Punched Paper Balls

It might have taken me a while to put up our Halloween decorations but they were down by the next day. I keep our decorations to a minimum but even then, they begin to creep in on me and suddenly I am very motivated to put them away. We don’t have many items to span this time before Christmas and I’m okay with it. However, I was still inspired to make a little something to fill the gap.

Paper strip balls are a classic craft project. Strips of paper and a stapler (or stabler, as Bug calls it), it doesn’t get much simpler than that. And with a small tweak, they can be really eye-catching.

I adore cut paper designs, whether from paper punches or a paper cutting machine. I’m hooked on the paper punches that enable one to make a continuous design, like the one I used for this project. It’s paper lace almost and I love it. Here’s how to make your own lacy spheres:

Supplies:

-paper
-paper punch
-ruler
-stapler
-gold paint, optional
-string

First step, punch the paper. It worked better for me to initially punch the long edges of the paper, then cut strips in my preferred width and then punch the other side of the strip. It might work for you too or you might find a better method. The width and length of the punch you use will effect it so experiment.

Once all the strips are finished (you will need 3 for each ball), add paint or other mediums at this time. Allow them to dry completely. I added gold to some of the strips using the gold from this liquid watercolors set. It seems like I want to add gold to everything right now!

To assemble, bring the ends of one strip together and staple to hold.

Add the second and third strips the same way, positioning them at equal distance, in this case,  thirds of a circle, and staple in place.

To finish, you can choose to string them up individually or put them all on one garland. I think I am going to leave mine the sunshine a little while longer and enjoy the pretty shadows while I soak it up myself.