Fits of Wanderlust: Crafting Yarn Globe Decorations

I've looking for something to hang from under my fireplace mantel, after decorating like this for Christmas and liking how it looked:

The answer came to me, as it usually does, while surfing the internetz and finding directions for how to make globes out of yarn. I decided to give it a shot! Here's how to make it happen:

What You Will Need:

Yarn, white glue, balloons, and spray paint

How to Make it Happen:

1. Cut many, many, MANY strips of yarn. The lengths of the strips will vary depending on how big of a globe you are making, but I made my strips long enough to wrap around the balloons at least twice. (It helps if you force your brother to cut the strips because you get bored easily, but I guess that's an optional step.)

2. Blow up a balloon to the size you'd like the finished globe to be.

3. Make a mixture of 1 part glue to 1 part water. I put the glue mixture into an old paint tray, which I found to be helpful in covering the yarn in the mixture.

4. Cover a strip of yarn in the glue mixture, and then wrap it around the balloon. For the first few strips I found it best to start at the tied portion of the balloon, and then go from there. Repeat with many strips of yarn! Be sure to wrap some horizontal pieces as well as vertical, and always tuck the end of the strip of yarn into pieces that are already on the balloon.

5. Tie one long strip of yarn to the top of the yarn-wrapped balloon. Then hang the balloon in a spot to dry for 24 hours. This is the improvisational solution I came up with:

Why yes, that IS a broom balanced precariously between the first aid container and a bookshelf. Classy.

6. After the yarn has completely dried, pop the balloon and remove it from the center of the globe. A word of advice! Before popping, slide something between the yarn and the balloon to unstick the two surfaces, because the glue has stuck the two together. I used a pair of scissors, but anything like a pencil would work as well. If you don't do this step, you run the risk of the yarn collapsing with the balloon and leaving you with a deflated yarn mess. Not that I learned this firsthand or anything....

7. If you chose yarn that you already like, you're completely finished at this point! I wanted a painted look, and also went for the cheap boring white yarn, so I completed the additional step of spray painting the globes.