Decorative Jute Balls

I saw some decorative jute balls in a boutique. Know how sometimes you think….I can make that! Well, the image above was my inspiration for jute balls. I thought I can do that…..just glue jute string around a ball, how hard can that be?

First Attempt

I had jute string on hand and a large white Styrofoam Christmas ornament that had escaped getting put away last Christmas. All I needed was some glue. I picked up craft glue and some cheap brushes at Dollar Tree.

So I set out making a jute ball. It was a little messy, but I thought it turned out great! I let it dry overnight since the glue was really wet. I thought about using hot glue, but the jute string wasn’t very thick so I thought that might be a problem. Here’s the result)))

Not bad for a decorative jute ball huh? I was very pleased)) I thought sure making more jute balls would be a breeze. There were a few gaps in the threads, but I figured on the next ball I would push the string a little closer together.

Second Attempt

So back off to Dollar Tree I went to buy assorted string and more glue. It took almost a whole bottle of craft glue to do that one ball.

I figured I would just buy some Styrofoam balls of different sizes and make assorted jute ball. Well, Styrofoam balls were in short supply and expensive! So I dug out some assorted Christmas ornaments that I didn’t care about keeping and tried them. I also tried small rubber balls but had no luck getting the string to stick to it.

On my second attempt, I used a thicker coconut rope and used hot glue on a large ornament ball. It didn’t turn out too bad, but I had excess glue and it looked a little messy. But I figured I could position it in a bowl with the best side showing. I still wasn’t ready to give up.

Third Attempt

Then I tried another smaller jute ball with a different string and craft glue. It started out okay, but as my hand got sticky, some of the string would pull away as I was holding it.

So, then I tried hot glue with the smaller jute string…..and came away with a pretty good glue gun blister even though I was using protective fingertips.

Moral of the Story

Go buy decorative jute balls. Here’s an Amazon link where you can shop for jute balls to your heart’s content. I know I will)))

Decorative Jute Balls at Amazon

Using decorative jute balls in a bowl or tray is a simple and effective way to add a touch of rustic charm and natural beauty to your home decor.

Buy Now!

I want my readers to know that I am authentic. You won’t see me whitewashing mistakes and covering up mishaps. Epic failures occur all the time in crafting and cooking! You just have to salvage what you can and move on. Sometimes what starts as a great idea is a miserable flop!

Does that happen to you? I would love to hear about it)))

Another one of my failures was my attempt at making copycat PayDay bars. My husband and I still laugh about that. I spent a fortune on ingredients and they turned out pinkish and unedible. That is if we wanted to keep our teeth! He said….you bought all that and did all that work when you could have picked up a bag at the grocery for a couple of dollars?

Until next time….I’ll still keep trying new things and ideas….a few failures won’t hold me back))

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