Laura Dowling’s lemon kissing ball with crabapples, evergreens, and ivy. Photo by Erik Kvalsvik
Laura Dowling shares step-by-step instructions for how to make a lemon kissing ball. Dowling hangs these Christmas kissing balls in the windows of her Alexandria, Virginia home, but they could easily be placed over a door or archway.
How to Make a Kissing Ball
Each lemon kissing ball requires 15 small lemons.
Materials
- Bind wire
- 1 (4-inch) sphere of floral foam with netting
- Variety of mixed evergreen material
- 15 small lemons
- 6-inch wired wood picks
- Green paddle wire
- 25 small crab apples
- 3 to 4 strands of trailing green ivy
1| Tie a length of bind wire, about 12 to 15 inches, through the netting at the top of the sphere. Soak the floral foam in water.
2| Cut 4-inch pieces of evergreen material, removing the bottom leaves from each sprig. Cover the entire sphere with greenery by sticking the ends into the ball and overlapping pieces.
3| Skewer the lemons with the wired wood picks, and stick the other end into the sphere. Add enough lemons to cover the sphere evenly.
4| Use the paddle wire as string to create a mini garland of crab apples, leaving 5 to 6 inches in between each apple and keeping a 6-inch length at each end. Make 5 garlands.
5| Tie the end of a garland to a pick, and insert it into the sphere. Weave the apples in and around the lemons so that they appear to float above the design. Continue until all garlands are used.
6| Add strands of ivy for a natural effect. Wrap an end around the bind wire at the top, and let it hang off the sides.
