Kissing Balls

I've become the person I always swore I wouldn't be... I cook, I make attempts at baking, and now I'm happy to spend hours on a Saturday night assembling arts and craft projects.

This weekend while Scott and his buddies ventured out for a "guys night" I found this time a perfect opportunity to work on some Pinterest projects that had peaked my interest.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I thought this project would be more than appropriate for the holiday.

Kissing Balls

What You'll Need
1) Styrofoam balls (you can get them at any craft store) - I picked up three 5-inch balls, and six 3-inch balls.
2) Streamer paper (aka crepe paper; try any party store, the paper is cheaper than at Wal Mart or Target) in your desired color(s) - for the 5-inch balls an 81-foot roll of paper wasn't quite enough to cover the whole Styrofoam ball; for the 3-inch balls I only needed about a quarter roll of paper.
3) Hot glue gun (I would suggest a low-heat hot glue gun).
4) Plenty of hot glue sticks (if you're at all like me you'll probably use entirely too much hot glue:)
5) Scissors
6) Time and patience :)

To Make the Floret and Assembly

1. For larger Styrofoam balls I cut strips of crepe paper 24(ish) inches. For smaller Styrofoam balls I cut 12(ish) inch strips.
2. Crumple the crepe paper. This makes the paper a little softer.
*This step is completely optional (by the third large ball I totally omitted this step). 
3. Uncrumple the paper.
*This step is obviously omitted if you chose not to crumple the paper.
4. Fold the crepe paper over, approximately 1/3 to 1/2.
*This step is also optional (again, by the third large ball I skipped this step completely).

5. Roll 1-2 inches of crepe paper to create a base.
6. Begin twisting and wrapping the crepe paper around the base.
7. Continue to twist and wrap the entire floret.
The twisting is what creates the petal look.
8. The finished floret.

9. Once you've finished twisting and wrapping, place a small dab of hot glue on the end of the floret to hold it together.
10. On the underside of the floret place a dab (or in my case, far more than a dab) of hot glue.
11. Find just the right spot to place the floret on the Styrofoam ball.
12. Almost finished covering the Styrofoam...

Complete!

With each ball I made I did the florets a little differently.

Upper left (maroon floret): The first ball I made I followed the website I'd found to a "T." Each floret was crumpled, folded, and twisted. I found this took A LOT of time, a little more than I was hoping.

Upper right (hot pink floret): The second ball I made I omitted the crumpling of each strip of crepe paper. I continued to fold each strip 1/3-1/2. Again, I found this took a bit more time than I was hoping.

Lower left (red): By the third ball I wanted to crank these florets out. I was no longer crumpling or folding. I found I liked the look of this floret the best.

Lower right: I'm not sure if it's possible to see the difference in each floret, but the differences are there. Subtle, but there are differences. 

The floret size difference for the large and small Styrofoam balls. 

The left floret was for the smaller Styrofoam balls - each strip of crepe paper was cut approximately 12 inches.

The right floret was for the larger Styrofoam balls - each strip of crepe paper was cut approximately 24 inches.

What I loved about making the roses was they didn't have to come out perfect, and I could adjust how loose or tight I made the floret so it would fit nicely into the spaces needed on the Styrofoam ball.

If/when you start this keep in mind two important little tid-bits.
1) The florets do not have to look perfect as you're creating them. They are easy to manipulate, and once they are on the Styrofoam everything will fall nicely into place.
2) Allow yourself some time with this project. This is perfect craft for those cold, lazy weekends.

Source: Original idea from Homespun With Heart with adaptations from The Idea Room as well as my own adaptations.