Mini Flower Ball & Display Stand

Mini mock-kusudama ball & bell jar-shaped stand.

Here is the flower ball ornament mentioned in yesterday's post (Topiary Trees 29 April 2012). It is inspired by kusudama origami flowers - but it is much less labour-intensive to make! Use the 12-sided paper ball pattern provided yesterday. The ball is covered with Petal Pairs Center Perks flowers, how-tos given in my 25 Feb 2012 post (Flower Basket Card).

The hanging loop and tassel are made from craft thread. (You can use a purchased tassel, if preferred. Or, add a few threaded beads instead of the tassel - the purpose is to weight the flower ball.) To make a tassel, wrap the thread around a piece of card (15-20 wraps). Tie the top. cut across the bottom with sharp scissors. Spiral-wrap the tassel top with contrast craft thread, inserting the thread ends into the coil to anchor and conceal them. (You can Google-search how-to illustrations for tassel-making.)

Important: you must insert the hanging loop through the top hole and the tassel through the bottom hole before you assemble the halves of the ball! And you must also pierce or punch a hole through the centres of the top and bottom flowers before gluing them in place. Glue the top and bottom flowers in place before you insert the loop and tassel.

A few decorative gold beads have been added to the hanging loop. Tip: to thread the beads on to the loop, tie a piece of sewing thread on to the loop. Pass the sewing thread through the beads, pulling the thread loop with it. The slender thread easily passes through the beads, and all that is needed is a small tug to get the loop through the beads. Remove the sewing thread from the loop. Knot the loop above the beads.

Here's the template for the display stand:

The folded frame will fit inside a C5 envelope (162 x 229cm).

Cut 2 frames out of gold card. Fold as marked. Glue together at the top, edges matching. Punch a hole through both layers. The base interlocks to make the stand - just overlap the semi-circles and in the opposite direction to the side tabs. Thread the flower ball loop through the hole and knot on the back of the stand. 

The flower balls, on their own, can be used as tree ornaments. Choose jewel tones and metallics for a festive look.

Stuff I used: Tonic Studios Petal Pairs punches, Canford card, Frosted Gold (2 sheets A4), craft thread, 3 gold beads, Bazill Basics cardstock for the flower ball, assorted papers for the flowers, square foam sticky pads (inside the flower centres), PVA glue.