Monday, March 29, 2010

Wiffle Ball Rosette Mobile

My sister-in-law has a little girl due at the end of April, and I have been wanting to make something for the baby. I know what you're all thinking, but I was trying to think of something that didn't involve any sewing. When my mother-in-law mentioned that she hadn't been able to find a mobile that worked with her crib, the wheels started spinning and I thought of these rosette balls. So I took a peek at my craft stash, and headed out to Dollar Tree. They didn't have any styrofoam balls, but they did have wiffle balls, which I thought would do just perfectly. I also grabbed some white crepe paper, and a dream catcher because I knew I'd need some sort of hoop, and you can't beat one for $1!

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I trimmed all of the ornaments off of the dream catcher and re-wrapped it in white ribbon.
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I then took one of my wiffle balls, looped some ribbon through 2 holes and tied it up, with a little hot glue under my knot to keep it secure. (I don't want my niece to get knocked on the head by a rose-covered wiffle ball while she’s trying to sleep!) I knew that a little bit of the ball would be visible between the roses, so I wrapped the balls in crepe paper first, by taking 3 short strips, wrapping each one around the ball, and hot gluing the ends of the paper down. It didn't lie completely smoothly, but it was a good foundation to stick the roses onto and covered up the wiffle ball evidence.

wiffle
House of Smiths gives a great illustration on how to make these roses, and was the inspiration for this idea. But basically, you make a base for the rose with a little line of hot glue on the end of a strip of crepe paper (mine were about 14 inches long). Fold the paper over the line of glue, and from there, you simply roll the base of the rose, while twisting the excess crepe paper. I varied wrapping the paper tightly and sometimes wrapping it a bit more loosely to give the rose a nice blossoming look, and stopped periodically to add a drop of glue to keep the rose from unraveling. This may seems a little confusing, but it is super easy and after a little fumbling, you can fly through making them. (You will get hot glue gun strands everywhere though, as you can see in these pictures.)

rose 1rose 2
I trimmed the stem off the bottom of the roses, and then glued them onto the balls, starting with 3 around the ribbon strand, and then worked down from there.

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The nursery is painted a lime green color with this Geo Girl bedding from Target, so I wanted to use crepe paper colors that coordinated with the bedding: light pink, dark pink, blue, purple and white. I couldn't find any purple crepe paper at Wal-Mart, so I just got purple tissue paper and used that instead. The end result is similar, but it is certainly more slippery to work with. I just lined the tissue paper up on my cutting board, cut the width into 1 1/4 inch strips, and started rolling and gluing.

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Once my roses were glued down to the balls, I noticed that the center of the blooms was really prominent and the balls almost looked like they had little points all over them. So I got some sharp scissors and snipped off the center of those blooms. It gave the flowers a nice little ruffled effect in the middle, so I ended up doing this with each of the roses on all of the balls. It made for a flatter, more rounded surface on the balls as well.

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I ended up with 4 rose wiffle balls, and covered 1 four-inch styrofoam ball with white roses, so that she would have a few options as to which balls to pair with the crib.
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I can't wait to see it hanging in our niece's little nursery!!

I'm linking this mobile to the CSI Project here, so check it out!

Also these rosette balls are available in my etsy shop here, with the colors customized to your preferences.


Visit thecsiproject.com

49 comments:

Tiffany March 29, 2010 at 8:03 AM  

This is genius! So crazy cute! I LOVE it! I want one! : )

4vs1 March 29, 2010 at 8:07 AM  

Wow! This is so pretty! Thanks for the tutorial!

Teri March 29, 2010 at 8:47 AM  

This is so pretty! I love it! :)

Magic Happens March 29, 2010 at 9:53 AM  

Adorable! What a great idea :-)

Patrice March 29, 2010 at 9:53 AM  

Love it! I used the same ring thing for Laurele's bumble bee mobile. I don't think I would be patient enough to make the roses so perfect! Yours look amazing!

House of Smiths March 29, 2010 at 10:17 AM  

Looks GREAT!
I love the mobile idea!
SO sweet for a baby's room!
Thanks for sharing this with me!
SO fun to see what others create!
Shelley

Heather March 29, 2010 at 11:16 AM  

That is precious! What a wonderful idea, and the materials couldn't be any less expensive!

Kaysi March 29, 2010 at 1:14 PM  

This looks so great!! I love that you used balls, because I have a ton of those laying around!

A Sign of the Times March 29, 2010 at 1:58 PM  

This is really cute. A great way to use crepe paper! Thanks for sharing!

Jessica March 29, 2010 at 4:06 PM  

These are adorable. I'm not sure I have the patience though.

Mary Beth @ Live. Laugh. Make Something March 29, 2010 at 6:26 PM  

very pretty! I love these little flowers! I'm dropping by from Cottage Instincts. I hope to see you back at my place soon! until later...

Morgan//Nuts and Bows March 30, 2010 at 1:37 AM  

This is just too stinking cute! I love this idea, good job Erin!!

Check out my awesome GIVEAWAY

~Morgan

Meet Virginia Crafts
Meet Virginia's Etsy Shop

MessyMissy March 30, 2010 at 12:56 PM  

That is so sweet and delicate. What a special gift to give!!!

Denise Marie March 30, 2010 at 7:17 PM  

way to get your craft on...you gals are something!!

Vanessa March 30, 2010 at 7:22 PM  

This is soooooo sweet! You are so creative!

Katie Brown March 30, 2010 at 11:11 PM  

i love this! thanks for sharing...i'm going to have to make some now!

Kristi Flanagan March 31, 2010 at 9:34 AM  

So cute! Please come plant your creative seeds at my new blog party on Fridays "Plant a Punkin Seed at Punkin Seed Productions".

Hope to see you there!

Kristi
Punkin Seed Productions

Helena March 31, 2010 at 2:37 PM  

Ooh, this is really pretty. I love the wiffle ball idea- Styrofoam balls are so expensive!

Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts.

Jill March 31, 2010 at 4:31 PM  

Love this too!
-Jill
womenwhodoitall.blogspot.com

Reid April 1, 2010 at 10:50 AM  

Wow! nice job!
and what patience!

Kelley April 1, 2010 at 2:07 PM  

brilliant repurpose!!
Have a great day.

j April 1, 2010 at 4:51 PM  

That is beautiful! I hadn't seen the rosette ball thingys but I want to try it now.

Amy April 2, 2010 at 8:12 AM  

These are SO adorable and sweet! How clever!

TidyMom April 2, 2010 at 9:29 AM  

What a FABULOUS idea!!

Thanks for linking up to I'm Lovin' It!!

Monica April 2, 2010 at 11:18 AM  

Wow! These are super cute! I'll have to add this one to the list off crafts projects!

following you from Spring Has Sprung @ It's FUN to Craft!

=)
Monica

Coretta of corettadeesign April 2, 2010 at 1:47 PM  

All the things you can do with crepe paper. This is a very lovely transformation.

Unknown April 2, 2010 at 3:29 PM  

LOVE this... a mobile is on my 'to-make' list for Baby #2's nursery!
We have a friday fun finds party- we'd love it if you'd link up!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden April 2, 2010 at 11:11 PM  

Gorgeous! What a lucky baby!

Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours Day at My Backyard Eden!

iheartsunnydays April 2, 2010 at 11:19 PM  

Oh wow! These are simply gorgeous!! Happy Easter :)

Casey April 3, 2010 at 5:21 PM  

this is such a cute, affordable decoration! love it!

Katie Olthoff April 3, 2010 at 8:35 PM  

Wow. That is so absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had a little girl, now, too. :)

Anonymous April 5, 2010 at 6:06 PM  

These are beautiful. Thanks for including the tutorial. I am going to skip the hoop and string them as decorations for an upcoming tea party.

Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous April 5, 2010 at 6:06 PM  

These are beautiful. Thanks for including the tutorial. I am going to skip the hoop and string them as decorations for an upcoming tea party.

Thanks for sharing.

Diana Sh P April 6, 2010 at 11:48 AM  

Gorgeous roses!

Stacey @ Fun to Craft April 8, 2010 at 5:45 PM  

Love these! They are so elegant looking. Every little girl needs some in her room!! I am featuring them as part of the Spring has Sprung Party at Fun to Craft. Come by and snag a featured button. Thanks for sharing it!!

Lenetta April 10, 2010 at 9:50 PM  

Wow, this is wonderful! I linked on last weekend's weekly roundup and am just now (yikes!) finally getting around to comment. I never made a mobile for my daughter... maybe if we're blessed again I can whip one up! Thanks so much for sharing -

Anonymous April 14, 2010 at 2:00 PM  

I'm picking my jaw up off the floor.

Amazing, freakin amazing.

Love it love it love it.

Sheri@childmade.com May 12, 2010 at 9:14 AM  

So very cute!! You did a great job! Thanks for sharing ... I've posted a link.

Laura Argelati June 2, 2010 at 4:37 AM  

I love this project!!

Laura from Italy

blog n' tell June 15, 2010 at 10:23 PM  

This is a sweet idea for baby's room.

Alyssa June 16, 2010 at 10:20 AM  

these are a-mazing! seriously!
Love them and want to make a ton of them!

Alyssa
http://lifeoflyssie.com

Anonymous June 16, 2010 at 1:10 PM  

That is such a great idea! I never would have known those were made with a wiffle ball. Genius!

the mama monster June 16, 2010 at 1:50 PM  

what a fabulous idea! thanks for sharing.

Et June 17, 2010 at 7:47 AM  

I love this project. I have to talk one of my friends into having a little girl so i can make it for them. :)

I stopped by from the CSI project link.

Fallan June 17, 2010 at 10:48 AM  

Aww this is so CUTE! I like how you used crepe paper. That is something I always forget to try to use. I think you could do a lot with the rose covered balls. Great idea!
Saw this on The CSI Project =)

Anonymous June 17, 2010 at 1:35 PM  

These are adorable! Love it. on my to do list! Thanks for the tutorial!

Kara Henry June 17, 2010 at 3:49 PM  

Wow, this is just beautiful! I adore them. I want to put them everywhere in my house.

Home-Mom June 28, 2010 at 11:32 PM  

straight adorable! I can imagine these all over my girl's ceiling

Mimi from Peachy Papaya July 29, 2010 at 9:12 AM  

This is sooooo cute...

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