Rock Ball Garden Decor
This is a decorative rock ball I made for the garden out of beach rocks I found but you can also buy decorative rocks to use. It's very unique looking and easy to make!!
Supplies
Rocks that are smooth and preferably flat
E6000
Cling wrap
Paper
Flour
High gloss clear spray paint
Rubber ball
Scissors
E6000
Cling wrap
Paper
Flour
High gloss clear spray paint
Rubber ball
Scissors
Making a Paper Mache Mold
The first step is to get the rubber ball in whatever size you want but keep in mind that the bigger the ball, the more rocks and glue you'll use. Wrap the ball completely in cling wrap so that none of the ball is showing, then place a rubber band around the ball in the center.
Next we must make the paper mache! A basic recipe for this would be to mix water and flour together in a bowl until it forms a paste consistency (runny cake batter consistency) with no lumps. Then you will need paper, I just used printer paper, and rip that into strips.
Take your ripped up paper strips and dunk one of them into the paper mache flour mixture at a time and place it on your ball a centimeter below the rubberband. Continue to add more strips and layer them above and below the rubber band. The point of the rubber band is just to separate the two ball halves.
When you're done you want to let it dry for about 4 days. If you take the 2 halves off the ball too soon then they will end up warping because they won't have been dry enough. Be patient and wait! Once the paper mache is dry it will slide off the cling wrap very easily and bam! You have 2 paper mache globe halves to use as a mold for your rock ball and can discard the cling wrap and rubber band.
If you don't want to make a paper mache mold then you can find 2 very round bowls to use or you can do the cling wrap idea but cover each half of the ball in Crayola Model Magic and let that dry. It should come off easily.
Next we must make the paper mache! A basic recipe for this would be to mix water and flour together in a bowl until it forms a paste consistency (runny cake batter consistency) with no lumps. Then you will need paper, I just used printer paper, and rip that into strips.
Take your ripped up paper strips and dunk one of them into the paper mache flour mixture at a time and place it on your ball a centimeter below the rubberband. Continue to add more strips and layer them above and below the rubber band. The point of the rubber band is just to separate the two ball halves.
When you're done you want to let it dry for about 4 days. If you take the 2 halves off the ball too soon then they will end up warping because they won't have been dry enough. Be patient and wait! Once the paper mache is dry it will slide off the cling wrap very easily and bam! You have 2 paper mache globe halves to use as a mold for your rock ball and can discard the cling wrap and rubber band.
If you don't want to make a paper mache mold then you can find 2 very round bowls to use or you can do the cling wrap idea but cover each half of the ball in Crayola Model Magic and let that dry. It should come off easily.
Line Up Your Rocks Inside the Mold and Glue Them
Take your rocks and lie them flat at the bottom of your mold. Make sure to find a large flat rock to place directly at the bottom so that your ball sits flat on a surface and won't roll around!
You just have to eyeball this process because every rock is different but you lay them flat against the bottom and slowly work your way up the sides, gluing each part of the rocks that're touching with E6000.
This took me a few days because each E6000 joint has to dry before you can continue placing them higher up on the sides until they reach the top edge.
Do this with both mold halves and it helps to put the mold in a small bowl to use as a stand as you work. Wait for all of the glue to dry.
You just have to eyeball this process because every rock is different but you lay them flat against the bottom and slowly work your way up the sides, gluing each part of the rocks that're touching with E6000.
This took me a few days because each E6000 joint has to dry before you can continue placing them higher up on the sides until they reach the top edge.
Do this with both mold halves and it helps to put the mold in a small bowl to use as a stand as you work. Wait for all of the glue to dry.
Gluing the Halves Together
Now you can demold your rock ball halves! They slide out easily too and all you do it place one on top of the other and arrange it in whatever way they fit together best.
Glue each joint together where the 2 halves are touching with E6000 glue and let that fully dry. You'll notice that there might be holes where the rocks didn't fit together right and for those you just find the appropriately sized rocks and lay them on top of the hole so that they're just barely touching the rocks and glue them together with your E6000 and let everything dry.
Glue each joint together where the 2 halves are touching with E6000 glue and let that fully dry. You'll notice that there might be holes where the rocks didn't fit together right and for those you just find the appropriately sized rocks and lay them on top of the hole so that they're just barely touching the rocks and glue them together with your E6000 and let everything dry.
Spray With High Gloss Clear Spray Paint
Finally you spray the ball with high gloss spray paint and you're done! This is the brand I used because I found that it really brought the colors and patterns of the rocks out beautifully where they almost looked wet. I did 2 coats of this spray paint and let it dry and this is the final result!
Very easy but time consuming 🙂. This project would be great to use any rock collections for if you want to display them in a unique way. You can also stick a string of LED lights inside and use this ball as a lamp.
Very easy but time consuming 🙂. This project would be great to use any rock collections for if you want to display them in a unique way. You can also stick a string of LED lights inside and use this ball as a lamp.