These are almost a bit magic - they are such fun to assemble! And as always, they are truly easy to make. This time my usual piece of advice about tracing folding lines (with a needle or the point of a knife) before folding them, in order to get them super precise, is not just a tip - it is simply necessary to make these.
So if you haven't tried the tracing trick before, now is a good time to start. It works like a charm, and you can make these fun paper baubles, that look much more complicated than they really are. The whole idea of tracing the paper is of course that you force the paper to bend along a certain line - and you really don't need much pressure, just scratch evenly along the line, making sure you don't cut through. They plop nicely into their shape if you have traced them precisely!
I have made these in these black/white line patterns, and made a PDF with four different stripe designs, ready to download and make. As you can see, a couple of mine in the photo are a bit smaller - and as usual, that's just done by scaling 80% (or whatever) when printing.
I made these on 120 g. paper, and that is just perfect. Heavier paper (which I tried first) doesn't bend as willingly along the traced lines - and thinner paper is not as strong, and will break, when you push and wiggle these to get the elements in place. So: heavy printing paper, but not exactly card stock. Try for yourself.....
I also made you a blank template, because I think that these would be fun to make in almost any kind of sturdy paper, patterned or colored, or decorated by yourself in any way you would fancy.
I made several graphic patterns and discarded some of them. I left the nicest ones for you in the PDF!
Update 2017: The Danish magazine 'BoligLiv' made a video tutorial on them, it's on YouTube, and you can find it right here! Thank you, BoligLiv.
Update 2021: I have a new location for my downloads, so please go here for the still very popular plop plop baubles: Tutorial / Stripes A / Stripes B / Stripes C / Dots / Blank template
Beautiful. Thanks for this DIY.
ReplyDeleteFanny
I'm so glad you liked it, Fanny! Merry Christmas to you.
ReplyDeleteI've had a happy time making four of these lovely decorations, thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThank you, you're welcome! Stop by my blog again some other time.
DeleteHi. Thank you for sharing the templates. I love these balls and sure I am trying to make them.
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you and good luck making them - it isn't hard at all!
DeleteThese are beautiful. Thank you for sharing :) I look forward to making these. Your black and white patterns really caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteThank you, you are so welcome - hope you'll have fun making them, and will check out some of my many other paper projects as well!
DeleteYou are welcome, Liber! Hope you had fun making them!
ReplyDeleteAmazingly amazing!!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks!
DeleteThank you so much for sharing the templates.your work is truly inspiring me to delve deeper and explore my creativity.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Shailja.
Thank you for sharing the templates.Your beautiful work has inspired me to explore my creativity.Thanks again, Shailja.
ReplyDeleteWow, ShailjaR - such a beautiful comment! SO happy to have inspired you, that is really the point of doing the kind of blogging I do. Thanks a bunch!!
DeleteParabéns e Obrigado por compartilhar
ReplyDeletewonderfull - thank you!
ReplyDeleteLovely project !!
ReplyDeleteWill try to translate and share in my blog and of course giving credits to yourself !
Tks for sharing !
Thank you! Glad to have inspired you, and, as I wrote I haven't invented the principle, so there are no worries there - and as for crediting me, that is always great! You are most welcome to link to my blog as well! Send me a message, when you do your blog post, I'd love to see your version! Best regards, Tina
DeleteI think I just found your facebook page - I can see you are a true paper enthusiast, just like me. Good work!
DeleteThanks, I really like them.
ReplyDeleteI'll make them with Christmas paper.
Cool! Merry Christmas to you, Natascha!
DeleteThank you for your sharing - they are very stylish and will make a beautiful xmas decoration ! Enjoy this special time of the year, Sabina
ReplyDeleteThank you, and merry xmas to you too, Sabina!
Deletethanks this is a great project
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome - and thanks for commenting!
Delete🌻🌷🌼Thks for sharing! Iam absolutely addicted to making these globes. The black & white designs are very smart!
ReplyDeleteHi Tina,
ReplyDeleteWow, I really like these! I'm a Zentangle teacher and will be sharing these with my students and other teachers. Of course I am especially grateful for the blank template and have been adding lots of Zentangle patterns.
Hi Sue - have great fun with your students, and glad to hear you found this blog and found my work useful!
DeleteThank you! The balls are amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, you are welcome!
DeleteIt is so generous of you to give your pattern for free! It sure is going to help with confinement here in France!
ReplyDeleteHi there, RM! So glad I can spread a bit of fun, and inspire to spend a few creative hours - take care of yourself, sending hugs from my confinement here in Copenhagen. #staysafe
DeleteHat sehr gut funktioniert, ist wirklich erstaunlich einfach und ideal für CORONA Zeiten. Danke vielmals
ReplyDeleteDas freut mich zu hören!
DeleteMy German is limited to short sentences like that - but here's my very best to you!
#staysafe
Son maravillosos!! Muchas gracias!
ReplyDeleteThank you - and happy holidays to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, and Merry Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteAbsolument magnifiques
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup :)
DeleteHi, I'm trying to download these, and it says they are disabled. Please help! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHello! t the end of the post there is a section that says 'Update 2021' - there's a bunch of links there, to new versions of the downloadable content - all the original designs and the tutorial. Have fun!
DeleteLove these baubles - I've made them before! - just want to let you know Flickr says the file isn't downloadable!
DeleteHi there - my apologies, and glad you posted this comment. I had done some adjustments in my Flickr-settings, and they were indeed disabled. Should be okay now, so give it a go again!
ReplyDelete