Bowling Ball Decoration Part 4 - Marbles

Finally - it's time for the marbles. I use GEII silicone as the adhesive. Be warned - check the expiration date on the tube!!! It's very small and hard to see, but I have learned from experience that it does not have an eternal shelf life. One batch was so hard I couldn't squeeze it out of the tube. The other bad batch was grainy and never hardened. If it is good, it should be smooth and should tack up in about 30 minutes. Give it 24 hours or so to completely cure. You can buy the GEII at Lowe's, Home Depot or Walmart. It also comes in caulk tubes, but the caulk gun is hard on the hands and the opening is larger, making it hard to control how much comes out.

Marbles? - I'm always looking for them. For some reason, they are considered a floral item, so will be found with the flower arranging materials at most stores. Michael's has a great selection. Then AC Moore, Joanne's and Hobby Lobby. Walmart has larger sized bags and changes their color selection frequently. Also check the craft area of Dollar Tree. Finally, independent dollar stores tend to have unusual items, but the bag size is smaller. A few years ago Dollar General had some interesting shapes (flowers, butterflies, shells) but I haven't seen them since. Moral of that story - if you see something you like, grab it!!!

Pick your starting spot and have a go! Most of the time I try for the north pole, assuming the thumb hole is the south pole. Concentric circles take a while because you can only put on 6 - 10 marbles at a time, let them tack up, and then turn the ball. Flower power and dragonfly go a little quicker because you can fill in large areas at a time. For the penny balls, I did two layers, using the second to fill in spaces between the first layer. I also used the same side of the pennies showing for each layer, except for the "renegade" ones. I lay out the marbles or pennies face down, load them with the adhesive, and then stick them on.