Basket Balls

It seems like everywhere you look people are using old croquet mallets and balls as decoration.  My dear bloggy friend Linda, from the great blog Itsy Bits and Pieces, just did a wonderful post about a summer idea house where they had used croquet mallets to hold paper towels, as a stylish curtain rod and more!  Be sure to pop over and check out her great post by clicking HERE!

I found these croquet balls in my parent's attic and have had them on display atop an antique dough box in my family room for quite awhile now.  

I remember playing with these on the front lawn and in the back yard at the house where I grew up.  Many summer evenings were spent playing croquet, followed by a game of freeze tag, and then a round of catching lightning bugs!

Maybe it's that nostalgic element that draws us to these simple little spheres.  

Or maybe it's their time worn, textural quality and chippy bold paint stripes that make us want to bring them inside and proudly display them.

I'm not sure why when I found these I knew that I wanted to bring them home and tuck them inside this old ruffle edged hobnail basket.  Maybe it's the combination of rustic and refined that appeals to me?!

Whatever the appeal, I'm clearly not the only one who finds these brightly painted croquet balls and their companion mallets to be charming accessories.  Whether you display them as "basket balls" or in a more practical way, they are sure to make you smile and they might even bring back a memory or two!