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3 inch or larger styrofoam ball -
Small pressure-play music box (I use one which is about 1.25 inch
diameter
by 0.5 inches deep, which I found for $1.27 at AC Moore) Place the
music
box on top of the styrofoam ball and draw around it with a permanent
marker.
Using a knife, cut around the drawn line about 0.5 inches deep then
pry/dig
out the styrofoam. Put the music box into the hole, enlarging the
hole
if needed, until it fits snuggly (is this a word???) This
leaves a flat surface area where the box is. Insert small crumbs
of
styrofoam into any larger gaps between the styrofoam and the ball.
Using
a cotton ball or batting, build up the area on top of the music box,
then
wrap the ball with fingering yarn and then thread as usual. The
location
of the music box is easy to find.....if you roll the ball gently it
will
come to rest on the music box because of the weight! Check to be
certain
the box will play with firm pressure on this point, and then place a
short
pin (eg an applique pin) on the exact spot, or otherwise mark the
spot.
Now divide the ball as usual, leaving the music box mark as the north
pole.
".....all you have to do it press
on
the ball in the right place. I worked on the concept after our
discussion
at the fling, and your demonstration of the hollow ball from Japan with
the
internal music box....all I did was hollow out a spot on the styrofoam
ball
to insert a smaller pressure activated box like one finds in teddy
bears.
It seems to work well, but any balls like this would have to come with
directions
or the receiver would not how to start the music, nor even that there
was
that option! Please ignore the decorations on the ball. I wanted
to
finish quickly so I opted to do the dragonfly ball that Nicole had
shown
us, but my
work was not so careful in my haste."
Needless to say I was tickled
to
receive both the temari and that Paula had indeed prefected the musical
mari
theory - then also chuckled later to receive this email from her: "
.....you
will get a laugh out of this. On the airplane coming home I was
working
on a rainbow colored chrysanthemum, north pole only with elongated
petals
extending nearly to the south pole. I had inserted a "It's a
small
world" small music box into the north pole of the styrofoam as in the
one
I sent you....but apparently the tension on the box was so great with
all
the stitching around the north pole that some stitches would just start
the
music up ..... and it wouldn't stop!! The whole plane was pretty
tired
of the small world thing.... I had to keep massaging the ball to try to
relieve
the pressure around the north pole. My children suggested, less
than
diplomatically, that I just throw the ball out the window (but I had
already
put hours of work into this ball, and besides, what about the
pressurized
cabin?). SO, the music box idea may need some refinement...."
Webmaster's note 6/4/05 - these little music gadgets seemed to be
called "music buttons" - and can be found in general craft supply
stores or online suppliers....