This year, my children made a collection of beautiful Christmas Balls with my mum.  It was wonderful to see them all sitting up at her dining room table chatting away as they threaded and poked.

Truth be told, they did have to come back to it a few times to get them finished but the results were sparkling!

Embark on this project with children 4+.  With lots of small pieces and pins with ‘spikey ends’, it does require good fine motor skills.

What you’ll need:

(most items should be available from Spotlight, Lincraft or similar)

• Glass ‘Bugle Beads’ – clear is best – approx 0.5cm long
• ‘Seed beads’ – tiny round beads to prevent pin heads sliding through.
• Sequins – choose colour & shape to suit your theme – these will form the top layer you wish to “show off”
• Larger sequins that will sit closest to the surface of your ball
• soft light rubber ball the size you desire (available at the bargain $2 type shops) or a polystyrene ball
• 1 box fine/thin pins eg. ‘Sequin & Bead Pins’

How you do it:

1. 1. Sort each of your beads, sequins, and pins into separate containers – ideally with lids for safe storage in between sessions.  Put a large tablecloth or blanket onto your work surface to stop any dropped beads rolling off the table onto the floor!
2. 2. Take your first lace pin and thread items on in this order: round seed bead, fancy sequin (the one you’ll see most), bugle bead (the long thin bead) and then the large sequin that will sit closest to the ball.
3. 3. Be systematic in your approach to covering the ball – make a line around the centre of the ball and then work your way outwards
4. 4. The objective is to completely cover the surface of the ball so that all you see are sparkles, sparkles & more sparkles.

A few notes:

The sky’s the limit with these Christmas Balls – use your imagination and mix it up!  You’ll find they become quite addictive once you get on a roll.

My mum actually keeps everything on a big flat tray with edges – when the kids get tired, she simply puts the tray up on top of the fridge until they’re ready to come back to the project

Depending on the ball you use on the inside and the type of beads & sequins, the balls can get quite heavy.  These are probably best used as table decorations rather than attempting to hang them on the tree.

Once you’re ready to pack the balls away, we store each one in a ziplock sandwich bag.  Keeps everything neatly secure and ready for next year.

Thanks to MoM’s mum for this beautiful idea – she’s the crafty one in our brood.

Merry Christmas & Much MoM Love!