say you have one smart wife!

I have heard of using a bowling ball to transform as a gazing ball. In fact, I also purchased a small (ten pin) bowling ball at the thrift shop ($4). Since it had a marbling effect, I thought I could use it in the garden just as it was. But when I did, I didn't really like it. So thank you for posting and giving me another idea to consider. Perhaps your wife would like to glue glow-in-the-dark lizards (or something else) on a metallic bowling ball. That might also be a conversation piece when your guests linger into the evening.

What a great idea.I have been playing with the idea of adding some sculpture or even making a mobile.Your wife is very talented!

I too love the water view.Hope it's yours to look at.

lizards are a nice touch! this one is just busted up coffee cups

freeform

Those are so cool! Now I'm trying to think if I have any metal stands around... those really set the balls off. Thanks for sharing!

Very cool! I use that Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint for a lot of decor items, too. Your wife hot on a great concept there!

When I saw the first pic I thought maybe you were Esther's pinwheel-loving neighbor! ;)

Hosthillbilly, those are nice gazing balls. Great idea using broken coffee cups. Any suggestions on where to get a good deal on the metal stands that you have?

HH nice touch too and did you make the bench it is sitting on? What do you use to glue on the glass to the ball?

stands and benches from usual sources - Garage, barn, yard sales, sometimes Michaels, Hobby Lobby and their ilk, garden center cracked or otherwise imperfect - like me :-!

After a few failed other materials, found grout the best for lasting attachment, properly sealed.

The whole lizard thing is really a cool step up though and required different adhesive, huh? I liked the original colorful version a lot, but the understated painted one is classy and should last, if the paint will remain stuck to the rubber...

You gonna bring it in for winter, Don?

hh

Don - suggest you get H. Lizard Lick to plant at the base of the lizard gazing ball! Love it!

This was a mirrored gazing ball until an ice storm tossed a limb at it and broke it. So I took the pieces and glued them to a glass light fixture ball, and grouted it. It's mounted on an old lamp base, sits on the deck with the potted plants.

Sandy

This post was edited by mosswitch on Sun, Sep 8, 13 at 15:19

Sandy, I love it! Talk about making lemonade when life hands you lemons. I would never have guessed that it didn't come off the shelf that way.

What a creative way to recycle materials and come out with some expensive looking items. Makes me regret getting rid of my bowling ball.....

DD

Im completely taken with these gazing balls. How do you make one? I really wanna try to do one. What can I use other than a bowling ball? How do you adhere the broken pieces?

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 would like to do one like that with the lizards, but it is really hard to find a bowling ball anywhere anymore! Thanks to Pinterest, they are all snatched up as quick as they show up, lol! I also use the globes from light fixtures, they work pretty well. Gotta take them in, in the winter, as they are breakable. Some of them are pretty, as is!

I made a "fantastic" egg mosaic on a heavy glass egg shaped vase I found at the thrift store.

Sandy

I love all of them... but Sandy, that is particularly cool... making something special out of what was broken...

my wife says she did the same with me - but I didn't turn out as attractive as your gazing ball did!

Somewhere I've got pictures of our old gazing ball... plastic kind that sits on a base on the ground... it lost its silvering and it was headed for the garbage. Instead we put my daughter to work with a bagful of pennies and a hot glue gun... the penny ball gets nice comments every year...

I'm a crafter, too, and I found these gazing balls to be fantastic! I would love to do something like this, but alas, I am afraid it would be stolen. Meanwhile, tell your wife she has a definite talent and I love her lizards gazing ball. Of course, I am a lizard fan, too. Regards from my little saurians.

You can also use bowling balls to make watermelons and ladybugs.