Ok so I realize that this has totally become a baby blog and for that I apologize! I just have very few moments for projects these days and so the things I choose to make usually revolve around one of the girls!
In an attempt to make Caroline's room more girly, I've hung this mobile over her crib and must admit that these butterflies are some of my most favorite things I've made. I originally made them two years ago for a mobile in Anna Cate's room and was excited to get to pull them out again when we found out that Caroline was a girl!
The project was very easy and super inexpensive:
Embroidery Hoop - $0.75
White Grosgrain Ribbon (3 yards) - $ 3.75
Clear Fishing String - spool for $1.50
Pink Beads - $2.50
Jewerly Wire - $1.50
Heat n Bond - $2.00
Fabric samples - Free!
I collected them from various fabric stores. Most fabric stores will have pre-cut samples pinned to the large bolts of fabric for customer's to take. If you do this, just be sure to grab 4 of each sample because you'll need two pieces of fabric to make one wing of the butterfly.
Total Cost of Project: $12
(Much cheaper than the ridiculously expensive ones you see from Pottery Barn or Land of Nod and even cuter & personalized if I do say so myself!)
Directions:
Step 1: Start by using the jewelry wire and beads to make the body of the butterfly. You'll want to cut the length of the wire 4 times longer than you want the length of the body (party that looks like a worm) to be. After you finish stringing the beads, fold the wire in half and then twist to form the butterfly's body.
Step 2: Draw a template of the wings on a piece of paper and cut out. Use this as a reference to know how big to make your fabric squares. Using your Heat N Bond, fuse together two pieces of matching fabric. Trace your wing template onto fabric and then cut out a wing. Repeat this step 3 more times to get a total of 4 wings for each butterfly.
Step 3: Hot glue the top wing to the bottom wing so that they form one piece with the top wing overlapping the bottom wing.
Step 4: Using a needle and thread, stitch the half of the butterfly (top and bottom wing glued together) to the beaded body. Repeat for other side. You should now have a complete butterfly.
Step 5: Cut two small pieces of thin ribbon about 2 inches each. Hot glue each end of the ribbon to the back of each side of the butterfly. This creates a "loop" for you to thread the fishing string through.
Step 6: String up each butterfly and attach it to your mobile base. Then use a white cup holder hook to screw into the ceiling to hang the mobile from.
Hint: There are several items you can use as the base for your mobile. I originally tried glueing two wooden dowels together in the shape of an "X," but this wasn't the best method to use if you want the mobile to hang level. You can use an embroidery hoop like I did for my fish mobile if you want a round shape. For Caroline's room, I used the base that my mom found that had been my mobile when I was a baby. You could easily create a base like this by using some tinker toys if you had access to a set.
