DIY Golf Ball Garden Buggies

The basic steps are:

• Prepare the golf balls (wash, drill holes)
• Prepare wire for legs and antennae
• Drill holes and add wire pieces to golf balls (legs and antennae)
• Glue metal nuts and washers to golf balls (noses and eyes)
• Prime and paint everything

STEP ONE

• Decide which buggies you want to make and gather the materials.

STEP TWO

• Wash and dry the golf balls

STEP THREE

• Wear your safety glasses when doing any drilling or wire cutting and bending.
• Cut wire for legs, antennae, and bird tail. The wire lengths to cut are listed above (PARTS FOR EACH BUGGIE)

STEP FOUR

• Bend wires to shapes needed using needle-nose pliers. I’ve posted lots of images on this page so you can see things from various angles.

TIP: Always bend two wires together so that the shapes will be the same for each pair of legs and antennae.
To get good curls, start with the tips of the wires in the pliers, and curve the wire around the pliers.

 

SAFETY TIP: If these buggies will be used by kids, curl all exposed wire ends so they are not sharp.

STEP FIVE

• Mark your locations for legs and antennae and drill the holes in the golf balls. I drilled mine approximately 3/4″ inch deep.
• BIRD: The bird’s tail is created with one 10″ piece of wire, shaped in a loop , and inserted into 2 holes at back of golf ball.

TIP: Look at my buggies or images online to see where the legs and antennae are located on the various critters.

SAFETY TIP: Use a vice for holding the golf balls steady while drilling.

STEP SIX

• Insert legs and antennae into drilled holes. If they don’t fit snugly, add a bit of adhesive to the wire end and then insert it in the hole.

STEP SEVEN

• Attach nut (nose) and/or washers (eyes) and/or screw (bird beak/bill) with adhesive. Allow to dry.

STEP EIGHT

• Prime everything and allow to dry. You could use a spray primer or hand paint it on.

STEP NINE

• Apply the base colour. You’ll do the finishing paint details after the base colour has dried.

COLOURS FOR EACH BUGGIE

• Frog = green body and legs. After drying, you will use a black Sharpie to draw the eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Bumblebee = yellow body with black legs and antennae. After drying, you will use a black Sharpie to fill in the black body stripes.
• Bird = blue body and tail, yellow legs. After drying, you will paint the beak yellow, and create eyes with white paint and the black Sharpie.
• Ladybug = red and black body, black legs and antennae. After drying, you will add black spots with paint or a Sharpie.

 Here’s mine while the base coat paint is drying:

 STEP TEN
Finishing touches for each buggie

FROG

• Eyes: Fill in the center of the washer with black Sharpie.
• Nose: Draw two spots for the nose (see image for placement).
• Mouth: Frogs have wide, happy-looking mouths. Use a pencil first if you don’t have a steady hand.  The mouth should go as wide as the outer edges of the eyes.

LADYBUG

My suggestion is, if the creature doesn’t have recognizable features, don’t try to draw them. We don’t really see ladybug’s eyes, so no need to add them unless you want your buggie to look more like a cartoon character.

• Lower body: The lower section of the ladybug is painted black.
• Wings/back: Draw a line from the middle front to back to define the two wings (see image below).
• Spots: Use paint or Sharpie to create spots. Make them symmetrical on each wing.

BUMBLEBEE

I tested a bumblebee with eyes and one without, and I liked it without eyes better. You can choose for yours.

• Stripes: Start with a black circle (using paint or Sharpie) at the back of the bee.
  Next, use the Sharpie to outline two more thick stripes, equal distance apart. Then fill them in with paint or Sharpie.

 BIRD

I tried various birds with and without wings and liked this simple version best. You could also add proper wings if you want (using plastic or balsa wood).

• Eyes: Paint two white circles and allow to dry. Add eye details (see image below) with black Sharpie.
• Beak/Bill: If you haven’t done so already, paint it yellow.

Done!

Now go buggie!

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛