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Craft: Sparkleball |
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| Sparkleball |
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My website is http://www.sparkleball.com (it has lots of photos). Once again, I earn nothing from this. It is all free and in the spirit of thrifty crafting. If you'd like to share a photo of your creation, please let me know. I'm just a fanatic, fascinated by this American craft. Thanks for sharing!
Sparkleball Lady from San Diego, CA
Editor's Note: This looked so easy and pretty that we decided to make one for the site. It took about an hour but the next ones will go faster. The cups cost about $5.00 for 2 packs of 40 (you need 50), but you could probably get them in bulk for cheaper. We had the lights on hand but basic 100 strand light strings are usually only a dollar or two. We also needed to buy a cheap soldering iron, which was $8.00, but you might have one already.
The instructions on the site are detailed and have step by step photos. Here are a couple of helpful hints that we figured out along the way:
- Make your center holes slightly larger than you need to thread one light through. This will hold the lights in place better.
- If you hold the cups together for a second or two, they stick together better. It gets easier as you go.
- When you do the second row of 9, place three cups symmetrically first and then melt the rest into place. This will keep it even all the way around.
- When you get to the top 4 cups, place all of them in together and then hold them in place as
you melt them together. Otherwise, the last one can be tricky to fit into place.
- The burning plastic isn't too stinky but a mask is helpful to avoid breathing the fumes.
- When you are inserting the lights in a "zigzag pattern", it is necessary to go along the outer row a couple of times. We found it easiest to go straight down to the middle four and then fill out the rest of it.
- Don't be surprised if your "100 light" strand only has 99 lights. Just leave one cup with only one light.
That's it, they are very sparkly and impressive when completed. The finished light is about the size of a small beach ball (about 13 inches in diameter).
The lower photo is with the lights on, so you can see more detail.
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RE: Craft: Sparkleball
TJ,
Don't bend them, just melt them in place. Start with one cup and melt the next one to it, then the next one. Just build it as you go. Sometimes it is helpful to hold in place for a second or two so that it the melted plastic cools. The angle of the cups should continue in a circular shape until you get to the last one of the twelve. It should fit between the first and the last melted cup easily and then you can complete the circle. I would go through and Then start stacking the first of the 9 on top, melt it into place, and then add the next and so on. The last four sort of fit in any way they can.
We usually melt all the holes in the bottom of the cups first, then do the halves, one at a time. I have only had one break out of the dozen or more that we have done and that was dropped from several feet onto the ground.
sparkleball.com has nice step by step instructions but if you have any more questions, please just leave me another feedback or click on my name to send me a message directly through ThriftyFun.
I'm so sorry you have been having such a hard time. We have been very lucky. Our only tragedy has been when we dropped the hot soldering iron and bent the tip.
Good luck!
Oh and Joseph, I got my cups at Fred Meyer, which I doubt you have up there (they are a Kroeger store now). I have seen them at Target and I heard you could get them at Walmart but I don't shop there for any reason. I looked online but the prices were much higher than buying them at the grocery store. I've also seen them at Safeway and Alberton's. They need to be the 9 oz. squat cups, very broad.
Jess
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
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Post By TJ Wollmershauser (Guest Post)
(01/07/2008)
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We've tried several times to make this sparkeling ball. It looks wonderful. We seem to be having a lot of trouble when it comes to bending the 12 or the roll of 9. While trying to pull it together to form a circle, them want to pop, crack or just break apart. We keep putting them back together but they start to look a bit trashey after so many meltings. Can you tell me how to bring them together to form a circle a little easier. Looking back on these we've wasted about 245 cups. Please help....
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
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Post By Cheri (Guest Post)
(12/21/2007)
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I love to make these! I have found that Sam's Club sells the best cups for this project. They are less than $8 for 400 cups and they don't smell when they are melted. They fit together perfectly!
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
Hello from Canada!
I'm a sixty year old grumpy political activist on the Internet. Scrooge could take lessons from me! Life was not much fun until one day two weeks ago, I found your Sparkle Ball on ThriftyFun.com.
Bah, Humbug, I can make one of those things I thought to myself, and I went out and bought the wrong plastic glasses! I'll make one anyhoo, I kept thinking, because I'm not a quitter! Two hundred glassess and three hundred and fifty Christmas tree lights later, my giant glitter Ball now sits firmly tied down to my house roof, and my pants got wet from sitting in the snow on the roof and it's all your fault!
Thanks! I love it and I am now a converted Scrooge!
P.S. Where do I buy the correct plastic cups? I tried all my local sales retailers with the same results... nada...zilch!
human4us@sympatico.ca
Better known as: Joseph Raglione.
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
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Post By Linda (Guest Post)
(12/16/2007)
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Locally there's a long street where homeowners have them hanging in the trees lining the street. It looks like they have covered them with clear plastic food wrap to keep the rain out them.
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
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Post By Cowpatti (Guest Post)
(12/09/2007)
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I've had one for several years now that I bought from a neighbor. She used the programmable lights and boy does it ever put on a great light show! I hang it on my front porch for all the neighbors to see and I get a lot of comments on how much they enjoy watching the colors change and "dance".
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
Here are some sparkleballs in our front tree. We are planning on adding more as we make them.
Jess
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
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Post By christi (Guest Post)
(12/05/2007)
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These are the coolest things ever, thanks for the great idea and website with clear directions.
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
My children and I make these every year. They're cheap to make and very beautiful to look at. I use staples to make them. I also add garland in the middle to hide the green wire from the lights.
This year, we tried something different. We made two half balls and I placed the open part of the ball against my house and they look like a whole ball and they're just a nice. They look like they're coming out of the house ! You get two for one !
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
The one pictured above is made with clear cups and purple lights (kind of a pinky purple). We just used what we had on hand. There are some red and green cups that you can buy which might be fun to try next, maybe with white lights.
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
What color cups and lights did you use to
make yours? Very pretty!
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
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Post By Janet (Guest Post)
(12/04/2007)
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I, too, made these years ago using staples rather than a soldering iron. They look just as nice when put together with staples, so if you have a household stapler but you don't have a soldering gun or don't want the melted plastic fumes, give it a try!
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
I made this years ago, the directions in which I had were to staple the cups together, your way seems that it would hold a lot better. They do indeed look really cool!
RE: Craft: Sparkleball
Wow! Clearly experts at work here. The tips you add are excellent and will make all the difference to someone making a sparkleball for the first time. Thanks for sharing your expertise and photos.
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