Make a beautiful faux sea glass bulb garland with Dollar Tree ping pong balls! This simple coastal DIY is inexpensive, beginner-friendly, and perfect for summer decorating.
How to paint plastic ping pong balls to make a coastal-inspired faux sea glass bulb garland
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I have been staring at those little six-packs of ping pong balls at Dollar Tree forever, just waiting for inspiration to strike. I knew there had to be something fun I could make with them, and apparently the answer was: fake sea glass garland bulbs. Naturally.
I’m kind of obsessed with how this turned out.
This easy Dollar Tree craft transforms plain white ping pong balls into a pretty coastal-inspired garland that looks a little like sea glass bulbs. It’s lightweight, inexpensive, and has that beachy, collected-over-time look that I love for summer decorating. If you’re into coastal decor, nautical crafts, or just enjoy turning random Dollar Tree supplies into something unexpectedly cute, this one’s for you.
Video Tutorial: DIY Faux Sea Glass Garland
Watch this quick video to see how this craft came together:
DIY Faux Sea Glass Garland
Looking for a creative Dollar Tree coastal craft? Learn how to turn ping pong balls into a charming sea glass-inspired garland with this easy step-by-step tutorial.
Materials
- 2 6-packs of Dollar Tree ping pong balls
- Bamboo skewers
- Twine or jute string
- White chalk paint
- Teal craft paint, mine came from the craft aisle at Dollar Tree
Tools
- Pouncer brush or stencil brush
- Hot glue gun
- Wood burning tool
- Pliers
- Large tapestry or embroidery needle
Instructions
- Watch the video. Follow along with the video tutorial for a step-by-step walkthrough of how to make your own ping pong ball garland.
- Melt holes in the ping pong balls. Use the wood burning tool to carefully melt one hole on each side of every ping pong ball. The goal is to create a straight path through the ball so you can later thread twine through it.
- Clean up the melted holed. Once the holes are melted, use pliers to pull away any extra melted plastic around the edges. Then use a large tapestry needle to round out the hole and make sure it’s big enough for your twine and needle to pass through easily.
- Attach each ping pong ball to a skewer for painting. Run a tiny line of hot glue onto the end of a bamboo skewer and pressed a ping pong ball onto it. You only need a little bit of glue—just enough to hold it in place while you paint. This makes it so much easier to rotate the ball and paint the whole surface.
- Paint the ping pong balls to look like sea glass. For the sea glass look, I used a combination of white chalk paint and teal craft paint from Dollar Tree. Instead of mixing the colors completely, I used a pouncer brush to dab the paint on. That gave the surface a soft, mottled finish with a little variation in color, which helps mimic the look of sea glass. Let the painted ping pong balls dry completely.
- Remove the ping pong balls from the skewers. Once the paint is dry, gently twist each ping pong ball to pop it off the bamboo skewer. That little dot of hot glue should release pretty easily.
- String the ping pong balls onto twine. Cut a length of twine long enough for your garland, plus extra for loops on each end. Start by making a loop and knot at one end of the twine. Then thread on your first painted ping pong ball. After each ping pong ball, tie a double knot in the twine to hold it in place and create spacing between the bulbs. Repeat the process all the way down the garland. Once all the ping pong balls are on, finish the other end with another loop.
Notes
Note: One of the ping pong balls in each package had printed writing on it, and I did not feel like fighting with that situation, so I skipped it. I ended up using 10 ping pong balls total—5 from each package.
The Finished Craft
This little garland turned out so cute. The painted ping pong balls really do have that soft faux sea glass look, and the twine between each one gives it a nice coastal, cottagey feel.
It would be adorable draped across: a shelf, a tiered tray display, or a dough bowl. Basically anywhere you want a little soft coastal texture without spending actual sea glass garland money.
PIN this sea glass garland craft for later:
Why I Love This Dollar Tree Craft
I love a weird craft supply challenge, and turning ping pong balls into faux sea glass bulbs absolutely scratched that itch. This is one of those projects that starts off sounding a little ridiculous and then somehow ends up being really cute.
It’s inexpensive, lightweight, and perfect for summer or coastal decor. Plus, if you already have paint and twine on hand, this is a super affordable project to make.
If you’ve been eyeing those Dollar Tree ping pong balls and wondering what on earth to do with them… apparently the answer is make a sea glass garland.