Good morning, everyone!
And a special WELCOME to visitors from The 36th Avenue, where I am guest-posting about Della’s nursery. I’m so excited to have new readers here today!
I hope you all are feeling crafty (the kind where you glue/sew things…not the kind where you rub your hands together and scheme up ways to knock over banks)!
Even if you’re not feeling crafty, maybe you’re feeling lucky? Did you notice the new giveaway button on the sidebar?
Yeah. That’s right. I’m hosting a giveaway for The Pleated Poppy this week!
No biggie. It’s only Lindsey and her fabulously cute fabric creations that I’m giving you the chance to win. I…
Fine!
GO running off to click the giveaway details button and leave me hanging in the middle of a sentence! I’ll be waiting right here feeling crafty (maybe the hand-rubbing kind this time) when you get back.
Where was I?
Oh yes…Try-it Tuesday.
In honor of my nursery guest-post, I thought I’d show you how I made Della’s butterfly mobile.
As a reminder, here’s what her room looks like (see the mobile in the corner?):
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:
- A punch with the design of your choice (I chose butterflies and found my punch at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section. It wasn’t on sale, but I used a 40% off coupon and paid $12)
- Pretty scrapbooking paper/magazines (the thicker the magazine paper, the better)
- Glue-gun
- Fishing line—be sure to get line with a low lb. maximum to keep it thin. Mine has a 4 lb. maximum. Of course, if you’re planning on hanging more than 4 lbs. of paper butterflies…wow. Good luck with that. Please send me pictures.
- Wreath form (mine is 13” Styrofoam, and I paid about $4 at Michael’s (with a coupon), but they have them at many Dollar Stores for, well, a dollar).
- 3-5 yards of wide (at least 1.5”…preferably wider) decorative ribbon to cover your wreath form (dollar stores are also a great place to buy inexpensive ribbon).
1. Using your punch, create a variety of butterflies (or whatever shape you choose). It’s entirely up to you how many you choose to hang, but I ended up using about 70 butterflies on my mobile.
2. Cut lengths of your fishing line. These will be the anchors for your butterflies as well as the “streamers” for the mobile. Again, length depends on your preference, but mine were about 2 feet long. I didn’t make all of my lines the same length because I am lazy like that liked the variation, but you could measure if you preferred a more uniform look.
3. Place a dot of hot-glue on the back of your butterflies…
..then press the fishing line firmly into the glue and hold until it dries enough not to shift positions. I glued a butterfly every 2-3 inches along the length of my wire.
Your mobile streamer will look like this:
4. Squeeze another dab of hot-glue onto your wreath form.
5. Press your ribbon into the glue to hold it in place.
6. Begin wrapping your wreath form in ribbon. You will need between 3 and 5 yards of ribbon to cover a 13” wreath, depending on the width of your ribbon and how tightly you overlap it (the looser you wrap, the farther you can stretch your ribbon).
7. Finish off your wrapped wreath by securing the end of the ribbon with another dab of hot-glue.
8. Squeeze a dot of hot-glue onto the first butterfly on your streamer…
…and then press that butterfly against the outside of the ribbon-wrapped wreath (say that five times fast!)…continuing to add streamers until you have the look you want (I used about 6 streamers spaced more or less evenly—I eye-balled it—around the outside edge of my wreath).
10. Hang your mobile using more fishing line (it will look like it’s floating) and a small hook screwed directly into the ceiling (this project is not really heavy enough to need support screws). You could also hang your mobile from ribbon, but the thicker the threads it’s suspended from, the less it will turn and sway when a gust from the air-conditioning vent hits it. : )
Here’s a shot of the finished product:
The best part? It’s easy and cheap! Two of my favorite things in projects…not people.
Of course, it does take a while and involves a lot of repetition but if you love the look of streamer mobiles but don’t love the $40 price-tag, then this is your project.
Our cost is something like $18, but keep in mind that $12 of that was our punch, which can be reused to make butterfly confetti, butterfly themed invitations or thank-you cards, really cute box filler for packages…anything you can think up involving paper and butterflies, this punch can help you do it.
Well, that’s it for me today, folks! Don’t forget to enter the fabulous Pleated Poppy giveaway.
Oh, and speaking of The Pleated Poppy, I have something super-fun I get to do.
Tomorrow, for Lindsey’s What I Wore Wednesday series, I will be guest-posting my tips on how to score the best thrifted finds and then how to put them together into cohesive outfits, just like I do every day at Secondhand or Bare Bottom.
Be sure to stop by The Pleated Poppy blog for some thrifting tips and to see what everyone that has linked up with Lindsey wore that day. If you’ve never visited before, I highly encourage you to check it out. Lots of fun inspiration!
And If you’ve never linked up before but have the itch…DO it! What have you got to lose?
See you tomorrow for Wardrobe Wednesday!
This is so adorable!!!