Valentine’s Day Kissing Ball with Pink Roses

Instead of the usual bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day why not consider a romantic kissing ball instead. This post will show you how to make a simple kissing ball for Valentine’s Day using pink rose buds, a straw, and some hot glue.

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A couple of years ago if you had told me I would be assigned a work task of making hundreds of kissing balls for Valentine’s Day I would have laughed at you.  I didn’t even know what a kissing ball was.  But thanks to a very talented floral designer, I not only learned what a kissing ball was but how easy and simple they are to make. 

I used to work as an Interior Designer for a exclusive resort. Part of my duties were to keep the rooms, common areas and the restaurants looking guest ready at all times, which included the fresh flowers all around the property.  I wasn’t the florist (thankfully) but I did have to manage the floral department and the staff and help out for big occasions such as holidays and weddings. 

For a few years the resort for Valentine’s week, we would make a kissing ball for every new guest and room change for the entire week.  We would make so many kissing balls during that week that it would become all hands on deck for every member of the team and around the clock work. 

Everyone had to learn how to make a kissing ball.

 

Kissing balls are usually made for weddings but you can make any version of a kissing ball for any holiday.

Below are the steps I was taught by this very talented florist on how to make a kissing ball. 

For my version I am not using real roses but silk roses instead to keep costs down and to make it last much longer than real roses.

For this project you will need:

• 4″ Foam Ball
• 2 Pipe Cleaners
• Floral stems of small rose buds and other small flowers
• Ribbon
• Hot glue gun
• Chop sticks or bamboo skewer sticks
• Straw

 

 

If you want to hang your kissing ball instead of displaying it in a bowl or vase, you will need to make a ribbon hanger for it.  

To create a secure ribbon hanger for the kissing ball, there will need to be a way to attach the ribbon without it pulling out of the form with the weight of the flowers.  The simple solution is to carry the weight of the flowers through the middle of the foam ball. 

And surprisingly this is just so easy to do!

First, you will need to insert the chop stick or skewer through the middle of the foam ball to create a tunnel through the middle.

 

 

Next, slip the straw over the chop stick and reinsert in through the hole you already created.  Push the straw all the way through.  Cut off the ends of the straw.

 

 

 

 

This creates a smooth tunnel to be able to insert the pipe cleaners through the center of the foam ball. 

Next twist the ends of two pipe cleaners together to make a longer pipe cleaner that will fit all the way through the foam ball.  Then insert the longer pipe cleaner all the way through the straw to the other side. 

Wrap the other ends around the foam ball and twist the other two ends together.

 

 

 

You can then wrap a long cut of ribbon around the pipe cleaners to make the hanger.  This type of hanger will not pull out of the foam ball once the weight of the flowers are added to the ball. 

For a version of this same hanger with live flowers you would need to purchase a wet foam ball and soak it overnight in water before inserting the straw and pipe cleaners and the flowers.

Now you just add the rose buds and flowers.

To keep the foam ball steady while I was inserting the rose buds, I used a small paper cup to hold the ball.

 

 

The first kissing balls were covered in mistletoe during the holidays which gave the kissing ball it’s name.

To finish off the kissing ball, I also added some of the leaves from the stems, small white flowers, and small loops of ribbon to fill in all the cracks that showed the foam ball through the roses.

 

 

Kissing balls can be displayed by hanging them on chairs or doorknobs or even in a small container like this galvanized bucket. 

Instead of giving another bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day this year, why not make a unique kissing ball instead.  They are so much easier to make than expected.

 

 

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2