Throwback Thursday: Butterfly Mobile

This Thursday, I’m reposting the butterfly mobile I made Princess Thundercloud last Christmas.  The photos aren’t the best, but the movers had packed up the mobile before I decided to revisit this post…so use your imagination, please!

It really is a fun, colorful, and very pretty addition to her room…especially when a slight breeze catches it and flutters the butterflies. If you’re looking for a kid project, they can certainly help out with this…the boys helped me make this one.

I saw something similar at Pottery Barn Kids quite awhile ago, but didn’t wanted to pay their price for it. This cost about $5 to make, and it took about 2 hours total work time, over a day or so. She only naps an hour a day, so I had to do it in shifts!

I first cut out a ton of butterflies using both my Stampin’ Up! Big Shot and the Beautiful Butterflies die and their Butterfly punch. Actually, my husband and boys used the punch, so they could claim credit for making her a gift.

I used Stampin’ Up!’s Kaleidoscope DSP, which is retired. I wanted double-sided so I didn’t have to glue the butterflies back-to-back.

Then I laid them “randomly” in about 2 1/2’ long columns. Okay, you know me, it wasn’t really random at all. I made a pattern, staggering it in each column. Then I put a dot of Crystal Effects (also Stampin’ Up!) in the center of each. I cut monofilament cord (the kind I use for jewelry making, but fishing string would work, too) about 3 feet long and taped each end. Then I nudged the butterflies over so the glue was embedded in the string. It really was easy. The glue sets after a few minutes, so the string stuck readily.

I made 11 strings to go around a 14 inch embroidery hoop.

When the butterflies were dry, I wrapped each string around the inner hoop a couple of times and taped them. Then I put a bead of glue around the inside of the outer hoop and tightened it onto the inner hoop. My husband had to help with that, since it was a little hard to balance. I didn’t want to lay the strings down, as they tangle easily.

I let that dry overnight, hanging in the basement. Then I tied ribbon on to hang it and glued butterflies all around the outside of the hoop. And ta-da! It’s done. I put it back on a hook in the basement until Christmas, again because the strings tangle and I didn’t want to spend Christmas Day freeing butterflies.

I like it better than PB Kids’, because theirs was a solid color. Light pink or white, I think. This is much more fitting for my wild little three-year-old.

My husband was really impressed, too. In fact, his exact words were, “Wow…I’m surprised that turned out so great!” Really, after knowing me for over 25 years, he’s still surprised when an idea works out the way I thought it would?