Making String Ball Decorations

Using just string, glue & balloons

These bright and funky 'eggs' are a blast for kids to make,  and they're a great party decoration too. You can hang them outside in a tree or they can be hung from the ceiling in the kid’s bedroom.

Materials

• Knitting wool or any coloured string
• Balloons
• Glue - Wallpaper paste is ideal
• Ice cream container or something similar
• Newspaper
• Clothes pegs
• Clothes hangers

Instructions

• Blow up a balloon to about the size of a large tennis ball (or slightly bigger – it’s fun to make different sizes if you're making more than one).
• Cover your work area with newspaper.
• For each egg, cut several strands of wool or string – you can use just one colour or mix it up like a rainbow! 
• Next, mix up some glue – wallpaper paste is a great one to use – so that you have a good amount in the bottom of an empty ice cream container.
• Hold a strand of wool or string by one end, dip it into the glue mixture, and then wrap it around the balloon. 
• Repeat with the other strands, randomly overlapping them and tucking in loose ends, until the balloon is evenly covered.
• Using the clothes peg, suspend the balloon from something that it can hang from and dry.  If it’s warm outside then the clothes line works great.  Otherwise, tie it to a clothes hanger and hang this inside somewhere safe (If you are hanging it inside, cover the area below it with newspaper to catch any drips of glue.) 
• Once the egg is completely dry, carefully poke a hole in the balloon, then pull it away from the string as it deflates.
• Hang your finished egg with a normal piece of the wool or string, or you can use a pretty ribbon.

Download as a pdf for printing.

Adult supervision may be required to help with this project, depending on the child's age.