Not another Mobile

Mobiles are so much fun to make because there are so many different ways of creating them. I had a lot of comments on the butterfly mobile so I decided to show you another version of a mobile that I made for my cousin. It is fabric and super easy to make.

Supplies:

Wood circle from Michael's- holes are already drilled through these
Wood balls with holes already drilled through (30-35)
Ribbon
Fabric
Heat and Bond
Paint

I started by painting the circle and balls. This honestly took the most time because I did all of them by hand. It would probably be easier to just throw the balls in a paint pan and roll them all around. Then I decided how long I wanted the ribbons to hang and how many circles (or whatever shape you choose) I wanted on each string. I put 4 circles on each ribbon and used about 1-1 1/2 yards of ribbon for each hanging section. Then I cut the circles out of the fabric on my cricut. Actually scratch that, first I ironed the heat and bond to the back of the fabric. Then I used a method I learned from Heather to cut the circles on my cricut.

***Apply heat and bond to your fabric. Spray the fabric with starch several times to make sure it gets nice and stiff (about 3 times letting it dry in between each time). Then I applied the fabric to my cricut matt and cut the circles. You will have to play around with the size you like. Cut 2 times as many circles as you want to put on your ribbons because you need one for each side.

Then I attached the circles to the ribbon by ironing the circles together with the ribbon in between. Then I sewed a large stitch all the way down the ribbon to make sure it stayed in place. I did this for all the ribbons until all my circles were attached.

Then I pulled the ribbon through the drilled holes up through the bottom. Next I took some thin white ribbon and attached it to the colored circle ribbons tying it in a bow to make it look nice and finished. Repeat with all the circle ribbons. Finally I strung the painted balls on the white ribbon and tied it at the top (this is where it will hang from the ceiling). Lastly because my cousin's nursery theme is elephants I attached a cloth elephant to the bottom circle on each of the ribbons. This just added some personality and individuality.

It took awhile to make but it was really simple. Just lots of steps. But so worth it. I love it and I know she loves it in little Ryder's room.

Flashback

I have a confession to make. This project is not new. I actually made this last summer. My excuse. . . I haven't made anything new to put on the blog lately because I have been busy getting ready to move and creating things for the OMTWI contest. Sorry. But this project is still super cute and a great idea for a gift or to add something special to a little girl's room.

Mobiles are not just for babies. I first got the idea for this at Pottery Barn, but it was so overpriced (as are most things there) that I decided to turn it into a project for my daughter's room. I love how it is a center piece for the room and it gave the room a theme that I had not anticipated. The best part is it is so easy to make. A bit time consuming, but easy.

So here is how I made it:

First I bought a wire wreath from Michael's with a 40% off coupon (total $4). Then I spray painted the ring (it was green) white. Next I used thick scrapbook paper to cut out tiny butterflies on my cricut machine. Then I took some clear jewelery wire and made long strings to hang from the wire. I strung beads on the bottom of each piece to give the strings some weight. Then I took a thick needle and poked holes in the middle of each butterfly and strung them onto the jewelery wire tying a knot under each butterfly to hold them in place. I put between 3-4 butterflies on each string and had a total of 15-18 strings. I tied them to the wire ring and tried to space them so they would not get tangled. Then I tied pink and brown ribbon to the top of the wire to hang it from the ceiling.

As I said not hard just time consuming. And one day Elizabeth got a hold of it and knotted all the strings together so I had to untangle all of them. It took about 45 min but I didn't want to trash the whole thing after all that work. Needless to say she got a talking to and it hasn't happened since. I am really happy with the way it turned out. The colors and details make it one of a kind which is really special.