victorian kissing ball

this last Sunday afternoon, I took a class at a local nursery and made a victorian kissing ball

- hey - 

a girl can never have too many kisses

:)

I loved how it turned out, so I came home with the supplies I needed to make more of them

The How To

what you will need :

an ivy plant in a 4 inch pot

floral wire

a heavier gauge wire for the hook

sphagnum moss soaking in water

miscellaneous greens

pliers for bending the heavier wire

first step:

remove your ivy plant from the pot, keeping as much dirt attached to the root ball as possible, and wrap the dirt ball with sphagnum moss. Wring out the moss after removing it from the water, or you will have a soggy mess on your hands.

 

second step:

using your thin floral wire, begin wrapping it into a ball shape.

I used a lot of wire - about four pieces that were 16" 

(it might be easier if you use floral wire that is on a spool and then you can use one long length of it)

third step:

 make "hairpins" with the floral wire

these are about 4 inches each and bent in the middle into a u-shape

use these to pin the ivy tendrils into your moss ball

fourth step:

 bend your heavy gauge wire so that it has a j-shape at one end

insert this through the middle of your ball

for best results, have the bottom of your ball be full and the top bare

fifth step:

bend the top of your wire to form a hanger

attach greens with more of the pins (filling in any bare spots)

lastly:

attach a bow at the top

also: dried flowers, pinecones, sparkly baubles ... dress it up any way you would like

(that's the fun part!)

** to care for your kissing ball, simply immerse it in water once a week **
the instructor told us she has one from two years ago
- in the summer, she hangs it under a shady tree -
(remove ribbons etc and refurbish it next year)