Foam & Felt Beach Balls

When I was planning the backyard beach party, I searched high and low for some beach balls to add to my party decor.

It was early in the season, so I had trouble finding them. And forget about finding them in my pink, green and yellow color scheme.

So, I decided to make my own!

These were really easy to make, using FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam Balls, craft felt and hot glue.

They added a nice pop of color and an element of fun to the party buffet table. The kids also enjoyed tossing them around!

To make your own, you will need:

• 3 different colors of craft felt
• assorted sizes of FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam Balls
• hot glue
• popsicle stick
• measuring tape
• scissors

For these how-to photos, I used a 5-inch diameter foam ball.

Use the measuring tape to measure the ball from pole to pole (half the circumference) to determine how long to make each strip of felt.

Or if want to be really smart, you can do some geometry and calculate the circumference by multplying the diameter by pi (3.142). Ouch, my head hurts just thinking about that.

Just be sure to divide the circumference in half to determine how long to make your strips.

For my 5-inch foam balls, I needed the felt strips to be about 8 inches long.

Next, cut out leaf-shaped strips from the felt. You’ll need four white leaves and two of each of your colors.

Using a hot glue gun on low heat, apply the four white pieces of felt to the foam ball, arranging the pieces opposite one another, as shown, overlapping the ends.

Apply the colored strips of foam in the remaining spots. Make sure to glue down the edges securely. Use a wooden popsicle stick so you don’t burn yourself while pressing down the foam.

Apply a circle of felt, in the color of your choice to cover where the felt strips overlap.

Cute, colorful, quick and easy.

For more craft ideas using FloraCraft® Make It: Fun® Foam Balls and other FloraCraft® products, visit MakeItFunCrafts.com.