Kissing Balls

I'd like to preface this post by saying I did NOT name these things.  Had I they would be called something completely different.  Anyhing would sound better than "kissing balls"...  Anyway, I saw these pretty little shiny fancy decoration thingies at Crate and Barrel in a much smaller version.  I decided I wanted bigger ones to hang on my windows, but couldn't find them anywhere, so I had to make them! I collected the pine cones from my mother-in-law's yard.  Any time you do anything with pine cones, you should bake them first to make sure you don't have bugs in your project!  About 20 minutes at 250 degrees should get rid of the critters.   After they were baked, I spray painted the pine cones burgundy and gold, thew some glitter on them and stuck them to my ball.  I bought 4 inch spheres of florist foam & cut them in half so they would sit flat on my window glass.  Of course, if you were hanging these from the ceiling or somewhere it would be seen from all sides, you would not need to cut it.  All I did was take a big kitchen knife and slice down the center.  I also spray painted the foam so the green wouldn't show through the gaps between the ornaments and pine cones.
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I bought some small (1 & 2 inch) round Christmas ornaments at (where else) Dollar Tree.  I wanted a monochromatic color scheme, but you could mix in any colors.  And if you can't find the colors you want... 2 words: spray paint.  I spray paint everything.

Get your hot glue gun and start sticking your stuff to your foam! I started at the top center and made my way down on all sides.  When I was done, I fixed the ribbon to the foam with floral pins.  I can't tie a pretty bow to save my life, so that is probably what I spent the most time on.  Completed project- 8 inches diameter.  Cost: $4.  FYI, the 3 inch ones at C&B were $8.  Our doggy, Anna, wanted to say, "Hi!" so she walked into the picture.

Here is the red kissing ball, hung from a doorknob.  The lighting was too bright in front of the window, so those photos didn't turn out too well. Not that any of these photos are superb, coming from my iPhone camera and all...  Maybe when I'm done with all my DIY stuff, I'll work on photography skills :)