• Colorful bowling balls can serve as decorations after their life on the lane is over.bowling image by iMAGINE from Fotolia.com
  
  Bowling balls come in a variety of types and styles to help bowlers succeed on different types of lane conditions. When a bowler replaces his bowling ball, that doesn't mean he has to discard it or give it away. Instead, that bowling ball can become a representation of his or her hobby to display in the home or garden.
  
  

Garden Decorations

• Use old bowling balls for your indoor and outdoor gardens. Place the ball in your outdoor garden as a decoration. Paint it with a single or multiple colors to match the theme of your garden. For an indoor garden, turn the ball into a planter. Remove the top of the ball using a reciprocating saw and hollow out the inside with drill bits used to hollow out finger holes in a bowling ball. Protect your hands when sawing and drilling the ball by holding it in a vice so you do not injure yourself. Wearing eye protection during this process will protect your eyes from chips that may come off of the ball. Use the ball as a pot to hold soil and your plants.
  
  

Trophy

• Use your old bowling balls as trophies at the end of the season if your bowling league gives out trophies for special accomplishments. Decorate a bowling ball and present it as a trophy. Paint words such as "300 game" or "700 set" onto the ball as well as the bowler's name, his or her team's name, and the league bowled in. Use these painted bowling balls for all sorts of accolades and display them at home in a trophy case.
  
  

Bookends

• Modify bowling balls to use as decorative bookends in several ways. Cut the bowling ball in half using a reciprocating saw, and use each half as one end of a set of bookends. Cutting a block of wood so it has an oval indention to hold the bowling ball is a second option. Place one bowling ball on each block of wood and use them as the bookends.
  
  

Artwork

• Create a small pyramid of bowling balls to use as artwork in your home. Use glue or cement to attach the balls together. The balls can be the same color, or multiple colors to create a colorful bowling themed decoration as a centerpiece for a table or to place on your mantle.