Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3

Tennis, anyone?

With its magnificent rallying, split-stepping, and headbands, it may be the most photographable of sports. (Aside from full-contact checkers.)

Our pals at Papernstitch found a super-cute way to turn a plain old Penn ball into a bright yellow photo stand.

Now you can fill your priceless Agassi-autographed ball with pictures of the mulletted man himself.

Or curry favor with the ref by slipping him a neon-yellow sphere with a few tasteful yet seductive self-portraits.

We have it on good authority that this how the Queen displays all of her Wimbledon photos. Oh, Liz, you crafty creature!

Turn a Tennis Ball into a Photo Stand

Ready to make an adorable tennis ball photo frame? It’s so easy! Check out Papernstich for the original tutorial, or follow along with our steps below.

What You’ll Need

• A tennis ball
• A sharp blade
• Something heavy: pennies or old keys
• Scrapbooking accessories galore: googly eyes, sparkles, pipe cleaners, stickers, etc

Step 1: Prep Your Balls

Cut a straight slit in the tennis ball. Make it large enough to wedge the photo inside. (Our cut was about 2 inches long.)

You’ll find it much easier to use a long serrated blade (like a steak knife) than a pointy one (like an X-acto knife). The rubber is pretty thick, and it helps to have a toothy blade. Watch your fingers!

Step 2: Decorate

Our favorite part, get creative! We used stickers, sparkle paint, and googly eyes to liven up our tennis balls.

Side note: did you know that the fancy crafter name for pipe cleaners is “chenille stems”? We did not! But now we have an excellent stage name in case we ever decide to do drag.

Step 3: Display

Once your ball’s ready to show off, how do you keep it from rolling away? Easy! Drop a few pennies into the interior of the ball to weigh it down. Or curl a pipe cleaner — we mean, chenille straw — around the bottom to keep in in place.

If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can use any short cylindrical object as a stand. We picked up a 50-cent lamp socket collar for about 50 cents at a hardware store; alternately, you could use the cardboard tube from a roll of electrical tape, a thin-sliced paper-towel tube, or a PVC coupling if you’re Bob Vila.

Take it Further

• Stacking: Got four balls? Stack ‘em into a pyramid with photos sticking out of each node!
• Dangling: Hang balls from the ceiling by poking a hole through the rubber shell and threading in some wire or string. Use a double-sided photo so that it stays visible as the ball rotates.
• Troublemaking: Once you’ve made your tennis ball into a photo stand, try playing tennis with it! No no, just kidding, don’t really try that. The umpire will frown at you.

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