Surprise Balls
Inside this ball of yarn are all sorts of little goodies I chose for a friend. I wanted to send them to her in a way that’s entertaining, and since the gift will travel a long distance, I also had to come up with something that would take the abuse of going through the mail.
My solution? I turned a pile of ephemera and goodies into a surprise ball. Here’s how:
First, I chose the items I wanted to send, inlcuding a printer’s block, some buttons, rhineston brads in a small watchmaker tin, and a bunch of ATC backgrounds. I’ve seen all manner of things wrapped this way: small pieces of artwork, figurines, art dolls, fat quarters for quilting, little handwritten notes—you name it. I usually try to keep my largest item smaller than my hand, so the ball will end up about the size of a small melon, but if you have lots of ribbons and fibers for wrapping, and the strength to lift the finished ball, make it as large as you wish.
I usually choose to make the largest item in my pile of goodies the center of the ball, so here, I’m starting with the ATC backgrounds. One or two would probably buckle when wrapped, but a dozen wrapped together in a stack makes a very sturdy center.
Because this is going to a mixed media artist, I wanted to include lots of different fibers and trims. I’ll be changing the wrappings in each step—but if you’re senting to someone who knits, crochets or weaves, perhaps you’ll want to purchase one lovely skein of yarn, and wrap the whole thing with that instead. Think about the recipient, and what she’d like.
Next, I’ll add two shorter, thicker items, to pad the center out, and start turning this into more of a ball shape. Here, I’m using some lovely lace trim to wrap the printer’s block to the center of the ATC backgrounds.
On the other side, I wrapped the little tin of brads. I like including something in a tin close to the center of the ball, because when it’s finished, you can shake the ball and hear things rattling inside.
By the time I have these two items securely wrapped, the ball is already taking shape. It’s getting rounder.
The next layer was done with wide strips of lovely bright yellow silk. As I wrapped, I added groups of buttons, so three or four of them will fall out at a time when the ball is unwrapped.
After several layers of wide, bumpy wrapping, I needed something to tighten the ball up. I chose some narrower flat lace trim.
To hold the end of the trim in place, I attached this little bottle cap pin. Now I really have a nice ball shape going.
Now that the ball is larger, I can include some longer pieces. These are long bamboo beads, held in place with my favorite string from the hardware store. Maybe some nice handmade paper beads could go into this layer.
The next layer included some unmounted rubber stamps, since my friend is really into stamping. These small pieces of rubber wrapped around the ball easily, held into place by some jute twine.
For my last layer of wrapping, I chose some brightly colored yarn. I covered the entire ball with this, so it looks like just a big ball of yarn—but when you lift it, it’s heavy, and it rattles.
I always include a little note or tag that’s visible on the outside of the ball, telling the recipient that yes, they should unwind it to find their presents. I’ve added a sheet of tags to the free printables section of the site. I cut mine out, and edged it with a little chalk in to match the yarn.
Tie the tag around the ball, and it’s ready to go!
This is such a cool project - as fun to make as it is to watch the recipient open the present! I made these for my twin nieces last Christmas, filling them with craft supplies and doodads, and my family still talks about it :o)
This is by far the best gift I’ve ever given!! I’ve given away three now, two were to people I know only online and one was for a christmas swap this last year. It doesn’t seem to matter what you put into it, just the fact that it is so much fun to unwrap makes it the best gift ever!! Everyone always asks me where I got such a great idea and I always refer them back here. Your website is just to awesome not to share!! Thanks for making me such a hit! :0)
I’ve seen instructions for surprise balls before, but never with such great insight on what kinds of items to include at different points in the ball… I started one once and ended up getting frustrated and quitting because it wasn’t wrapping the way I wanted it to. Now I have a better idea of the “physics” involved in making one of these crazy things!! Thanks!
ooo i need to make some of these..i wish my friends were more crafty and would appreciate the ribbons..is it wrong to ask for the ribbons back???
What a great tutorial! I think my daughters would just LOVE this!
Thanks so much for sharing.
Fantastic idea! A great gift idea for so many of my crafty friends and family. Thank you, again for such creative, clever, and easy to create gifts!
Boy, Have I got plans for this ! I have several friends who are scrapbookers and beeders - nice wat to wrap the tidbits I have for them for Christmas! Great idea for how to wrap those little things you pick up for birthdays too!
This is really neat. I’d love to do a swap with you on one of these!
@Andrea: we did one last year, right after this article was posted.
What an amazing idea! Perfect for the scrapbookers on my giftlist.
Oh, I want to make one! I’m thinking jewelry, fridge magnets but I also know a few scrapbookers who would enjoy this! Thanks~
Peace…………..
half the fun of giving presents is the wrapping, but this is taking it to a whole new level: awesome! you are so creative, it’s delightful
thanks for sharing!
What a cool way to send some one a gift!
This is really neat and came out nicely
My family has been doing a very similar thing for many, many years now. We use crepe paper (cheap, colorful and easy to find) to wrap coins, wrapped candies, and a small gift in the center. My dad makes them for me and my 3 younger brothers, his uncle started the tradition for my dad and uncle when they were kids. One of my favorite parts of Christmas morning is unrolling my Christmas ball, even though I’m now 20.
When I was in Girl Scouts in Elementary School, we did this every year with a HUGE ball! We’d pass it around and around the circle until we ran out, so every one would get something different! So much fun, especially for kids!
wow! this is such a great idea! many thanks.. i think i may make some of these this year for family & friends
x
What a cute idea for a gift! I am going to try that for my friends this year! Thanks for the tutorial!
Thank for the idea i’m going to try it for the next time i give a gift
I made one of these for a friend using sewing items. Started with a cute pin cushion, added thimbles, ribbon, elastic, lace, and other sewing gadgets. she loved it. then we had to wrap it all back up so she could show her other crafty friends. Thanks for such a good idea.
I made these for my little cousins at Christmas… they are a GREAT idea. You could really make them for anyone that has a specific interest. I filled theirs with art supplies and girly stuff. But yea… i’d totally love to get a surprise ball. I linked back to you guys and made a post about it on my blog http://travelingpainter.blogspot.com/ Thanks for the great idea!