Mobile Mania

So if you'll remember back to a post I wrote last month, I mentioned making a polka dot crib mobile for Bella's room.  Here's a picture of the inspiration:

Well my friend Jennifer and I met up yesterday to give it a go at creating our own mobiles.  We had a blast getting to be crafty together :)  We didn't follow the tutorial exactly--we used a sizzix die and the Big Shot to punch the circles which saved us SO much time and sanity!  This too allowed us to have multiple sized circles.  Also, the bead tutorial from the inspiration seemed a bit intense, so we opted for fishing line and krazy glue (which proved to be intense enough for us!).  Oh, we also used fabric glue instead of hot glue to attach the ribbons--we didn't want all of those strings.

It ended up being a fun little project; and now that we have done the first one, I think any more we make would go a lot quicker.  We had to remind ourselves several times: "this is a project of love and beauty is found in the imperfections!"  But we were both really pleased with the results :)  I can't wait to get it hung in her room!

The original fabric.  I got 1/2 a yard of each and used about half of that.  To make one mobile, you could easily get by with 1/4 yard of fabric (if you're using a larger variety)--but remember to leave yourself a little wiggle room for mistakes!

Finished product in her room!

Close-up

Tips if you decide to make your own:

1.  Get some really fun and diverse fabric!  This was the funnest part for me, and since I'm not doing a themed nursery or bedding set, my choices were much more expansive.  

2.  Remember to rotate your patterns and spacing when placing the circles on the ribbon--otherwise you'll have the same fabric hanging at the same level all the way around.  Put them in different orders along the ribbon.  Also, as in the tutorial, we did some ribbons with six circles and some with seven.  This helped vary the length of the ribbon and allowed our circles not to be at the same levels all the way around.

3.  Choose a thinner ribbon that is not too busy.  You don't want the pattern on the ribbon to get confused with or overpower the fabric.  

4.  Get at least TWO rolls of ribbon!  Both of us ran out (which thankfully happened late enough in the day where we were just giggly about it!).  Luckily, I had bought 5 different patterns of ribbon and one of them looked decent with the one I chose to use.  I used every bit of that second roll though!  After not liking the original ribbon she got once we started putting everything together, Jennifer and I ran to Walmart to get her some more.  We only bought one roll....  So by the time I left that afternoon, she was only able to finish half of her strands.  Ribbon drama!!

5.  Pick some cool beads.  I LOVED the beads Jennifer used--she got some stained wooden ones of all different sizes from Hobby Lobby and they were gorgeous!  I got some smaller natural colored ones, also from Hobby Lobby, and had my fantastic hubby spray paint them for me :)  It's all about preference and style.  But don't think the beads don't matter--they definitely make an impact!  Make sure you get enough of these too.  A lot of the length of the mobile is determined by the number of beads you use (and of course the length of the ribbon, but we want to keep things somewhat proportional).

The little beads I used--
Hunter spray painted them pink and brown

The gorgeous beads Jennifer used!  and they didn't have to be painted :)

6.  If you find out a stress-free way to attach the beaded section, please let me know!!!

7.  Have fun!  Remember it's a labor of love and beauty is found in the imperfections :)

happy crafting!  love, angie