Saturday, July 5, 2014
A Penny (Ball) For Your Thoughts
After seeing one on Pinterest, I knew we just had to have one......and while we were making one, why not make one for Karli too? I am talking about creating a Penny Ball for the garden.
It seemed like a simple enough project until I got Hubby involved. He envisioned welding the pennies together..........that did not work. Back to Pinterest and following their instructions, (sort of), which included gluing the pennies on.
Off to the Thrift Store in search of two old bowling balls. They do actually carry them. Then Hubby decided he wanted to "stick" the pennies on with a product called J B Weld. This was not what was recommended on Pinterest.
At least he got to use a product with the word "Weld" in it.
Sticking the pennies on was a slow process. We sat the ball on a large piece of foam to keep it from rolling around. We stuck the pennies on in sections, allowing them to "set up". All of the pennies were kept in an old skillet for easy access.(HA) It took close to 400 pennies.
We were thrilled with the results. Karli is going to put her ball in her garden to repel slugs, but I wanted a stand for ours, so Hubby went to work creating one out of iron rod.
I got to run the torch, heating up the piece as he pounded on it and bent it into the shape of a circle. Then we shaped three pieces of rod with a slight curve to form each leg. Finally Hubby got to do his welding.......he welded each leg on.
Here is our completed project........
We were so happy with our results..........we displayed our penny ball on the deck. We noticed that it got blazing hot during the day in the sunshine and then our temps at night dipped to 34-40 degrees. Guess what??........our pennies started popping off.
Back to the drawing board. I gathered up the fallen pennies (some did fall through the boards of the deck) and started regluing with DAP All-Purpose Adhesive Sealant, 100% Silicone. This product is supposed to be flexible and won't shrink or crack and is waterproof. It took a while to reglue all the pennies. Now we just have to see if this product keeps them "stuck" on. So far, so good. They are all still on.
Karli's ball went home with her..........hope her pennies are all staying on.
We're sharing this over at JenniferRizzo.com for Fabulously Creative Friday. Enjoy!
Kandy
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How do you put the pennies over the finger holes??
ReplyDeleteWe did not put any pennies over the holes. We carry the ball using the holes and then place it with the holes down.
ReplyDeleteI'm so doing this but I'm thinking maybe with a styrofoam balls in different shapes so I can just push a small wooden peg and measly adjust the heights! And maybe instead of pennies different coloured marbels?
ReplyDeleteIf you are planning to use your ball outside in the garden, the Styrofoam may present a moisture problem. Also, the marbles are not flat like coins and may be a little difficult to glue on, but give it a go.......good luck!
DeleteYou can buy marble type gems that are flat one one side at craft stores!
DeleteThanks Kathy, I had not thought of the flat gem-type marbles. They should glue on just fine. K
DeleteI have one with the flat sided marbles, it's pretty!
DeleteThe first time I saw these they talked about sanding, and then after pennies were glued on, they talked about covering with grout? Will new pennies stay shiny if you use a lacquer or some kind of non yellowing gloss finish?
ReplyDeleteIf you gloss over the copper pennies they will not be able too repel Snails, Slugs or other types of insects. It is the copper seeping into the ground that repels them. Might be able to cover top 2/3rds of ball laying unglossed pennies on the ground side?
DeleteI do not know about using the lacquer or gloss finish. I like for the pennies to be all different ages and colors. We have had a problem with leaving the ball outside....the pennies get hot in the sun, then cold at night.....and they started popping off. So.....I have now brought my ball inside and reglued all the pennies using a silicone adhesive made for marine applications.
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