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Making Everyday Beautiful

DIY Spring Butterfly Mobile

Friday, April 15, 2011


This butterfly mobile is made from nothing more than a piece of cardboard & various scraps of paper & other easy to find items. Read on to find out how you can make your own. 



Begin by gathering the supplies pictured below. To simplify this project, a sewing machine & a butterfly punch would be helpful, but are not necessary. I didn’t have either available so a needle and thread and some handcut butterflies worked just as well. You’re also going to need a glue gun or other form of adhesive (not pictured).


Now you can cut or punch out your butterflies from the papers you’ve chosen. I used a mixture of My Minds Eye & Making Memories paper, pages from an old book, this printable music sheet & some cardstock. I used this Martha Stewart butterfly punch as a guide to draw out my own butterfly template, but if you have a butterfly punch on hand {lucky you!}grab it & start punchin’.
………………………….

Once you have a large selection of butterflies you can start stitching them together by hand or use your sewing machine  to form a strand filled with them as shown below. I varied the number of butterflies I put on each strand between 6-9 on each. Be sure to leave an extra bit of thread at the top of each strand so you can tie them to the mobile.


Now you can start making the framework of the mobile. Cut a strip of thin cardboard approximately 1 1/4 inches wide and however long you wish – depends how large you want your mobile to be.  I just used the backing from a pad of paper we had kicking around for this. To create the scallop edge you could use large scallop edge scissors, a scallop border punch, etc. I don’t have any of those things on hand so I used a bottle cap to trace a series of half circles along the edge of the cardboard strip. I then cut them out, forming the scallop edge & using a regular hole puch made a hole inside each half circle to create the faux eyelet border. Next, attach the ends of the cardboard strip
together to form a hoop.


Now punch four evenly spaced holes along the top edge of the hoop and using thread or other string, attach four lengths to the cardboard by tieing through each hole. Once you’ve attached each string to the top of the hoop trim each one so they’re all even in length and secure them together. I simply tied them all in a knot, making sure the knot fell in the center of the hoop so the mobile would hang level. Now you can begin tieing the strands of butterflies to the hoop through the eyelet holes you punched earlier. Once you’ve attached all the strands of butterflies it’s time to stand back and enjoy your lovely creation perfect for hanging in a baby’s room, a little girls room or elsewhere in your home to add a little touch of Spring!
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Rebecca

Rebecca

Rebecca Cooper is a 42-year-old wife and mother of four from Alberta, Canada. As a photographer, crafter, author, and blogger, she finds joy and fulfillment in celebrating everyday moments. She loves to read and eat chocolate, and is a firm believer in afternoon naps. Rebecca shares her family’s adventures, photo tips, simple craft projects + more right here at Simple as That.
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Filed Under: Crafts / DIY

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Just Rhonda says

    Friday, April 15, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    SO cute Rebecca!!!!!

    Reply
  2. Margaret says

    Friday, April 15, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    This is adorable. I may have to try this for my daughters room.

    Reply
  3. Laura Ingalls Gunn says

    Friday, April 15, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    I absolutely adore this project! I am hosting a Springtime Craft and Project linky party today and I would love it if you would particpate.

    There is a giveaway involved. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Nicole says

    Friday, April 15, 2011 at 5:26 pm

    Beautiful. What a lovely mobile.

    Reply
  5. BeingBrook says

    Friday, April 15, 2011 at 11:33 pm

    So pretty! Love the mobile.

    Reply
  6. soapdeli says

    Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 9:21 pm

    That mobile is just SUPER cute!
    http://www.soapdelinews.com

    Reply
  7. jfb57 says

    Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 10:27 pm

    This is just gorgeous! Not sure if I have mentioned the Resource Centre but this idea would be ideal! I do hope you will pop it on! http://bit.ly/hslnGH

    Julia

    Reply
  8. {nifty thrifty things} says

    Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 11:48 am

    What a great and thrifty idea!! I love the mobile!
    I would love for you to link up at my first linky party! 🙂
    {nifty thrifty sunday}
    xoxo,
    Vanessa

    Reply
  9. Leah says

    Monday, April 18, 2011 at 11:10 pm

    It is beautiful – I can’t believe you cut all those butterflies out by hand! I assumed they were punched, and now I’m even more impressed.

    Reply
  10. CraftCrave says

    Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 3:19 am

    Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [23 Apr 01:00am GMT]. Thanks, Maria

    Reply
  11. April says

    Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 3:27 am

    So cute-love the colors!

    Reply
  12. {nifty thrifty things} says

    Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 8:25 am

    I’ll be featuring your super-cute mobile at tomorrow’s link party!
    Thank you so much for linking up to {nifty thrifty sunday}! I would love if you stopped by tomorrow and share more of your cute projects! 🙂
    xoxo,
    Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things}

    Reply
  13. Nike says

    Monday, April 25, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Popping in from Nifty Thrifty Things-
    Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Had to add this to my pinterest board for my girls’ room.
    ~Nike@Thrive
    [email protected]

    Reply
  14. Linda@CraftaholicsAnonymous says

    Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 2:04 am

    So cute REbecca! great tutorial! thumbs up!
    happy crafting,
    Linda
    PS i just remembered i haven’t responded to your email yet. yikes! sorry. will do asap!

    Reply
  15. Wanessa Moore says

    Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    This post was featured on truecharismacrafts.blogspot.com
    Check it out!

    Reply

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Rebecca Cooper — Founder, Simple as That Blog

Hello, I'm Rebecca. Welcome to my blog, Simple as That. Come along as we embrace simplicity in crafting, photography, travel, and family life. Read more about me.

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