Categories:
Boy's Room, Design Ideas, Disney, DIY, Free Curated Rooms, Playroom, Rooms, Stencils, Toy Story
Categories:
Art, Design Ideas, Disney, DIY, Free Curated Rooms, Girl's Room, Rooms, Stencils, Toy Story
Categories:
Art, Design Ideas, Disney, DIY, Free Curated Rooms, Girl's Room, Rooms, Stencils, Toy Story
Categories:
Design Ideas, DIY, Etsy, Rooms, Toy Story
Twinkling Hot Air Balloon Mobile: DIY
I love the mobile I made for my son’s room: Dreamland Odyssey Boy’s Nursery. I wanted to use handkerchiefs in the room somehow (Reminds me of my Papa). I have also been excited by how candles can now be used in kid’s rooms and nurseries now that we have electronic ones. I thought of making a mobile of hot air balloons using handkerchiefs and electronic candles. This idea was particularly special because one set of grandparents live in Albuquerque and we go down for the balloon fiesta every year. My favorite part is the glow. This is where you go at night and watch all the balloons light up with fire. I wanted to recreate that magic in my little one’s room.
It was difficult to figure out how to make this work. I decided to try to use bouncy balls to put the candles in and then cover those with the handkerchiefs. I had no idea if the remote for the candles would work through the balls, and it was extremely difficult to find balls and handkerchiefs that were the right size so that the handkerchief would cover the right amount of the ball. I found little disposable ramekins for the baskets. I was going to use a mobile kit, but I couldn’t find one. I ended up making my own out of willow branches. I like how this looks better anyway.
After working all this out, it was for sure an adventure making the mobile. It took my mom and I all day. We used a lot of creative problem solving. The best tool turned out to be a stencil burner. Here are the materials and basic steps we followed:
Materials:
4 Handkerchiefs
4 Bouncy balls
4 Electric candles with remote
4 Paper ramekins
Paint (to paint ramekins)
Fabric glue
Craft glue or other kind of glue
Paint brushes
Stencil burner
Fishing line
7 Eye hooks
2 Willow branches
String
Hook to hang from ceiling
Scissors
Weights (See step #10)
Steps:
Paint the ramekins (I used paint I had already used to paint different things in the room.)
Use the stencil burner to burn a hole in the bouncy balls about ¼” smaller than the diameter of the candle. Be sure not to cut the holes too big. (The balls I used had sprinkles inside, so I then emptied those.)
Shove the candles inside the balls, leaving the bottom out. (This is where the on/off switch is and where the batteries are changed.) The cut edge will role in a bit with the candle.
Melt a little hole with the stencil burner at the other end of the ball where a small eyehook will be screwed in later.
Cut a tiny hole in the center of each handkerchief and iron the handkerchiefs.
Place the handkerchiefs over the balls matching the holes in the handkerchiefs to the holes in the top of the balls. Screw the eyehooks in to secure the handkerchiefs in the right place.
Paint fabric glue onto the balls in sections and press the handkerchiefs down. This can be done haphazardly, or more methodically with a specific number of folds. Mine are kind of in between. I folded it, but in a random way.
Cut 4 pieces of string for each balloon and tie a string around each corner of each handkerchief.
Melt (or cut) 4 small holes around the edge of the ramekin for each balloon.
Put a string through each hole and knot underneath trying the make the ramekin hang flat. (I found this to be the hardest part. I kept knotting the strings that needed to be a little shorter to raise those sides. I also glued a small tile square inside the basket to weight it down and make the strings straighter. You could use other things, like washers or something else. Try not to make the balloons too heavy though.) I left a little string hanging down to make it look like old fashioned balloons.
Construct the mobile part by burning a small hole with the stencil burner in the center (or center of balance if they are quite irregular) of two branches. For the branch that will be on top, also burn a hole on the bottom of the branch, directly below the other one.
Screw in eyehooks to all the holes. (I found that the mobile will hang better if the two eyehooks on the one branch are different directions so that the branches hang more perpendicular and less parallel.)
Tie fishing line through the top hooks on the branches.
Tie fishing line through the hooks on the balloon and make a small loop at the top that will fit easily over the branch. In determining the length of the fishing line, you want it fairly short as you don’t want the mobile to hang too low.
Take two balloons and hang them on either side of a branch and move them in or out until they balance evenly. Mark the place on the branch. (Hold onto fishing wire to do this.)
Use the stencil burner to burn a groove that the fishing line loop will sit in.
Repeat these two steps with the other branch and other two balloons.
Determine the length of the wire for the bottom branch and tie to the bottom of the top branch, again making sure that it will not hang too low.
Put all the pieces together and hold up by the top string to check the balance.
If the balance is just right, glue the balloon wires into their grooves.
Once dry, hang from a hook in the ceiling. (I used multiple layers of fishing line for the top string to ensure that it would hold the weight of the whole mobile.)
Hopefully this gives you some direction if you are wanting to try this project. This mobile SO BEAUTIFUL when the lights are off and the balloons are floating around and twinkling. I am so glad it worked the way I wanted it to. It is probably one of my favorite projects ever!
Join our newsletter list or follow us on social media to see future nursery and kid's room ideas.
Desiree
Read More
0
Categories:
DIY
How to use a Bird Stencil
What child (or adult!) wouldn’t love to stare up at a flock of whimsical birds on the wall or ceiling?
These unique bird stencils (now available on amazon here) were inspired by our Dreamland Odyssey boy’s nursery. The great thing about them is, you can use them to paint directly onto a wall or ceiling. Or, you can use them to make paper cut-outs to bend and flex like a real flock of birds.
They are also economical because you can create as many birds as you like with one stencil.
There are six different sizes of birds. We recommend cutting out around them with scissors leaving yourself a good margin around each bird. Then you can use your imagination to arrange them into a flock or a pattern as you wish. Feel free to use our photos as guidelines. Putting the larger ones at one end or the middle gives the illusion that the flock is closer at that point.
When painting the birds onto a wall, we recommend a small stipple brush. If you keep only a small amount of paint on the brush as you work, it will prevent the paint from seeping under the edges of the stencil significantly. You could use one consistent color or choose an array of coordinating colors. You may need to let one layer of birds dry before adding one next to it if the stencil will overlap onto the paint. You can use painters tape to attach the bird stencil to the wall or ceiling. You will have better results if you gently press down the edges around where you’re painting as you go.
You can also use the stencils to do paper cut-out birds. For this, use a fine mechanical pencil or very thin marker. Hold the pencil as upright as you can and press the plastic down with your fingers as you go around the edges to keep the tip in place. These stencils are a little thinner than regular tracing stencils since they are used for paint as well, so pressing down the edges helps keep the tip where it belongs.
Try to use a card stock type paper for better durability and so the folds will stay. Again, you can use one color or pick a variety. You save paper if you try to fit as many birds as you can on one sheet.
Then carefully cut them out going around the small details. This can be a little time consuming depending on how many birds you are using, but the drama of the end result is quite worth the effort.
When you’ve got them all cut out, you can slightly bend the wings up or down in one or two places to give a 3D effect. You can use our pictures for guidance.
We recommend using removable clear mounting squares to attach the birds to the wall or ceiling. We also cut the mounting strips in half for the smaller birds.
When you are finished you will have added a whimsical feature to your room. These birds can be used in nurseries, kid’s rooms, grown-up living spaces, or classrooms.
Join our newsletter list or connect with us on social media to stay in the loop! Contact us any time with questions. And we always love to see pictures of completed projects!
The bird stencil is available here.
Read More
0
Categories:
Art, Design Ideas, DIY, Stencils
Categories:
Books, DIY, Harry Potter, Rooms