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in Crafting· Crafts

The Magical Fruit; pinto bean decor balls tutorial

Today I’m going to show you how to make the most awesome decor balls out of beans.

And let me tell you what, these balls are absolutely magical! 😉

Yes, you read that right. Beans.
(If you don’t know me by now, I really like creating cool stuff using totally random items.)

DSCN9998

I saw some decor balls at Michael’s Arts and Crafts last week and my first thought was,

“Are those Beans? Seriously, beans?”

Followed by my second thought,

“$4.99 ?!?! Per Ball ?! WHAT ?!!!

Which was quickly followed by my third thought,

“I’m takin’ a picture of this and I’m making my own. There’s no way I’m paying five bucks a ball for some beans!”

And here’s the photo, courtsey of my iPhone – hence the most fabulous quality.

IMG_1890

And here’s how YOU can create your very own bean balls.

DSCN9716DSCN9717

Buy a bag of beans. Pinto Beans are a great size to work with. Also, get some type of ball – I used foam craft balls.

DSCN9719

Start gluing the beans onto the ball. I kept the ball from rolling off the counter by setting it inside a spray paint lid.

DSCN9721

After I started gluing the beans on I realized I should probably mark the circumference of the ball with a sharpie so my bean lines were straight.

DSCN9722

Then I just kept gluing the beans on in a nice flat tidy row.

DSCN9723

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Be careful while making your bean balls. You know what they say about beans being the magical fruit… You don’t want any explosions in your crafting area. 🙂

DSCN9726

Done. Cool, hua?

What good is a decor ball all by itself?

DSCN9727

I made a 2nd one with a different pattern on it. Can you see the pattern??

DSCN9728

Once the balls were done I primed them with spray paint primer.

DSCN9988

Then I spray painted one black and one brown using flat spray paint.

DSCN9989

I think they look great with the Large Decor Ball.

DSCN9996

Don’t waste your five bucks on a cheap-o bean ball. Just make some.

Personally I think mine look way better than the Michael’s one anyway.

Michael’s ball:

IMG_1890
Ewwwww.

House of Hepworths decor balls:

DSCN9998
Hooray!

Ya, mine are better.

And less gassy.

Filed Under: Crafting, Crafts Tagged With: bean decor balls, decor balls, decorating with balls, DIY decor balls

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Comments

  1. Bobbi says

    04/13/2010 at 10:14 pm

    Yours is WAY cuter! Thanks for the tutorial!

    Reply
  2. deb@dragonflytreasure says

    04/13/2010 at 10:52 pm

    Way to go! Your’s does look better!!
    *hugs*deb

    Reply
  3. SueAnn says

    04/14/2010 at 2:05 am

    Yours is definitely better!! Love the white one…that is my fav!! So cool!
    Thanks
    Hugs
    SueAnn

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth says

    04/14/2010 at 1:46 am

    This is so cool! Yours are DIVINE – the store ones I wouldn’t have even looked at! Thanks for the tut. I’m gonna have to try this.

    Reply
  5. Sherri says

    04/14/2010 at 3:48 am

    Awesome idea! They look great and yes, better than the stores.

    Reply
  6. Terru says

    04/14/2010 at 3:58 am

    I also thought about trying to make the same thing but I was thinking coffee beans, pinto beans would definitely be cheaper. I really like that you have them in two colors – looks like something from an expensive store!

    Reply
  7. Melinda @ One Life Many Journeys says

    04/14/2010 at 4:54 am

    Your balls ROCK! 😆

    Reply
  8. Sandy says

    04/14/2010 at 5:59 am

    I can’t wait to try this craft out….I enjoy reading your post….and I like your ideas of decorating on a budget….as my coworker says “Cool Beans”….can’t wait to see your next post… you inspire me!!!

    Reply
  9. Scotti O. says

    04/14/2010 at 6:09 am

    I just made some a few months ago too! I used smaller beans and glued them on randomly, turned out great!

    Reply
  10. Brit says

    04/14/2010 at 6:38 am

    Look at you Mrs Fancy pants! I shared your blog post about your first balls you made here:
    http://www.esbechic.com/1/post/2010/04/house-of-hepworths-a-blog-feature.html

    Thanks for being rock’n awesome!

    Reply
  11. Lanie Ree says

    04/14/2010 at 6:44 am

    Whoa, I never would have thought of that. Even if I had seen it in the store. Way to go! It looks perfect next to your Large Decor Ball.

    Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts.

    Reply
  12. Sharon@keenInspirations says

    04/14/2010 at 7:31 am

    They turned out great! When I did mine, I just glued them on randomly…next time I will try a pattern…and some spray paint!
    Since I didn’t win your large ball, I guess I’m gonna have to make my own! lol I’ll just have to use the “paper ribbon” that I have …couldn’t find an inexpensive jute mat anywhere around here!

    Reply
  13. Kelli says

    04/14/2010 at 7:38 am

    That is a great idea! How much did the styrofoam balls cost?!? They always seem so expensive. I may try and find some cheaper toy balls at the dollar store to try this with.

    Reply
  14. diedouchka says

    04/14/2010 at 7:39 am

    SUPERBE!!!!!
    Excellente idée!!!!

    Reply
  15. Young Wife says

    04/14/2010 at 7:55 am

    Cool! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  16. Sarah says

    04/14/2010 at 7:59 am

    Thanks for sharing! What kind of glue do you recommend?

    Reply
  17. Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says

    04/14/2010 at 9:04 am

    Lovin those!! Who would have thought of beans??

    Reply
  18. danielle says

    04/14/2010 at 12:28 pm

    very cute…i will definitely be stealing this idea 🙂

    Reply
  19. Lisa says

    04/14/2010 at 12:40 pm

    What a cool idea! You’re so creative with this stuff! Never would have though of using food to decorate!

    Reply
  20. Allison says

    04/14/2010 at 1:50 pm

    @Sarah – Glue? I definitely recommend hot glue. It holds really well and dries within seconds. Most other glues dry too slow for this type of project.

    Reply
  21. Ashley @ SimplyDesigning.blogspot.com says

    04/14/2010 at 1:56 pm

    I just found your blog. Cute cute! Uhm…your bean balls are SOOOOOO much cuter then the one from the store. Oh my I actually can’t believe how BAD the one from the store looks! You did a much better job!!

    Reply
  22. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    04/14/2010 at 2:54 pm

    I love your balls {tee-hee}! Seriously, I think yours are better ~ it looks like something sticky was covering the Michaels balls.

    Reply
  23. Jan says

    04/14/2010 at 3:20 pm

    Okay, you have GOT to stop making such awesome stuff that I MUST copy!! ha! Kidding of course…keep ’em coming! I posted today about something you inspired me to do. You can check it out here: http://thesimpler-life.blogspot.com/2010/04/boring-knife-block-turned-fab.html

    Reply
  24. Brianna! says

    04/14/2010 at 4:08 pm

    sosoooooo
    CLEVER and pretty!
    xoxo
    B’s

    Reply
  25. Carolyn says

    04/14/2010 at 5:23 pm

    Very nice. I remember doing this in school with lots of different kinds of beans to make Christmas ornaments.

    Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours day!

    Reply
  26. Julie says

    04/14/2010 at 5:53 pm

    Your decor balls are a million billion times better than that sticky looking mess from Michaels. (I bet we’d need to get out the glue gun to reattach a bean or two. Theirs just looked all wonkity.)

    Reply
  27. Atasha says

    04/14/2010 at 7:27 pm

    Fabulous. I simply must do this! AND I do see the different pattern.

    Reply
  28. Kristi says

    04/14/2010 at 7:37 pm

    These look so cool! I’d have never thought of that. I was just at Michael’s today, but I must have missed those. I’m def adding this one to my idea book. Thanks!

    Reply
  29. Struggler says

    04/14/2010 at 8:02 pm

    Your bean balls are beautiful!
    I wonder, if you left the beans naked, whether they would survive? Perhaps they need the paint to preserve them.

    Reply
  30. Cami Bodrero says

    04/15/2010 at 12:24 am

    I made some of these several years ago and I used kidney beans which were a pretty color. I also used lentils and split peas…they were super time consuming, but they looked great! Yours look awesome, I never thought to use spray paint! I just painted the balls to match the legume that I was applying.

    Reply
  31. Cami Bodrero says

    04/15/2010 at 12:27 am

    I made some of these several years ago and I used kidney beans which were a pretty color. I also used lentils and split peas…they were super time consuming, but they looked great! Yours look awesome, I never thought to use spray paint! I love the colors you chose. I just painted the balls to match the legume that I was applying, I think it was before the spray painting craze hit. Spray paint sure lends itself to endless color possibilities.

    Reply
  32. Kendra Joyner says

    04/15/2010 at 8:52 am

    Love the texture and the idea!!

    Reply
  33. Kimberly says

    04/15/2010 at 10:40 am

    LOVE THESE!! I am making me some of these today!! FABULOUS!!! 🙂 Thanks for your wonderful ideas!!!

    Reply
  34. Leslie says

    04/15/2010 at 1:22 pm

    Seriously love this idea! I was going to make some twine balls, but I am going to have to add beans to some of them!

    Reply
  35. Kristen @ a little ditty says

    04/15/2010 at 1:58 pm

    Just stopped over after seeing your link at trendy treehouse – what a great idea on the bean balls 🙂 They look awesome and are so much better than spending 5 bucks on some at the store!

    Reply
  36. Becky says

    04/15/2010 at 8:18 pm

    Those are great–love that you spray painted them!

    Reply
  37. Melissa says

    04/16/2010 at 7:49 am

    Wow, this is fantastic!

    Reply
  38. Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking says

    04/16/2010 at 10:21 am

    Love them… I think I’ll need to make some 🙂

    Reply
  39. Lori says

    04/16/2010 at 10:22 am

    Who would of guessed… These turned out great.

    Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday! Please join me next week for another great party!

    Reply
  40. Keri Christensen says

    04/16/2010 at 1:08 pm

    So cute and frugal! Just my type of project. Your does look 100% better then Michaels!!! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  41. One Cheap B*tch says

    04/17/2010 at 5:58 pm

    Oh my goodness – how adorable! They look great. Beans, who would have thought!

    Jeanine

    Reply
  42. Autumn says

    04/17/2010 at 6:47 pm

    OMG, girl! We should be best friends. Everytime I stop by your blog I am amazed at how much alike we are. I had this SAME conversation with myself today as I walked through the GW and found some mini balls with mini beans on them!! I love how yours turned out. I was so planning on making these this week. lol

    Reply
  43. Marla says

    04/18/2010 at 5:16 am

    For $5 you could make a whole army of balls. Your bean balls are so much nicer than the Micheal’s version. Thanks for the tutorial.

    Reply
  44. Ginger says

    04/19/2010 at 1:17 pm

    Lov’n it! And they do look way better…great work! These are awesome! Thanks for sharing at SSB!

    Ginger

    Reply
  45. JHill - Mad in Crafts says

    04/19/2010 at 1:50 pm

    Hmmmm. I might have to try this, although my eyes would probably start crossing after gluing on the umpteenth bean!

    Reply
  46. Gay Vaughan says

    04/19/2010 at 2:11 pm

    Thank you for bringing your hodgepodge to the party! Will be drawing the winners soon!
    ~Gay~
    itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com

    Reply
  47. Stacey @ Fun to Craft says

    04/19/2010 at 6:36 pm

    I love these. Great idea! Thanks for sharing at ‘Look at me, I’m SO Crafty!’ at Fun to Craft.

    Reply
  48. Kaysi @ Keeping It Simple says

    04/20/2010 at 3:04 am

    Wow I love the look of these!

    Reply
  49. Darla says

    04/20/2010 at 8:08 am

    Yours turned out better than the Michael’s version. I am definitely doing this. So glad I saw your link on Tip Junkie!!!

    Reply
  50. Abbi says

    04/20/2010 at 12:41 pm

    Those did turn out nice!

    Reply
  51. Sarah says

    04/20/2010 at 12:49 pm

    wow. I did this EXACT same project a few months ago. It was featured a few places too.

    http://alittleofthis—alittleofthat.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-and-cheap-jar-fillers.html

    Reply
  52. Sarah says

    04/20/2010 at 12:50 pm

    wow. I did this EXACT same project a few months ago. It was featured on a few blogs.

    http://alittleofthis—alittleofthat.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-and-cheap-jar-fillers.html

    Reply
  53. Staci says

    04/20/2010 at 1:33 pm

    I just made a few of my first ones last week for my bathroom! I made one with pinto beans, one with rice & one with split peas! I love the different textures you can come up with out of FOOD from your PANTRY!!! And yes…yours look MUCH BETTER than Michaels!

    Reply
  54. Shel says

    04/20/2010 at 2:01 pm

    Cute! They look great. I’m sooo gonna have to try this. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  55. Queen of Dreamsz ~ The Art of Stuff says

    04/20/2010 at 8:25 pm

    Hi Allison,

    I love the twine covered ball and the bean balls look so much better then the ones I made as a child! So funny, how these things come back around but thankfully what you’ve made is so much more pleasing to the eye! ♥ It was a kid craft in my youth.

    I’m visiting for Three or More Tuesday..would love to have you drop by when you have a chance.

    Have a wonderful day…

    Hugs,
    Stephanie ♥

    Reply
  56. Denise says

    04/20/2010 at 9:52 pm

    I love it when you recreate something and it turns out even better than the original! This would be a great project for my kids to do.

    Reply
  57. BLJGraves Studio says

    04/21/2010 at 1:02 pm

    Yours are definitely better than Michaels. Great tutorial!

    Reply
  58. The Activity Mom says

    04/21/2010 at 6:52 pm

    LOVE these! The black one is my favorite! I tried to make some once using twine around a balloon and then popped a balloon. They need to be replaced by these for sure! So cute.

    Reply
  59. Amy @ New Nostalgia says

    04/22/2010 at 7:16 am

    very cute! I have been looking for a fun, inexpensive project to do with a group of lady friends. This one seems like it would appeal to many personalities/decor styles, so it may be the one! Thanks so much for linking up to “Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays” @ New Nostalgia! Would love to see more from you next week!!

    Reply
  60. Cristan says

    04/24/2010 at 10:16 am

    I’m new to the blogging world and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your site. I just found you this morning and you’re my very first feature on my little blog and I’ve added a link to your site! Thanks for the awesome idea!

    Reply
  61. All Thingz Related says

    04/24/2010 at 6:38 pm

    They turned out fabulous!

    Reply
  62. Ginger says

    04/26/2010 at 6:35 am

    Hi there! You were featured on Mad Skills Monday for this awesome project! Congrats!

    Ginger
    SSB

    Reply
  63. Lauren @ 31 diy says

    09/10/2010 at 8:09 pm

    Soo cute! I love the ones with twine, and teh braided ball, and the bean ball. Okay, so I love ALL of them!

    Reply
  64. Mistie says

    03/27/2012 at 1:32 pm

    Hi- i did you just buy white spray paint primer and use that prior to any spray paint color?
    Thank you!

    Reply
  65. Cathi says

    09/27/2019 at 12:33 pm

    I remember thinking the same thing you did, $5 for a ball!! I’m currently sitting here sorting a mixed bag of beans to make these right now. I do the same thing, take a picture and go home and make it. I got on pinterest and got more pics of different ones and making even more now. Thanks.

    Reply

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