How to make a disco ball from cd mosaic pieces and the wondrous glue gun. This craft takes about 10 minutes, and is nicely shiny and really does look a lot like a disco ball. The size of your disco ball is completely up to you—it depends completely on the size of your styrofoam ball and the number of cd's you feel like cutting up.
Shopping List
- CDs - Use old useless CDs. Try local computer stores for spare AOL CDs.
- A styrofoam ball - Available in floral and craft stores.
- Wire or string - For hanging the ball
- Glue gun - Tacky and craft glues work too, but I hate waiting for them to set.
- Kitchen shears - CDs are very dulling, so don't use your good scissors. Thin scissors will hurt your hands more.
- Kitchen tongs, and preferrably some hardy gloves which will let you touch the CDs at higher temperatures.
- A pot of boiling water
Cutting the CDs into mosiac pieces
Use the kitchen tongs to dip a CD into the boiling water. Make sure the CD doesn't touch the bottom of the pan. You want the CD to get soft enough to cut easily, but not so hot it starts to warp. Pull the CD out and start cutting it. Some CDs will naturally splinter more than others, but if the CD seems to be splintering a lot, try putting it back in the boiling water for a sec. Create irregular square and hexagonal pieces. For a 5" ball, you'll need about 6 or 7 CDs and the pieces should be about the size of a dime. For a large 12" ball, save up about 20 CDs and aim for the size of a quarter or half dollar. For a huge 2' ball (good for hanging from a high ceiling), you'll need 50 to 70 CDs, though the pieces will still be about the size of a half dollar.
Creating the Styrofoam Disco Ball
First, tie your string around the styrofoam ball once to secure it, then tie together the loose ends to form a free-hanging loop. You're trying to create a way to hang the disco ball later, the same way you would on a round Christmas ornament. You could just glue a loop to the top of the ball later, but this is much more secure.
Begin gluing your CD mosiac pieces around the ball. Try to fit them together as closely as you can. Save the area around the hanging loop for last—the last few pieces will probably have gaps around them where none of your pieces fit, and near the hanging loop is the least obvious place on the ball.
Colored Disco Balls
I've heard that you can color the mosiac pieces with different colored Sharpies to create a colored Disco Ball effect. Make sure you give the pieces a few minutes to dry, and put a piece of paper under them when coloring.