Garden orbs and gazing balls in the garden

Our favorite garden art,…anything spherical!

The first records of gazing globes show that they were hand made by Venetian artisans who crafted them out of mouth-blown glass. In legend, people long ago believed that gazing globes would attract fairies and various other mystical, magical spirits. Something about spheres just please the eye.

 

Charlette Clark’s shiny, reflective colorful globe perched atop a stand like most gazing balls. If you look closely,…the slender mirror tiles give Charlette’s pedestal a delicate see-through look,…they match the iron fence in style. The pedestal is a solid column, decorated with long rectangular mirror pieces, stained glass and sparkling flat gems from the craft store.

Marie Niemann  made this penny ball. For shiny pennies clean with white vinegar first, and dry thoroughly before gluing.For the aged-copper effect, mix 1/4 cup each of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar and two teaspoons of salt—dab or spray on finished pennies, but do not dry off.

 

 

 

Shirley Keen: “My tiny garden is full of up up-cycling. This ball made from horseshoes my husband made is a favorite.”   Sigh….if we all had a welder at our disposal.

 

Lark Kulikowski’s border of blue bowling balls creates an otherworldly look to her woodsy garden, even in early Spring.

 

 

 

Jenna Nelson’s globe needs no decoration but you can get this look with nail polish pour-overs!

 

 

This was my first try decorating a bowling ball and you can see step-by-step how I did it here….Garden orb of modest materials  Can you believe I started this before breakfast?  Once you begin, you’ll be hooked!

I found a place for my garden orb in this peacock shaped plant stand…Perfect fit!

 

Susan Bauer’s scattered garden orbs look weightless, set on top of metal rods pounded into the garden beds.
Best in multiples!

 

Kathleen Wright mixed a bit of grout into some of her colors to make “chalk paint” for the faux-mosaic on the top right for a quick-start, charming way to get a mosaic effect. Erase mistakes with a baby wipe while the work is in progress!

More gazing ball projects tips:

• Making a penny ball? You’ll need about $5.00 worth of pennies to cover it, or $10 to cover the gaps as well.
• You can fill the holes in bowling balls, or they can be used to insert metal pipes (copper pipes looks nice) or a piece of rebar, to hold your sphere off the ground.
• Get colorful with grout! It can be painted with ordinary craft paint, in any color. There is no need to seal it, you can touch-up paint if necessary, however, tile and grout sealer may help keep grout from wearing down in rain and wind outdoors.
• It’s a good idea to first sand your sphere or bowling ball or scratch the surface with steel wool to help your glue and grout hold fast.
• Use a waterproof glue like GE Silicon II for windows to attach your pieces.
• Glass cutters are readily available in hardware stores. Glass grinders for fine edges, and glass-snapping pliers can be purchased from stained glass suppliers. Be sure to wear work gloves when cutting glass or mirror and work on a non-slip surface—cut glass and mirror edges will extremely sharp.

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Products you may find helpful –

GE Silicon IIMosaic Mercantile Black Grout