You'll shoot your eye out! (I hope...)

It all started with a beautiful blue mosaic gazing globe, like the one pictured here: (only on a different pedestal and in my yard, not a beautiful lush green place)

It was sitting out in my front rose garden (now doesn't that make it sound pretty?), just minding it's own business, when suddenly, out of nowhere and for no particular reason that I'm aware of, a neighbor kid shot it with a bb gun. It didn't have a chance to survive. It was knocked off of it's pedestal and crashed to the ground where it shattered.

During the mourning of my beloved gazing globe, I vowed that whatever I replaced it with would be durable enough that if shot again, there would be at least a small possibility of the bb ricocheting off of it, and hitting the kid holding the gun. I know, I know... But even a *tiny* possibility of that happening would make me feel better. Also I didn't want to spend much money on a shooting target.

I set out looking for a DIY project that would result in something that met my qualifications. My first step was bowling ball shopping. It took months for me to find them, but the day I found 3 (gasp) bowling balls at DI for $3 a piece felt like a dream. Yes of course I bought all 3 even though I only had one pedestal. Not everything I do is rational. I'm okay with that! :)

This blue beauty, Frank, was my favorite. I kid you not, it says Frank right on it! Didn't seem quite right to call it anything else anymore.

I found a blog that had all sorts of great tips on how to glue flat glass gems to a bowling ball and make it look beautiful. Those were the days before Pinterest though, and since the vision was already in my head I didn't save the link. The credit for this goes to someone else though, just keep that in mind.

I wanted to use clear gems to let Frank's blue hue show through, and decided that clear silicone would be my best bet as an adhesive to do that job. So far, that was a good idea. I'm hoping it stays that way.

Thanks to the dollar store, these gems were cheap, but the color choices were limited to green, blue and clear. This glittery gold bowling ball, named Goldie (for lack of her name stamped on it) was nice enough looking, but not quite what I was looking for. I chose a mix of green, and opalescent gems, and hoped that some of the glitter would show through, but not too much of the brown.

I spent days in the fumes of silicone, tediously setting each stone in a bed of goo. I loved it. But things would come up, like dinner, animal escapees, and running out of gems. Really, had I been prepared enough, this would have been a pretty quick project. Oh! Also, when I got to the middle of the ball, the gems kept sliding down, so I had to do one side, and let it dry before I could work on the other.

After they were finished and completely dry, I couldn't wait to put them on my pedestal. Okay, I put them out there several times during the process to make sure I liked the effect I was creating.

I am thrilled with the results. I decided to set Goldie out for the time being, as I'm still too in love with Frank to risk him being shot in his first week outdoors. He's sitting on my fireplace waiting for me to finish his own pedestal and find him a home in the backyard where it's less dangerous (or so he thinks).

Now, I've got a new problem. 2 finished orbs, one black bowling ball (that I'm considering covering with pennies thanks to another Pinterest find), and an added blue one that I found during a different trip. Only one pedestal. They will all deserve a place of honor in my gardens at some point. I need to find a cheap DIY pedestal idea. I feel like the mouse in "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" a lot of the time.