Every Christmas, my husband and I spend some time at my in-law's house, and because I'm off from work, I try to take advantage of my free time by doing some sort of craft project. The catch is, it has to be fairly mobile (I'm not toting my sewing machine!).
This last Christmas was special because I was planning for the arrival of our sweet baby girl--which meant nursery decorations. If you spend any time on Pinterest, then whether you have a baby or not, you've probably seen the butterfly mobile--and I figured it was perfect. All I needed was some paper, a printer, and a pair of scissors and I was good to go (at least for the first part).
A lot of bloggers who have made this used a hole punch, which would probably save a lot of time. I had plenty of time, so I did it the old fashioned way--I found an outline of a butterfly online, made it the size I wanted, copy and pasted it as many times as would fit on a page, and changed the resolution so it printed in a soft grey (I didn't want my sloppy cutting to result in irregular black edges).
This last Christmas was special because I was planning for the arrival of our sweet baby girl--which meant nursery decorations. If you spend any time on Pinterest, then whether you have a baby or not, you've probably seen the butterfly mobile--and I figured it was perfect. All I needed was some paper, a printer, and a pair of scissors and I was good to go (at least for the first part).
A lot of bloggers who have made this used a hole punch, which would probably save a lot of time. I had plenty of time, so I did it the old fashioned way--I found an outline of a butterfly online, made it the size I wanted, copy and pasted it as many times as would fit on a page, and changed the resolution so it printed in a soft grey (I didn't want my sloppy cutting to result in irregular black edges).
I liked the look of the double butterflies I saw someone do (I think it was at www.sosmartalex.blogpot.com, but she has since taken her post down). To attach them to the string I "sewed" through the butterflies a few times with a needle and extra-strong thread (I think it was called "button & carpet thread" or something like that). At the bottom I hung a couple of beads to add some weight (and sparkle!). The top of the mobile is made from a large embroidery hoop I picked up at Michael's and painted white and covered in some pretty ribbon.
You can't tell from this picture, but in the center of the hoop is an X made from thin wood trim with a spiral design on it I also bought from Michael's and painted white. This is where the center butterflies are hung from. I nailed them using tiny, tiny nails to the embroidery hoop.
I inherited a bunch of used baby stuff from my brother, one thing which was a mobile. The part that spun the toys came off easily, and I used that to suspend my mobile so it would play music and spin.
You can't tell from this picture, but in the center of the hoop is an X made from thin wood trim with a spiral design on it I also bought from Michael's and painted white. This is where the center butterflies are hung from. I nailed them using tiny, tiny nails to the embroidery hoop.
I inherited a bunch of used baby stuff from my brother, one thing which was a mobile. The part that spun the toys came off easily, and I used that to suspend my mobile so it would play music and spin.
Click thumbnails below for full image:
I hung my mobile a little higher than most mobiles, since it's easily destructible, and the beads are choke hazards if she ever managed to rip one off, but baby girl doesn't seem to mind. She grins HUGELY whenever I turn it on. Overall, a success!
As I mentioned, the tutorial that I followed has sadly been taken down, but I did a quick search and this tutorial looks great: http://www.littlecrunchy.com/2011/08/aug-09-butterfly-mobile.html.
Happy Crafting!
As I mentioned, the tutorial that I followed has sadly been taken down, but I did a quick search and this tutorial looks great: http://www.littlecrunchy.com/2011/08/aug-09-butterfly-mobile.html.
Happy Crafting!