Here's a Top Make that's a whole new alternative to flat, boring pinboards. This is a Ten Pins Bowling Ball and it's perfect for pinning notes to. You can even store your pens in it! If you'd like to make one, you'll need to buy a bowling ball-sized polystyrene ball. They're not very expensive, and you can get them from most craft shops. The best thing about them is, they split into two halves, like this. Start off by marking where your bowling ball grips will go. Polystyrene balls always come with a little indentation in the centre, so use that as a position for your thumb, and mark crosses where your other two fingers will go. Now pierce holes in the polystyrene ball using an apple corer. If you haven't got an apple corer, don't worry. You could use a sharp pencil instead, although it will take a bit longer. The finger holes will hold your pens and pencils. But to stop them falling straight through, just turn the half of the ball over. Get hold of a yoghurt or snack pot and paint the inside the same colour that you're going to use for the bowling ball itself. Stick it in place using plenty of tape. When done, your pens and pencils should stay comfortably in position! Now you can paint the bowling ball. It's a good idea to put the polystyrene ball halves onto mixing bowls so that you can get at all the sides and edges without having to touch the polystyrene itself. Choose a nice, bright colour, and get painting! You'll need about two coats, using thick paint. When dry, it's a good idea to weigh the ball down to prevent it from rolling away. The easiest way to do this is to fill a freezer bag with sand... ...and stick it to the bottom half of the polystyrene ball - again, with plenty of tape. Now just join the two halves of the polystyrene ball together. The marble effect is created by gathering up some dark and light pieces of tissue paper, which are the same colour as the paint you used. Paste them onto the bowling ball with a mixture of PVA glue and water (mixed in equal parts). Make sure that they overlap. Cover the whole ball to get the right effect, and don't forget to go over the join line where the two halves of the polystyrene ball meet. When it's dry, the PVA glue will have gone clear and given the ball a great glossy finish, like this. The ten pin skittles are made by moulding oven bake clay into skittle shapes. When you're happy with the skittle shape you need to stick a pin into the base of each one. The easiest way to do this is to stick a map pin into a cork. This will protect your Finger Tips! Push the pin into the skittle, and remove the cork. Bake the skittles in the oven for about twenty minutes on 130 degrees celsius or gas mark 1. When they've baked and cooled down, they'll be nice and hard. Paint the skittles any colour you like... ...and for added realism just draw or paint on two rings around the neck of each skittle, like these. To help your bowling ball stand up, put three map pins into the base, like this. Those pins will help it to balance and stay upright... ...ready for you to use. Pin on your notes and load it up with your favourite pens and pencils. Here are some other ideas for colours - you can use any you like!