Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth from E Tells Tales. I am so excited to have her guest posting with us today!
Hi there everybody, I'm Elizabeth! I'm visiting today from my blog
E Tells Tales.
This is me and my son, Everett...and our Christmas tree, but of course:
We are so pleased to be here! Especially since we're going to be talking
about one of Everett's favorite things, his nursery mobile.
Today I'm going to be showing you how to make your own paper circle mobile,
When I made his, I was large and in charge pregnant to the max. I parked
myself on a stool and cut circles, tied knots, and ate food all day long. The one
I made for this tutorial went super quickly, but I did still have to park myself
on a stool...aaaand there might have been food involved again.
Anyway, here's what you'll need:
+ 6 sheets of cardstock
{I used two sheets each of three different greens to get a monochromatic look}
+ fishing line
+ one button
{I used a clear, two-hole button}
+ scissors
+ sewing needle
+ glue gun
+ a length of string
+ two wooden dowels
{I used 3/16 inch}
1. Start by cutting out your circles. I used a mason jar lid and a hairspray cap to draw mine.
If you want all the same color, just cut out 54 small circles and 41 big circles,
or if you want cascading shades like mine, use this guide to tell you how many to cut out:
2. Cross your wooden dowels, and use your length of string to secure them in the middle.
3. Now cut four 24" lengths of fishing line.
You will tie one end of each length to the end of a dowel.
Then dot the knot you make with some hot glue.
4. Once you have all four pieces of fishing line knotted to your dowels,
gather the free ends of your lines and string them through one hole
in your button. Tie a knot in the four lines on the other side of the button.
You'll use this button to hang your mobile eventually.
5. Now organize your circles. There is only one center chain, and it is the longest.
Then you'll have three chains per arm. This picture shows a flat view of
what will hang from one dowel.
The chains that will hang from the other dowel will follow the
same pattern, except there will be no center chain
(the two dowels meet in the middle and share the same center chain).
6. Cut a 30-inch piece of fishing line.
Thread it through a sewing needle and tie a big knot at the end.
String on the bottom circle.
7. Tie another loose knot about 1-2 inches from the bottom circle.
I used my fingers as a spacer and knotted the line on my index finger.
If you want a more compact mobile, leave less space in between each circle.
If you want a longer mobile, use more space.
8. Once you get one chain all strung together, tie it on the dowels according to this guide:
The longest, center chain will go where the center black dot is.
The four shortest chains will go where the outer black dots are.
And then you'll work your way up to the longer ones moving inward.
Once I tied a chain onto the mobile,
I put a dab of hot glue over the knot to secure it.
Here's my finished project for the day:
It's much longer than the one I made for Everett's nursery because
I put four fingers of space in between each knot as opposed to two.
Thanks everyone...I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
and thanks again to you, Elizabeth!
Happy Thursday everyone!
Read more...
