How it works
A bowling pin is a figure before it is painted: a round head, a narrow neck and a wide belly. Each of these 60 painted designs says what those three parts become.
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Head, neck stripe, belly
Pins are mostly white with red stripes round the neck, and the designs put that stripe to work as a scarf, a collar or a ribbon: Snowman, the red neck stripe kept as his scarf. The belly carries the coat, the buttons or the picture.
Figures of our own
The 60 are snowmen, animals, uniforms and patterns written for this list. None copies a cartoon, film or toy character, and the uniforms carry your own number or name, never a team.
Questions and answers
What can I make from an old bowling pin?
A painted figure for a shelf or an ornament for the garden. The list has 12 winter figures, 12 for fall and Halloween, 12 animals, 12 people in uniform and 12 patterns and garden pins.
What paint sticks to a bowling pin?
A pin is wood coated with a plastic material and given a glossy finish, so look for a primer and a paint whose labels name that kind of surface. We have not tested any and make no claim.
Which pins are for the garden?
Lighthouse pin for the garden, a lamp on the head, Toadstool pin, red spotted head over a white stalk and Garden gnome pin, a pointed red cap painted over the head. Whether your paint lasts outdoors is on its label.
Which design is the easiest?
White pin with its red neck stripes repainted crisp is two taped bands, and Candy corn pin in three bands, white at the head is three flat colors with no drawing.