Ball #6

Well, by now, word was out that I was looking for bowling balls. This one came from my father's fellow Rotarian. It was originally black. I painted it navy blue (using Krylon fusion paint) and decorated it with sky blue marbles in an overall flower power pattern. I forgot to mention earlier that around ball #3 I found GE II in tubes. It's more expensive, but much easier on the hands. All balls from #3 on were made by turning the marbles face down and applying a small dot of adhesive on each one. They stick to the balls just as well as the old method, but there's less adhesive visible. I gave this ball to my middle sister.

Ball #5

This is my first "flower power" pattern ball. My aunt gave me this ball. It was another aqua swirl color and I decorated it very similarly to #2, with the addition of the flower power design using small and large clears. I gave this to the friend who found my first ball for me.

Ball #4

My co-worker rescued this ball one day when he spotted it along side the road. This happened several years before we ever met and before I started my bowling ball phase. When I told him about my new hobby, he donated this ball. It was a tan swirl pattern and I decorated it in a random pattern using large and small round clear half marbles. I gave it back to him as a present during the summer of 2005 and as far as I know, he still has it. His kids thought he was nuts to rescue it, and I'm afraid they think I'm even more nuts to decorate it!

Ball #3

This ball belonged to my mother. It was black with her maiden name initials on it. I painted it hammered bronze and covered it with 2 layers. of pennies. All the pennies on both layers were face up except two. Renegade penny one was face down. Renegade penny two was a Canadian penny, maple leaf side up. I gave this ball back to Mom and she has it indoors.

Ball #2

This ball belonged to my youngest sister. When it didn't sell at her garage sale, she gave it to me. It was an aqua swirl pattern. The random line was made using clear with aqua cat eye half marbles. The rest of the ball was filled in with small, clear round marbles. Since this was my first marble ball, I used GE II in a tube with a caulking gun. I would smear on a patch and press the marbles into it. I changed my method in subsequent balls. I gave this ball back to my sister and it has been outside in her garden ever since, about 5 years ago at this point in time.

How it all started

Several years ago, I glimpsed an episode on HGTV where they decorated a bowling ball. It caught my attention and I started looking up decorated balls on the internet. Believe it or not, I'm not the only one drawn to an orb.



Here's the first site I found: http://groups.msn.com/GardenJunk/bowlingballsaddictsunite.msnw

Here's another one: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/junk/

The first ball I tried was a mosaic using broken china and 1/2" squares of stained glass window glass. I finished the mosaic part but still haven't grouted it, so it's waiting patiently for me to do so. I also went down the rabbit trail of making mosaic bricks. They are easier to mosaic. I grouted the first bunch and then made some more which are also patiently waiting for me.

Since then, I've had another 60 bowling balls pass through my hands, so on this blog, I'll try to tell their stories.