Remember how we mentioned in our Charlotte window shopping post that we found inspiration for our nursery mobile at a charming little shop called Lucy & Co? Well, after talking to the incredibly inspiring designer of the yellow butterfly mobiles we learned that all it took to whip them up was some floral wire, some yellow fabric butterflies, and some glue. Sounds doable, right? But instead of butterflies we decided to brainstorm a few other “things” that could appear to be swarming around in a ball above our baby girl’s head. John kept harping on bees because they were on our homemade wedding invitations…
… but I thought that might be a bit terrifying. Bees in the nursery? Yikes. We finally settled on small yellow and pink blooms after we slipped through Micheal’s to check out what they had on hand. We were crazy about the small feathery little florets that we could pop right off of the stems and we loved the idea of adding some yellow and pink to our soft green and aqua palette. Plus they were buy one get one free, so for $8 we picked up two giant bunches of faux hydrangea blooms (one bunch in yellow and one bunch in pink).
We also picked up some silver floral wire to the tune of a few bucks. Then we parked our butts on the couch in front of the TV and watched The Celebrity Apprentice while we messed around with the floral wire and tried to create three orbs that we could cover with a swarm of hydrangea blossoms. This step of the process was sheer trial and error. We started by making a few loops of wire to establish the size of the sphere and then gradually took it from a 2-D circle into a 3-D ball-shaped mass of wire while Burger watched with suspicious half-closed eyes (see his legs below).
In the end our little orbs turned out feathery and haphazard and semi-ethereal. We could definitely work with them and we were sure to make one big beach-ball sized one along with one that was about the size of a cantaloupe and one that was somewhere in between. And as you can see from the image below, we left a few wires feathering out from the sphere for a light and airy look (once we glued the flowers on). Note: we later removed the little wire handle that we created on the top of the orb (stay tuned for more hanging details).
After we made all three wire spheres we got to work popping off the blooms from each individual stem on our faux hydrangea bouquet (by this time we were watching The Amazing Race- this is one of those takes-a-while-but-you-can-do-it-kind-of-on-auto-pilot projects).
Each individual flower came off with a bit of a hollow nub in the back, which used to slide over the stem to keep it in place.
So in order to attach our flowers to the wire, John geniusly suggested that we use an Exacto knife to cut each of the nubs vertically up the center about a centimeter, which created a forked pincher that we could dab with some glue and slip over the wire to adhere them to our spheres. And it worked! The pincher held it in place long enough for the glue to dry and really secure it for the long haul. So the forked flower nub + a dab of glue was all it took to secure each of our blossoms, which we clustered around each sphere randomly for a charming unplanned and not too overly balanced look. Oh and we used Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue (which we already had laying around) as our glue of choice since it’s non-toxic and water-based (both good selling points for anything that will live in a nursery).
Then we dug three small white ceiling hooks out of our screws/nails/etc drawer (they can be found at any hardware store or even at Target if you don’t have them on hand) and John drilled three tiny pilot holes into the ceiling. It was helpful to whip out the drill just to get things started since it’s hard to have great leverage when you’re trying to screw something into the ceiling. Oh and as for placement we just suspended each orb with regular old white sewing thread and John moved them around until we decided on the best three spots for our hooks. Again, we went the trial and error route.
And here they are all hung up on those white hooks with nothing more than white thread keeping them suspended. We love that the thread is so hard to see that they almost appear to float in the room. We definitely wanted them to look light and airy (and we love that we had the thread on hand so it was f-r-e-e). As for how we staggered them, again we just experimented with different lengths of string and kept stepping back to see what looked best. In the end we loved that none of our orbs were exactly the same size and that they were all hung at slightly different heights- just to keep things interesting.
Here’s more of a detail shot for you. See how invisible the string is? And how those little offshoots of wire ended up looking really whimsical and sweet once we added some blooms? Plus we love the fun shadows that they cast on the wall. Who knows, maybe the beanette will stare at those more than the actual mobiles.
And we mentioned that we removed those large wire “handles” that we initially made in favor of just pinching the wire in a spot on the orb (just a bit) to create a much smaller and less obvious place to loop the white thread around. Thankfully, it worked like a charm.
And although you’re probably assuming that we hung them over the crib, we actually opted to place them over the changing pad above our newly refinished dresser since that wall was looking a little bare (and we already had a great mirror on the wall above the crib to bounce around a lot of light from the window across the room and serve as a fun and colorful shape for Baby P to gaze at). Of course our new trio of homemade mobiles might look a bit high and a smidge off-center but we have other plans for that wall as a whole so you’ll have to stay tuned for those details…
And speaking of our changing table pad, we wanted to share how easily we secured it to the dresser using the screw & snap system that came with it. See the screw that I’m holding in the photo below? It has a large and super firm snap on the back of it, so you just have to secure it to the back of the dresser in line with wherever you want your pad to be placed…
… and screw it firmly into place…
And then you can snap your changing pad so that it’s fixed for the long haul (there was one snap-screw that we attached for each end of the pad so it’s wiggle proof and extra secure).
And you may have noticed our little blue fan. We have heard time and time again that good air circulation (ie: a fan in the nursery) can cut down on SIDS and make for a comfortable and happy baby- so we invested in a cute (and finger-tip-safe) Deco Breeze fan for the other side of the dresser that we can easily aim right at the nearby crib to cool down the beanette. We love how it looks with everything from the aqua ceiling and chandelier to our printed curtains (and you get a little sneak peek of another nursery furnishing that we’ll elaborate more on later in the background below).
So that’s how we made a fun little three-sphered mobile to hang above the changing table pad that we secured with some simple hardware. Oh and if you’re wondering where we got the changing pad cover, it’s actually from the same place where we got our organic aqua crib sheets (the changing pad cover is also organic, and we thought the price was pretty darn good). What about you guys? Have you ever made a mobile? Any tips or project ideas to share with the group? Any other changing-table-safety methods that you’ve implemented? Do tell.
Psst- Wanna see our nursery progress from the very beginning? Here’s our painting post, our big shopping spree, our crib hunting rundown, our curtain-making tutorial, our fun little chair search, our mirror-painting extravaganza, our DIY faux sheepskin project, our big dresser makeover (and subsequent drawer lining project), our closet makeover, and our homemade crib skirt undertaking. Good times.
Shanna says
Hi Sherry-
This is unrelated to the adorable flower mobile you made, but where did you/how did you find your graphics to use for your wedding invitations? I’ve been looking for graphics similar to those with a more rustic feel, but I feel like I’m at a dead end.
Thanks! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Shanna,
We googled around like crazy and then actually ended up “building” them in photoshop (since the similar topiaries that we hunted down weren’t high res enough). Therefore, we sort of cut out the shapes and filled them in with color to create crisper visuals based on the images we found via google (the cool part of that project was that we could refine them and tweak them to work with our vision since we were coloring them in and reshaping them). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Car says
Good gracious, I LOVE it! You talented people!!! We are on the verge of moving and your ideas just give me the bug to decorate…NOW! I hate being patient. :)
Rachel P, says
I just wanted to tell you both how wonderful I think it is you are setting up a space just for your baby. I have never had the blessing of a nursery for any of our babies (I am expecting our third and our first girl). It’s a pleasure to watch how you plan this room just for her. Congratulations!
Kelli says
OMG! LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I can’t wait to try :)
Thanks guys!!!!!
Sunny's Life in Rehab says
If I may recommend for Kelly’s mirror project, Goop is really dimensional and great for shells. It’s about $4 a tube at the hardware store.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the suggestion Sunny!
xo,
s
The Virginia House says
You guys are amazing! I love how it turned out. It made me smile when you mentioned her liking the shadows. My 3 year old son has always been fascinated with shadows and to this day can hardly walk without running into something cause he’s so busy looking at his shadow. Love how the room is shaping up.
Jenny D. says
Kelly, E6000 glue would hold the shells! It is amazingly strong stuff. It is really stinky though, so make sure you use it outside. I recently picked up a tube at Micheal’s (with a 40% off coupon!). Hope that helps!
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip Jenny. Thanks for sharing!
xo,
s
Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog says
Aww, I’m sure she’ll love it!! I wasn’t quite sure where you were going with it at first, but it turned out amazing!
I really like Dollar Tree’s $1 fake flowers. I did a little diy necklace with some this past weekend:
http://www.thriftylittleblog.com/2010/03/anthro-necklace-knockoff.html
Now, you’re making me think of all the crafting possibilites they might have :).
Meghan Morrow says
Hi guys – love your blog…it is so inspiring. I made a mobile for our son’s room. I really loved the Birds of a Feather mobile from here:
http://www.modernnursery.com/itemsDetail.cfm/item_num/IGE-BF
I wanted to make a cheaper version of this that incorporated squirrels and acorns. I bought some Balsa wood, drew out the design, and started cutting with the exacto knife. I then stained the wood with some stain I had around the house. Finally, I found some acorns to place in the mouths of the squirrels…you can see details here!
http://meghanmarymorrow.blogspot.com/2009/09/mobile-little-jacked-up-but-finally.html
Cheers!
~meghan
Katie says
This is awesome and so adorable! It’s good you hung it high because she will eventually be sitting up and grabbing at stuff! Don’t know if you read dooce.com or follow her posts on the HGTV’s Design Happens blog, but she put some butterflies on the wall above her daughter’s changing pad and most of them have now been torn off. :-) By the way, Heather (Dooce) mentioned your blog in a list of design blogs that she reads on a post to a thread on her community site. Fishing line or clear thread that would also work great and not be visible.
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow, Heather Armstrong reads our blog? Insane!
xo,
s
Kitsch Krafts says
FABULOUS!!! Love it!
Katie says
Oh, yeah, and it would be interesting to see the mobile from the point-of-view of Baby P, so we can see it against the aqua ceiling!
Katie says
Sherry, here is the link to Heather’s list:
http://community.dooce.com/home-garden/heather-im-moving-fab-new-house-and-need-your-help-decorating-if-i-send-photos-would-you
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! We’re blushing over here. I even called John at work to tell him the news. Craziness!
xo,
s
Tiffany says
Very cute, I love the effect of the flowers suspended in the air. Like a comic strip or cartoons when flowers swirl around the people.
Kara says
awesome mobile!! a cousin made my daughter’s mobile, it is beautiful… fabric birds perched on branches… but it seemed super hard and for the life of me I don’t think I could make one myself! ;) I am going to log this away for possible future nurseries :) I cannot wait to see how the whole room comes together. you all are rockstars!
Angela says
I LOVE the mobile! It’s gorgeous! I think I might make one just to hang as a decoration in my living room — I love how light and airy and delicately colorful it is.
Rachael says
Another thing I’d suggest you add to your nursery: a small space heater. That way you don’t have to worry about having either a freezing baby or a baby at risk of suffocating in blankets. Plus, our last two babies have slept SO much better than the first, since they’ve been toasty warm and the drone of the space heater makes great white noise! (and this also means that if the rest of your house is cold in winter, you don’t have to pay extra $$$ to crank up the heat to keep the baby’s room warm!
Karla says
Great idea and I agree with Katie – seeing it from the baby’s perspective would be a great photo. Securing the changing pad is fabulous until your baby decides to start rolling over and reaching around the back of the bureau to pull it off – at least that is what my one year old is currently doing!
Karla
Audrey says
I think above the changing table is a great place to hang the mobiles. My daughter totally ignores the mobile above her crib, but she loves the moon and stars hanging over her changing table!
Julia says
Where did you get the changing pad? That is what I am looking for, something to put on top of our dresser one day those snaps are awesome! Do they all come with those?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Julia,
This is the exact changing pad that we registered for and received from our thoughtful friends and family members: http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16163350&
It’s definitely not cheap (since it’s 100% organic) but many of the standard changing pads are substantially more affordable and also come with those snaps (just check out your local baby store and see if they’re included in the packaging). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
erica says
that is SO ADORABLE! you guys never cease to amaze me with your creativity and craftiness!!!
Diana says
I have to say I disagree with the masses here, I’m not a big fan of the mobiles. You were very crafty and creative, and I like the idea of a mobile over the changing table, but the baby wont be able to see them until her eyes develop fully. It’s just too far away without enough contrast. I can see these in a young girl’s room though.
Kelly at A Lovely Space says
I have to admit, even though I pretty much adore everything you guys do, I was a little bit skeptical about this one (imagine me standing next to Burger with identical squinty-eyed skepticism). But you totally won me over with this project! I L-O-V-E it!!!! The flowers are so light and airy – I’d love to see the way it moves when the fan is on.
Well done again, youngsters! :-)
Angela says
Very cute! You guys are creative!
One note though, babies, especially infants, like to be warm, not cool. They just came out of the womb, you know? It’s toasty in there!
YoungHouseLove says
Not to worry, we won’t be freezing our baby! We’ll definitely bundle her up and keep her the suggested body temperature (not too cold and not too hot). We can do it!
xo,
s
Maggie says
SO cute!!!
I’ve recently become aware of your AMAZING blog (spent a recent Saturday night reading ALL of the posts!) and am in love with everything you both do. I’m especially in awe of your creativity! Thank you!!!
VickyJ says
Looking for some hanging airy floral orbs for our wedding reception and I might just have to steal this idea. We are using hydrangeas as the flowers, may add lights or flickering non-flame candles since it will be in a tree filled setting into the evening. So pretty and fresh!
Katelyn Likes This says
Wow, so cute. I usually cringe at the thought of fake flowers, but that looks super pretty!
Jennifer M says
Beautiful, beautiful. Just one question…where did you find your fan? I love the color and vintage vibe, and I’ve been looking for something similar for my own bedroom (my hubbie “needs” a fan on him at night, no matter how cold it is otherwise!)
YoungHouseLove says
Check out the bottom of the post for a link to where we got the fan (hint: amazon.com). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Misty says
Hi Sherry! It’s me again! You have convinced me to make some unique curtains for my place. Since I have never done this before, I was wondering if you could give me some pointers?
Firstly, how many yards did it take to make your nursery curtains? And are there any great (and inexpensive) online sources to get fabric? I live in a very small town with no fabric stores for quite some many many miles!
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We love fabric.com and even ikea.com (which sells fabric) along with etsy.com and ebay (two other great sources). As for how many yards we needed for our curtains, we just measured from the floor to the ceiling (8 feet) and used the width of the fabric as the width of each panel (therefore we figured we could get one window panel out of a bit less than three yards of fabric). We actually calculated that we needed 8 feet for each window curtain and 7 feet for the closet curtain (for a total of 23 feet of fabric altogether). So we purchased eight yards (which left us with some extra fabric for other possible future projects). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
pendy says
The hanging mobiles…fabulous! Love that they look like petals are just suspended in the air. Your baby will be captivated.
Also love the fan; I’d not ever heard that about air circulation. I have an old fan (very cool looking) but unfortunately it’s so old that the protective (ha) grill has spaces about two or three inches wide…someone could lose an entire hand in it.
Gloria says
So creative, but of course, it came from the two of you. Your beanette is one lucky little gal!
Heather says
Where did you get that 2 drawer storage chest with the baskets? (last picture, under window)
Angelica says
I love this idea! I’m actually preggers too, due May 3! It’s crazy how soon it’s coming up.. my husband and I have been busy fixing up our house that we bought last year, but we are FINALLY getting started on the nursery (yikes, late, I know). Anyway, I will share photos when I have time, but just wanted to comment on the mobile idea, which is fabulous. Do you all know if it’s a boy or girl?
YoungHouseLove says
Heather- That’s just a sneak peek so stay tuned for a post with a lot more info about where we got that side table with the baskets in the background of the fan shot.
Angelica- Yup, it’s a girl! Can’t wait to meet her in seven weeks!
xo,
s
Tracey Dunham says
This is such a brilliant idea- not only to use in a baby’s room but for any other room in the house as well. Reading your blog inspires me to put your advice to use in my own home and for when I become an Interior Designer.
:) Tracey
Lynda says
Your nursery becomes more beautiful with each project, and the mobiles are absolutely devine!
You asked for change mat advice, so as a mum of 3 here’s mine- invest in some cloth nappies to line your lovely organic covered mat with, unfortunately there will be mess, and your cover will spend most of it’s life in the laundry. I love the look of the set up you have, but as your bubba gets older and heavier the twist involved to get baby on and off the mat could be a strain on your back (think uncooperative babe!) We ended up with an traditional change table with storage underneath and raised sides. As your child starts to move and especially for toddlers, it’s a lifesaver!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the advice Lynda!
xo,
s
Krista says
Love the mobile! I wish I had thought of something like that when I did my daughters nursery last year. Who knows…. its never to late to add something :)
Good call on the placement of it over the change table. I don’t even have a mobile in my nursery but I think above the change table is a good place to hang it. Once Baby P is able to roll over you will want something there to keep her attention :)
Amy says
When are you guys going to sneak in another baby bump pic? We haven’t seen one in a long time it seems like!
YoungHouseLove says
We shared a crazy bump pic pretty recently on Facebook (where we get more personal than the ol’ blog since we try to focus on home improvement). But maybe we’ll try to work one into the big nursery reveal. That seems like it would be appropriate, right?
xo,
s
Jessica says
I love this!! I made a mobile for my daughter out of a cross stitch/fabric loop (wooden circle hoop thing?) and lots of pretty mis-matched ribbon. It now hangs from her ceiling fan light pull and she loves when we carry her through the dangling ribbons — not to mention she can pull the ribbons and turn the light on and off by herself when we’re holding her (lots of fun for a 1 1/2 year old). I have another bun in the oven and we find out the sex next week so maybe I’ll stral your mobile idea if it’s another girl! :)
Molly Star says
Why not paint the hooks the same color as the ceiling so they blend in more?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Molly Star,
Great idea! We actually tossed that suggestion around but haven’t gotten around to breaking out the paint yet. Call it late pregnancy laziness…
xo,
s
Nita says
While I absolutely ADORE pretty much everything you guys do/design/craft/what have you…I’m just not digging this project, sorry :/ Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of fake flowers? I dunno. I dig the concept, but for some reason it doesn’t feel like it goes with the entire nursery feel/decor.
erica Stinziani says
This is fabulous!!!!!!!!! Really creative solution to the mobile!
Brandy says
Pretty! Fishing line is also great to hang things that you want to appear to be floating!
Annalea says
Since there is strong evidence that SIDS is caused by the gasses produced by common fungi breaking down the fire retardants in conventional mattresses, your beanette has very very very low chances of SIDS. I’m so glad that Savvy Rest sent you an organic crib mattress. :o)
And I LOVE the flower mobiles. They’re wonderful! (Makes me want to get an ultrasound so I know what color to make mine . . . )
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
Those floral, airy mobiles are too sweet. Got any ideas for a boy’s mobile? Not necessarily a baby mobile but for a kid’s room? I would love to try something like that.
And I have fan envy. I was so sure you were going to say you found it at a thrift store…it looks vintage! Can’t wait to see the rest… patience, Dana, patience.
YoungHouseLove says
Dana- Hmm, for a bigger boy’s room you could do something fun with planets floating around the sun or what about those flying dinosaurs (pterodactyls?). Maybe take inspiration from whatever his interests are (soccer? cars? science?) and go from there? You’re so creative you’ll have no problem coming up with something amazing I’m sure.
Taylor- We definitely plan to include some updated belly shots for everyone on bump watch- perhaps with the big nursery reveal. Stay tuned! And we share them a bit more often on Facebook (since we like to keep things home focused over here but get a little more personal over there) so feel free to check in on FB from time to time for more belly pics.
xo,
s
Taylor says
So what’s weirder- real-life strangers petting your belly, or Internet strangers wanting photos of the belly??
Personally, I would never touch a pregnant person’s belly if I didn’t know her extremely well, but I must admit I’m feeling a bit creepy bc I’m dying to see a belly update :)
Jenny@AnythingPretty says
Oh wow! I love the mobile and it adds so much to the room. Definitively added to my “to-make whenever we have a baby list.” Thanks for the inspiration!
kelsy says
i love this idea! it turned out perfect! now i am left wondering… where in my house do i need some ethereal floating floral balls?
Emily says
Very cute mobile!
I’m wondering where you got he changing pad with screw-snap attachment? it seems like a great idea for turning any dresser int o a changing table without all the retrofitting fuss of adding a second top!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Emily,
Scroll back through the comments for that info along with a direct link to the exact changing pad we got. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
KK says
This looks fantastic! Make sure you send this post to the sweet lady we met at Lucy & Co. She will no doubt be very impressed with your design. XO
YoungHouseLove says
Good idea! We’ll have to shoot the link her way.
xo,
s
Ashley says
It’s so beautiful!!!! Great job!