Cotton Kissing Ball - The Scrap Shoppe

DIY your own cotton wreath or cotton kissing ball. It’s so much less expensive than the real deal and looks the same!

This month’s FloraCraft® Make It: Fun challenge was to create something with their 8″ and/or 10″ foam balls. I could think of a lot of fun things to make, but I settled on a project I’ve been wanting tackle for ages! I don’t know about where you live, but here in Tennessee COTTON is a popular item. It’s a perfect accessory for the popular rustic farmhouse look.

The problem? Cotton is hard to come by. You can’t grow it unless you have a permit. You can occasionally find it at the flea market or a barn sale but just a few stalks is pretty expensive. More often than not, it’s already been formed into a wreath and, lately, kissing balls. And they are NOT cheap, y’all!

So it was definitely time for a little cotton DIYing!

To make a kissing ball, the first thing you need to do is go ahead and secure your ribbon around the ball. I’m using the 8″ foam ball and a red linen ribbon. Hot glue the ribbon to the base of the ball, wrap the ribbon around to the top of the ball, knot, and hot glue knot to the ball. Leave the ends of the ribbon long for later.

I spent a whole $2 on cotton balls, you guys. The Dollar General had two sizes: jumbo and regular and I got both. Alternate hot gluing the cotton balls all around the foam ball. Make sure they are all nice and snug next to one another. No gaps!

Odds are, if you don’t have pine trees in your yard, you have a neighbor or friend who does. Ask them if you can collect ~10 pine cones.

Use an old pair of scissor to cut off the petals from the pine cones. Steer clear of any petals with a lot of sap. Not only are they sticky, but the sap looks pretty distinct and won’t blend well with what we’re making.

Hot glue the petals around the cotton balls. Focus on the larger cotton balls, and glue 4 petals around the balls. Occasionally throw in a couple of petals on some of the smaller cotton balls. Continue all around the foam ball.

Can you see it all starting to take form?

Tie off the ribbon and find a place to hang your brand new Cotton Kissing Ball!

You guys, it REALLY looks like cotton! No joke! And soooooooooo much cheaper! Next I think I’ll make a cotton wreath because I’m kind of obsessed with them, and now that I know I can make one for just a few dollars… It MUST be done!