Decorative Jute Balls

I'm one of those people who have always wanted to be crafty. I go on some of these DIY (do-it-yourself) blogs and I'm amazed at the crafts and decor transformations that these bloggers come up with on a weekly basis. Astounding and inspiring! I do think that some people possess a certain je ne sais quoi and are born with the ability to come up with amazing ideas. Others, like me, need some help.

A couple of months ago, after reading DIY blogs for awhile, I saw an old table at the curb so I grabbed it thinking that I (armed with the info gleaned from those DIY blogs)could transform this ugly beastie into something pretty. I was trying to see beyond the cobwebs, paint splotches and overall nastiness of the table to the beauty that just had to lie beneath.

Note to Crafty Bookworm: There's looking past the uglies and then there's just plain crap. Truer words were never spoken.

Sadly, what I picked up was total and utter crap. A poorly made DIY job (I hadn't taken much time to look at it because I was more worried about someone seeing me taking their crap from the curb!) and it was just plain nasty. The legs were made out of 2x4s that weren't even straight!! When Brad came home he looked at me and said "PLEASE tell me that someone forced you to take that table.". 'Why no, darling. I was going to transform it with the wonder of paint and hard work'. Weeelll, he was right. There was no saving it. It was quickly and humanely put out of its misery.

After that little experience I decided some changes were in order. Instead of starting big (ie transforming furniture) I've decided to start small. Simple and small. So off I went into Blogland and found a great beginner craft for me. A quick trip to the local Dollarama and literally $2 later ($1 for the jute twine and $1 for 6 styrofoam balls) and I had the stuff I needed (we already had a glue gun and glue sticks). I can get my craft on with minimal cost and risk.

The craft is simple (for detailed instructions check out the link above). Basically, all you do is take a styrofoam ball, wrap twine (jute) around it while securing it every so often with hot glue and voila! A home decor lovely to put in a bowl to add some nice texture to a room. I made them whilst my best friend Nate Berkus came over to chat about home decor. ;) My first ball was nice but you could see the hardened glue peeking through every so often. My second attempt went quicker (15 minutes) and looked a lot better -- neater and looked prettier (it's the ball sitting on top of the plain styrofoam balls in the picture above). I'd love to get some spray paint and see if I can tint them a bit because I'd love more hits of apple green in my family room.

I think my biggest challenge and obstacle for doing DIY stuff (big or small) is overcoming my Type A/Perfectionist issues. I'm so afraid of screwing something up that I don't take the risk. I'm planning on taking baby steps and I did get a kick out of making something for about 25 cents instead of paying a lot more in store (I had previously bought some decorative balls at Walmart for $10 for 5 balls). Soooo much cheaper to make them and I get the added benefit of getting my craft on!

UPDATE - April 13, 2011: A couple of days after making these jute balls I took a trip to my local Canadian Tire store and bought some lovely ivy green spray paint. I painted up one of my new jute balls and now it's a loverly green!! Looks great amongst it's fellow plain buddies! I think I may have a new found love for everything spray paint!!!



This project is linked to