Mobiles?

I realize this is a little random, but flipping through my most recent Lucky Magazine I came across the most beautiful, natural looking, handmade feather & wood mobile.  It immediately inspired me with the thought of trying to replicate it for my mudroom (maybe to go with my big beehive when I finally hang it?!).  Although, with my love for design combined with both my love for my son & the addition of several new babies in our friends'/families' lives, I guess it really isn't all that random!  Here are some mobile ideas, starting with my inspiration for this post...

FEATHERS!
The January Lucky featured a beautiful feather mobiles from the site SHOPAfterAll. I must be into feathers lately! They have a few gorgeous feather mobiles, but my two favorites are the Pyramid Mobile ($225) and the Hanger Mobile ($150). I think it's pretty self-explanatory which one is which...

 {Above photos courtesy of SHOPAfterAll}

I saved some twigs from the batches I collected for my holiday decorations and didn't spray them silver - I'm thinking they'll be perfect for this project.  And in my many trips to JoAnn Fabrics prior to the holidays, I know they have some pretty feather options to choose from.

CARD STOCK! (Plus other goodies for custom looks!)
It took me awhile of searching mobles to find one that I liked for Baby B's nursery.  I really wanted something modern and colorful.  I discovered Frazier & Wing and their variety of handmade, modern mobiles and garlands.  Their card stock mobiles range from $75 - $200.  Here are a few pics...

They also make custom one-of-a-kind mobiles, a few shown below.  I'd love to make something like this one here with the branch, card stock, and poms, and it looks like some beads, too...

{All above photos courtesy of Frazier & Wing}

FOAM!
Although the Frazier & Wing mobiles were quite unique, they were a bit more than I wanted to spend.  I did lots of looking on Etsy and finally settled on something from The Wonderland Studio, made from aluminum wire & foam.  With names like Constellation, Nebula, Supernova, & Milky Way, they are modern, colorful, and very reasonably priced depending on the model and size you choose (they start at $32 but go up over $100).  Here are a few of the MANY to choose from (and this Etsy shop is based out of New England)...

This is the one I have over Bentley's crib, The Nebula Mobile in Tropical Spice...

{All above photos courtesy of The Wonderland Studio}

YARN!

When I was poking around one of my FAV blogs the other day, Spearmint Baby, I came across this cute yarn mobile.

{Photo courtesy of Spearmint Baby}

On Shari's post, she cleverly thought of using a variety of styrofoam balls from Michael's/JoAnn's and wrapping them with yarn for the solid balls.  It just so happened that when I was watching The Nate Berkus Show the other day, he was doing some simple, fun crafts with actress Amy Sedaris and they were making yarn balls, similar to the hollowed version in the above mobile.  Nate was using what looked like jute and making them for a dining table centerpiece, but I thought of this mobile immediately.  For the hollowed balls in the mobile: 1) blow up balloons to the size you want, 2) dip your yarn in a 1-to-1 mixture of glue and water, 3) wrap your balloon with as much or as little yarn as you would like, and 4) once dry, pop and remove the balloon. 

{Photos courtesy of The Nate Berkus Show website}

For the mobile above, I bet you could use fishing line or some other sturdy (maybe a pretty metallic) threading to attach, arrange, and hang your mobile.  I think this would be another fun one to recreate, but I need one of my preggers friends to want one or else I have no reason to attempt this one right now!

METALLIC FOIL!

The always trusty Martha Stewart featured this pretty gem in her December 2010 issue, the Metallic Foil Paillette Tree Mobile.  Although this one wouldn't work for a nursery, it would certainly be doable as a holiday decoration or maybe even a children's playroom if created & hung very safely.  Martha features step-by-step instructions on her website ~ CLICK HERE for Step #'s 1-3; CLICK HERE for Step #'s 4-5.

{Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart's website}

Last, one of the most simple ideas is to hang paper pom pom's above a crib or elsewhere in a baby's nursery.  These guys also make great decorations for parties - for either children or adults, especially for weddings (my friend filled the tent she was married under with paper poms!).  I was set on hanging some poms in Bentley's nursery but my hubby drew the line - he has let me design this ENTIRE house from top to bottom, aside from most of the lighting (although I usually pick the fixtures and then he'll approve based on ceiling height, etc.), and also the "technology" (speakers 'n stuff) so I caved.  But I have them sitting in a basket on the floor for now, just for a pop of color. Etsy has TONS of shops that carry poms, price per # of poms (you can get singles or I've seen bundles of up to 40) vary but the biggest difference I've noticed is lead time since they are handmade.  Fiesta Pom Pom usually has a quick turnaround (the shops will have it posted).  Anywho, my first inspiration for this idea was the FAB Holly at Life in the Fun Lane, in her daughter's room...

{Photo courtesy of Life in the Fun Lane}

Here are a couple of snapshots of Bentley's nursery, where you can see I used a pom pom for an accessory on a shelf for a pop of color, and the basket of poms in the corner of his room...

Until he was born I plopped one in his crib for another pop of color (you can see part of his Nebula mobile from The Wonderland Studio here, too)...

So, that feather mobile REALLY inspired me and I wanted to share some ideas for mobiles with you.  Hope you enjoyed, especially if you have a lil one on the way!

~E