DIY Friday

Today is DIY Friday, in case you'd forgotten. 

She's also a little silly,
but I wouldn' have her be any other way!

And this first post is coming at you from one of the coolest people on the planet. 

Thanks to Audrey a best friend of moi, mother of 3, and crafty lady like none other for this fun post...  Enjoy!

Homemade Mobile 

Here’s what you need:

The inner ring to a quilting circle         A variety of ribbon
Fabric                                               Interfacing (iron-on or tear apart)
Embroidery thread                            Hand needle
Beads                                               Buttons
Feathers                                           Hot glue gun/glue
Any crafty finds (I used butterflies and wired bead sections)

Really though, you can use just about anything you want for a mobile, so I’d start looking around at things you have in your house like fabrics, beads, buttons, and ribbon.  I love Hobby Lobby and I found the butterflies in this mobile on clearance there. 

You need to decide on your color scheme.  You could pick a few colors and make everything match or coordinate, or you could be a bit eclectic and bright.  Then start to gather it all together to make sure you like where it’s going.

I sense come cuteness coming your way!

Make the hanging objects:
I started with the fabric shapes.  I drew what I wanted onto cardboard pieces and then cut them out and traced them onto the back side of my selected fabric.  Then I cut out the fabric pieces, making sure I had them drawn so that they’d have a front and a back I could sew together.  Then I layered the front and the back with a square of interfacing in between.  I chose a contrasting color of embroidery thread and got a large eye hand needle, lined them up well, and started to sew them together.  Then I cut the interfacing to the shape of the front and back so you couldn’t see any of it. (if you use iron on, you could iron it on, cut it to match the shape, then sew it to the back)  Then I used the hand needle to thread a ribbon so it could hang.  I then attached beads to the end of the ribbon for a more finished look. 

It'll look a little something like this.

To make the bead/button strings, secure a large button at the bottom so the beads don’t slip off, then just string the beads on the ribbon.  The last string of beads is actually made from a bracelet my daughter had that broke.  I kept the beads, and this was the perfect place to use them! (the small flower and leaf beads on the green ribbon)

I had feathers… so I just had to use them. I chose a few colors and hot glued them to a few different ribbons. I also glued a button to the top of those strands for some extra detail. 

The green beads on the green wire were all one piece that I found with the artificial flowers.  I took it apart and twisted sections of them onto the bottom of each butterfly and then a few to the top. 

Finishing it off:
For the circle I used the inner ring of a cheap quilting circle.  I found a fabric and hot glued it to the inside making sure that both the outside and the inside both looked good- you’ll be able to see both sides!

I used ribbon to hang the circle from a hook in the ceiling while I tied each piece onto it.  I tried to make sure that similar things were spread apart and no two of the same color ribbon were hung next to each other.  After they were all hung, I used a hot glue gun to glue the extra ribbon up and then I cut off the extra ribbon.  That way you couldn’t see any unfinished parts.  I chose a few extra buttons and glued them over each ribbon on the outside of the ring.

And here's the finished product!

Muy bien!!

I love this mobile so much I don’t want to give it to my daughter! Maybe I’ll hang it in my room. 

Some other ideas for mobiles-
Christmas: Stars, Christmas trees, snowmen, Santa hats etc.
Outer Space: Planets and stars for a boy’s room (there are some great planets fabrics for around the ring)
Sports: Baseball bats, gloves, balls (baseball, basketball, soccer ball, etc.) with twine instead of ribbon for a boy’s room
Valentines Day- hearts, cupids, red, pink, and white buttons, children’s valentines, foam hearts




Thanks for letting me share!

Audrey