Yard Projects Using Bowling Balls

Where to Find Bowling Balls

• You can use bowling balls in a variety of yard projects; for example, use a number of balls for a retaining wall or just one ball for a garden sphere. You might find a single ball lying dusty in a friend's hall closet. If you need a greater number of bowling balls, you can buy them inexpensively at flea markets and garage sales. You can also find them on auction sites for relatively small amounts of money.

Cleaning Old Bowling Balls for Yard Projects

• You may need to clean old bowling balls before using them for yard projects. After many rolls down a bowling alley, a ball absorbs quite a bit of oil from the conditioner the alleys use to treat the lanes. Use a microfiber cloth to remove some of the oil. You can also rub the ball with a soft cloth treated with rubbing alcohol to remove some of the oil. After removing most of the oil with rubbing alcohol, place the ball in the dishwasher to remove the remainder of the oil. The ball will then be clean, oil free and ready for you to place in the yard.

Yard Projects Using Bowling Balls

• Use single bowling balls or numerous balls in the yard to add interest to the garden or lawn. Place bowling balls of different colors around flowerbeds, along with large pieces of stone gravel to add texture to the landscape. Bowling balls look especially attractive along borders and in out-of-the-way corners. You can also paint single balls. Designs such as stars and stripes or flowers can liven up the garden. Clean the ball, rough up the surface with sandpaper and prime the surface with a primer made for plastics. Finally, paint with oil-based paints and finish with several top coats of clear gloss paint.

Garden Sphere Using a Bowling Ball

• Use metallic spray paint to turn a bowling bowl into a garden sphere. Fill in the ball's holes with putty, then clean the ball and rough up the surface with sandpaper. Sitting the ball on a coffee can will make it easier to work with. Seal the ball with a primer made for plastics. Then spray paint it with a metallic spray paint in a color such as copper or silver. Finally, seal it with an outdoor polyurethane and place the ball in the garden.