Quick, easy, and inexpensive…three of my favorite words when
it comes to crafts! This mobile is great
because it hits on all three of those, plus it’s completely personalize-able to
fit any nursery’s colors and theme. I came up with this idea after trying to find a mobile for my daughter's owl themed nursery that didn't cost $50 or more. Can you believe how much mobiles cost! Seriously! This one will run you under ten bucks for all the materials.
Materials:
-One dowel, cut into two 10 inch pieces. My dowel is about 4/16ths of an inch in diameter.
-Waxed paper or other surface protector
-Craft paint (acrylic). I used
Plaid #410 Lavender for this one.
-A small paint brush for applying glue for glitter
-Hot glue gun
-Scissors
-A metal split ring (like the kind that you put keys on). Mine is a 24 mm silver one.
-Heavy, clear filament or fishing line.
-10 pre-painted wooden cut outs.
Get 5 different designs, and get two of each kind. Look for ones that are painted nicely, as the paint job quality really varies on these! Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Wal-mart all have
a pretty good selection.
-Optional: glitter, glue, googly eyes, large beads to put on the end of
the dowels
Directions:
1. Cut dowels to length and sand
the ends of the dowels to make smooth. Plug in your glue gun to heat up.
2. Remove
the price tags from the backs of all the wood cut outs (otherwise they show in places).
3. Lay
down wax paper. Paint the dowels a color
that coordinates with the wood cut outs you are using. I held one end down with one finger and rolled it while
painting, then painted where I had held it down last. Let dry completely
4. Cut
a six inch piece of line.
5. Cross
the two sticks to make a plus sign, measuring to make sure you have them
crossed exactly in the middle. Put a
pencil dot on each one where they should cross, then glue the sticks together
with hot glue. Tie the 6 inch piece of line around the crossing point, getting
it stuck in the still-warm glue. Reinforce the joint between the sticks by
putting more hot glue on all sides.
6. Tie
a knot in the line so it forms a loop at the top. String the split ring onto the loop. 
7. Cut
a 16 inch piece of line. Run a line of
glue down the center of the back of one of the wooden cut outs, then lay the
end of the line in the glue.
8. Apply
more glue to the back of the wood cut out, then lay the matching wood cut onto
it, creating a sandwich with the line inside of it.
9. Repeat
Steps 6 and 7 again for the other 4 designs. But make
the line 20 inches, 24 inches, 12 inches, and 8 inches long. NOTE: if the two wood cut outs don’t match up
when sandwiched together because the design is not symmetrical, be very careful
about where you put the glue so it doesn’t show.
10. Tie
the 24 inch one to any one of the four stick ends just using a knot. On the next stick, put the 20 inch one, then
on the next put the 16 inch one, then on the last stick put the 12 inch one. Don’t worry that the mobile is not balanced
yet. Put the 8 inch one in the center.
11. To
balance it, scoot the knot for the heavier ones toward the center, and scoot
the knots for the smaller/lighter ones toward the edge. Once it is perfectly balanced, put a drop of
hot glue on each string, attaching it to the stick in the right spot. Cut off the tails from the knots.
12. Decorate
the cut outs with glitter, googly eyes, gems, or whatever decorations you want
to add. I used the same purple glitter
on each one to tie the pieces all together, then added other glitter colors as accents.
13. Tie
a 24 inch piece of line to the split ring.
Determine where you want to hang the mobile, then tie a knot in the end
of the line at the correct length, then hang from the ceiling with a push pin. All done! Cute, huh!!!
