Glowing Snowballs

This project was one of those that came from a scrambled train of thoughts.

Tablescapes…. lanterns…. lanterns with twinkle lights inside… what else can hold twinkle lights…. (some rummaging through the house and garage) YES! The globe lights I was saving for a concrete project!

There was a lot more rambling inside my head, but (and so as not to get myself committed) I’ll leave it at that smooth thread.

I found these old globe lights at a thrift store in the summer, but hadn’t gotten around to creating my concrete garden spheres with them yet.

I wasn’t sure the best way to make them look like snowballs until I came across this diamond dust at Michael’s. I put a nice coat of matte Mod Podge over the entire surface of the globe light and then sprinkled with the diamond dust (over a large bowl because this stuff gets everywhere). I lightly patted it in to make sure as much dust was adhering as possible and then shook the remainder off.

Perfect, giant snowballs!

If you are putting these outside, like I did, you’ll want to put a light coat of clear spray paint over top – just to keep the Mod Podge from getting gluey again and to keep all of your snow sparkles in place.

I picked up a few smaller snowballs at Michael’s as well, just to fill out my centrepiece. Stuff some outdoor twinkle lights (small Christmas lights) inside each globe and voila!

It looks gorgeous during the day… (perhaps I need a few more greens?)

and even better at night

One strand of mini-lights (35 lights) was more than enough to fill both large snowballs – I put half the strand into one and the other into the other.

You could put these in urns on your front porch, or set them in a dish or crate in front of your fireplace. I don’t usually decorate my back yard, but staring at the bare patio table is boring – I wanted something I could enjoy all winter (you’ll notice this isn’t “Christmas-y” but more “Winter-y” and can be left out until Spring.)

Once the temperatures drop again, I’ll add some cedar and berries so it looks more lush.

Pretty good for $2 thrift store lights right!?