It’s no secret that I have a disco ball obsession, and I’ve wanted to make a DIY melted disco ball for years. They tend to be pricey online, and the cheaper versions don’t have the organic, melted shape I was looking for. I tried other melted disco ball tutorials I found online, but none gave me the natural melted effect I wanted. So I developed my own technique using balloons and Plaster of Paris to create a shape that actually looks like it melted.
Where do melted disco balls come from?
The melted disco ball concept was popularized by Rotganzen. Rotganzen Studio is a Dutch art collective bridging art and design in the tradition of American Pop culture and the Italian Radical Design movement. Their “Quelle Fête” series features sculptural disco ball installations reminiscent of 1970s disco nightlife.
Designer Kelly Wearstler collaborated with Rotganzen to bring these artistic pieces to a wider audience. The unique handcrafted pieces are collectors’ items with price tags to match.
This design concept inspired a wave of DIY versions as people fell in love with the sparkly, fun, quirky shapes, but couldn’t afford to buy the originals.
That’s also why I wanted to create my own version with that same melted look at a more affordable price. And I have no clue how they make theirs, nor do I think I could ever make them the way they do.
Supplies needed
Note: The plastic ring I used is the cover around plumber’s tape. It was the perfect size for the asian soup spoon to fit inside the balloon neck.
Video tutorial
You can either watch my video tutorial below or on my YouTube Channel.
Step-by-step DIY disco ball tutorial
When I said in the intro that I wanted an organic shape, I meant that I wanted a disco ball shape that really replicated the shape of something that melted and didn’t look forced or awkward. Some of the DIY disco balls that I came across that used expanding foam, styrofoam balls, or even clay, just didn’t have that specific shape.
Then one day, I came across a video on YouTube of someone making sculptures with balloons and plaster, and I thought that this approach could also work for melted disco balls.
I actually also gave the expandable foam a try in a balloon, as someone else did in a tutorial, but it was a waste of money and a definite fail for me. It didn’t work at all. So let me show you what I did with large balloons and Plaster of Paris.
You can see in my tutorial how many different fingernail colors I have along the way. That’s a sign of how long it took me to figure this tutorial out for myself LOL.
Step 1: Insert plastic ring into balloon opening
Open the balloon opening with your fingers and insert the plastic ring. Keep the ring right at the top of the opening.
Step 2: Add Plaster of Paris to balloon
This part can get really messy, so I laid a large garbage bag under the balloon. While wearing a dust face mask and rubber gloves, I added the plaster to the balloon with an asian soup spoon, which worked really well.
I filled up the balloon with as much plaster as I could.
Step 3: Add water to the plaster-filled balloon
Here is the trickiest part of the entire project. You have to kind of guess the ratio, which is 2 parts of Plaster of Paris powder to 1 part cold water.
Note: I tried mixing the plaster ahead of time and then adding it to the balloon. That was a fail because it doesn’t pour well that way and sets/hardens so fast.
Step 4: Knead filled balloon
Remove the plastic ring from the balloon. Then hold the balloon shut with one hand while kneading the filled balloon with the other hand. The kneading will mix the water and plaster powder.
The reason I didn’t knot the balloon right away is so I could add more water if needed.
Step 5: Knot balloon shut and knead some more
Now it’s time to knot the balloon opening shut. But before you do that, make sure to squeeze out any air or access water.
Then knead the balloon a bit more until you are sure that the mixture is completely mixed together.
Clean the outside of the balloon with a paper towel. Now you can use two hands to knead the balloon some more.
Step 6: Shape the filled balloon
Turn the balloon so that the knot will be at the bottom of the ball shape. This way, you can hide the knot from the final melted disco ball shape. Don’t worry about the tip of the balloon, which isn’t completely smooth. Any imperfection can easily be sanded away later.
Tip: If you need some extra volume for your disco ball shape, use a small ball under the filled balloon where the knot is.
As it hardens, you can shape it almost like dough. I settled on the shape in the third image above. That’s the one I’m showing in this tutorial. But you can do whatever you want, even make it drape over another disco ball. Coming up with the shape is fun.
Let the Plaster of Paris harden which happens pretty fast.
Step 7: Remove the latex balloon from the dried plaster shape
Remove the latex balloon from the hardened Plaster of Paris shape with sharp scissors and your hands. The plaster shape still feels damp, so let it dry fully.
Step 8: Add more plaster if needed and sand the surface
If you have weird imperfections or holes on your melted disco ball plaster shape surface, you can add more plaster. I simply mixed some more plaster and smoothed it on with my hands. Let it dry.
Then use some fine-grit sandpaper and sand the surface to make it smooth.
Step 9: Prime and paint the plaster shape
You can use any primer you want. This Kilz primer is simply what I had. I added one coat of primer with a paintbrush. Let that dry.
After that I added two coats of silver craft paint with a paintbrush and let that fully dry as well.
You can see that there are still slight imperfections, which is totally fine and won’t be noticeable in the end.
Step 10: Create the disco ball center/starting point
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You can start with a round mirror tile, the way I did, which is also how the expensive designer melted disco balls are started, or you can start them with only square mirror tiles, the way some of my other collected disco balls are.
Let me show you some of my other disco balls and what their starting point looks like:
Image three is the Amazon melted disco ball, which was started in a spiral pattern. I did not do that, though. With a spiral, you won’t run into the problem of the circle closing properly.
You can snip some tiles in half or leave them as is, which is both fine. Mine are halves for the first circle, and I’m sorry that I didn’t document that part. I thought I was filming, but I guess I wasn’t.
I used tweezers to add the round mirror tile and 5mm mirror tiles to the disco ball. If your round mirror tile doesn’t have a glue backing (like mine), you need to add a dab of glue.
The mirror tiles have a glue backing, and it can be a bit tricky to peel them off in single pieces.
Step 11: Add mirror tiles to create the entire disco ball pattern
When you apply more rows of mirror tiles, make sure that you overlap the seams as if you are laying brick.
As you get to the larger diameters of the tile circles, you can cut single strips of mirror tile and apply them in long strips. It helps to cut slits into the strips as you work your way around the diameter.
I did not fill the bottom of the melted disco ball with mirror tiles since you won’t see them, but you certainly can.
And that’s it. I ended up making two melted disco balls and love them.
Finished DIY melted disco balls
The best is always when the sun shines in and onto the many disco balls, whether they are melted or not. There is so much sparkle!
I also wanted to show you the difference between the cheap purchased melted disco ball and the DIY melted disco balls below. The purchased disco ball is pretty good quality and super lightweight due to its styrofoam core. But you can definitely see that it lacks an organic shape.
What do I mean by that? It’s very even and exact. It looks like someone took a ball shape and simply cut out the form that sits on a ledge at a perfect 90-degree angle. I personally think that’s exactly how it was made. In reality, nothing would ever melt that perfectly and exact.
So if you don’t feel like DIYing your melted disco balls like I did, the one that I bought is still a great fun option at an affordable price. You can find the exact melted disco ball that I bought HERE, and you can also jump to the section in my blog post where I found other melted disco balls for sale.
The ones I made are much more substantial in weight, and I love the uneven and organic shape. They look like they sat in the sun and melted.
The DIY melted disco balls made from plaster are perfect for bookends, and I love that you can manipulate the shape by hand so you can shape them the way you want.
I can’t make up my mind if I want them on my fireplace mantel or on the bookshelf next to the fireplace. I love the mix of rustic and modern.
Also, check out my friend Kyla’s single melted disco ball on her fireplace. The large size is amazing. Hers was a lucky find! I do have to say that creating a drippy, melted disco ball like hers would be even harder to make. I think you’d need to use two different types of materials. By that I mean the part that is flowing down should be lightweight, like foam, and the part that is sitting on the shelf ledge should be heavy, like the plaster I used. If it is just heavy plaster, it is very hard to keep it from toppling off the ledge due to the weight distribution.
And as I said at the beginning, in case you are new around here. I love disco balls and have them everywhere around the house. The photo below is from my blog post about how to transition from Christmas to winter decor.
Below you can see my giant disco ball I bought at an auction, decorated for Christmas. It is usually located in our basement family room.
Where to buy melted disco balls
I gathered some of my favorite shops that sell different melted disco ball sculptures for your shelves and also as wall decor below.
I hope this tutorial inspires you to make your own DIY melted disco balls! The plaster and balloon method gives you so much creative control over the final shape, and I love that each one turns out unique. Whether you display them on bookshelves, use them as bookends, or style them on your mantel, they add such a fun, quirky element to any room. If you try this project, I’d love to see how yours turns out. Just tag me on Instagram or leave a comment below!
Tschüß,
