yard marbles

aren't these cool!?!?

i swear i saw this idea on pinterest a long time ago, but i have looked more recently and was unable to find it... so i apologize if i'm totally stealing someone's thunder here... but these were super easy to do, and i totally love them and want to share!

these look so cool in my yard, and i can just think of so many things you could do with them - red and green for christmas, bowling balls for snowmen, line your walkway with a bit of multi-coloured magic, or just pile them up and watch your dogs be totally freaked out! 

the best thing about them is that they are environmentally safe and friendly, and a super easy project you could do with kids. 

also, if you look closely, they are totally beautiful!

i'm including instructions here, not because i think you are dumb, it's pretty obvious how to do these... but because i found a few things out in doing them that might make your foray in to yard marbling easier/less messy. 

all you need is food colouring and balloons.

first off, colour selection. i bought the little 4-colour food colouring kit with red, blue, green and yellow. here are the mixes i used (in drops):

purple - 15 red, 13 blue (this turned out super dark, almost black)

blue - 25 blue

orange - 20 yellow, 5 red

yellow - 20 yellow

red - 18 red

green - 18 green

the balloons (full) were about 6-9" in diameter, so adjust based on your desired colours and how big your balloons are. i put the food colouring in the balloons FIRST. 

i quickly learned that no matter how stretchy your balloons seem, you can't just hold them under the tap and expect them to fill with water - it needs to be forced. 

 

i used a hose attached to our laundry tap. a shower head with the right setting could work, or just wrap the balloon around the nozzle of the tap.

tie nice, tight knots in them, and stash them in a plastic tub (in case they break during the transportation/freezing process).

and put it outside in the cold. 

i left mine out a day and a half in -20 celsius, and a word to the wise THEY MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY FROZEN IN THE MIDDLE. i don't know what kind of witchcraft causes this, because they all froze in the same way, and all spewed a bit of coloured water out at me when i cut them open, even though it was so cold i couldn't feel my hands. 

so, that being said, make sure you open them over a bucket or grass (or snow). i was careful not to open mine over the steps or patio stones, but maybe food colouring would stain them? i don't know, but didn't feel it was worth the risk! i just cut a hole with scissors, and the balloon peeled off easily.

swamp water!

them pop those suckers in the snow, and enjoy them until they melt!