Kissing Balls

I spend every holiday season searching for mistletoe kissing balls to decorate my house. I had already started Kissing Ball Search 2008 when I found this handy how-to. This year, I'm taking the problem into my own hands and making some of my own courtesy of this Better Homes & Gardens article, which I have included below.

Supplies:

• 3 or 4-inch Styrofoam ball
  
• Artificial greenery such as ivy, holly, or mistletoe
  
• Artificial red berries
  
• Red and green plaid ribbon, metallic gold ribbon, or wired sheer ribbon
  
• Assortment of floral pins: T-pins and U-shaped pins
  

Instructions:

1. Push a U-shaped pin into the "top" of the ball, leaving about 1/4 inch gap. Remove pin, dab holes with hot glue, then reinsert the pin (with the 1/4 inch gap). Let glue set 5-10 minutes. (Note: the gap will allow you to thread a ribbon or wire through in order to hang the kissing ball.)
   
2. Separate artificial ivy leaves from stems -- either by pulling or cutting them off the main stems. Leave 1/4 to 1/2-inch of stem. With the tip of the glue gun, make a small indentation into the foam, then glue each ivy stem into place to cover entire Styrofoam ball. Be careful to avoid getting the hot glue on your fingers.
   
3. If desired, hot glue or pin small wads of Spanish moss between the ivy leaves so that the Styrofoam is fully covered.
   
4. Hot glue small bunches of red berries to fill in gaps, or use U-pins to tack the berries into place.
   
5. String wire, fishline, or a ribbon through the U-pin at the top to hang from a light fixture or door frame.
   

Ribbon Topper Instructions:

1. Attach one strand of ribbon at top of ball with a T-pin. Create a loop over the top of ivy and insert ribbon into ivy again about half way down ball, securing either with a T-pin or hot glue. 
   
2. Create another loop and secure ribbon underneath center of ball with T-pin, leaving about 6-10 inches of extra ribbon to hang underneath ball. Repeat 2 more times to make 4 ribbon strands. 
   
3. Add multi-looped ribbon bow at top of the ball and secure with 2 T-pins.
   

This project seems really easy to make your own. For example, I would probably spray paint my styrofoam ball before wrapping it to give it a bit more sparkle and with all the ribbons out there, you can make the perfect kissing ball you've been searching for.