It's a Bird... Mobile

 Once I had finally finished up my dozen+ sewing projects for the Nursery, I was getting pretty antsy to get stuff up on the walls.  It still looked so bare in there, and I’m anxious for this space to feel like the warm and cozy nursery I had intended.  While the old world map mural does a nice job to fill up the space on the wall above the crib, this corner now seemed really empty.

 Originally when I had planned for the crib to fit under this alcove, my plan to was to make some sort of mobile to hang above the crib.  The new configuration makes it tough to hang a mobile directly above the crib thanks to the vaulted ceilings, but I figured I could still place a mobile in this far corner and our little man could look at it from either the crib or the changing table.  I Googled “DIY Mobile” for ideas, and was immediately blown away by this simple, nature loving version from Spool.  They even provided a super easy pattern and instructions to follow.

 

Even though I was D.O.N.E. with the sewing machine at this point, I did have a lot of great fabric scraps left, and I loved the idea, so I took the sewing into overtime to create this one last project.  The instructions were really easy to follow, and before I knew it I had this:

 

The bird is a little tricky to turn right side out, but nothing that these fat fingers couldn’t figure out.  Thankfully I had yet another hoarded throw pillow that was perfect to take the stuffing out of to fill up my birds, giving me this:

 
Then it was just a matter of creating 8 more.  I cut out all my bird pieces one evening while watching TV with the Hubs after bedtime.  I ran upstairs for about 30 minutes to sew the pieces together, and then I headed back downstairs to turn them right side out, stuff and stitch them closed.  Hubs isn’t even phased anymore by my “crafting while relaxing.”  He gets me and knows it’s impossible for me to just sit still and relax, so its better for everyone if I can find a way to accomplish something while watching TV.  We all have our own brand of crazy.

The next day Ry and I went on a hike to find the perfect sticks for his baby brother’s room.  I love how excited the little guy is to meet his brother.  He hasn’t been at all jealous yet of any of the stuff we are making or buying for his brother, he is just excited and wants to help me make it.  Makes this preggo lady tear up every time.  Just like those Mom commercials during the Olympics. (Seriously- I can't be the only one that was sobbing...)

Putting the mobile together was by far the trickiest part.  First I attached the birds randomly to the sticks with a needle and fishing line. 

 

 I discovered that I couldn’t just wrap the fishing line around the sticks to hang them though, as the heavy part of the stick (the birds) would always spin with gravity causing the birds to hang upside down.  I picked up a few tiny eye bolts for $2 at Home Depot though, which was the only item I had to buy for this project.  I drilled a tiny pilot hole in the stick first before twisting the bolt in.

 

 While the eye bolts helped, I would be lying if I said balancing the mobile was easy.  The birds twisting forward on the branch even 1/4” would throw the entire thing into a death spiral.  I found using a bit of hot glue at each of the birds and eye bolts helped to keep all the pieces in place without twisting.  One frustrating hour later I finally had this:

 

Fun- right?  I love that it adds a bit of interest to this corner, but still feels natural and minimal.  Hubs agrees that it's a "manly mobile," which I'll take as a compliment.  And for a $2 total cost- you can't beat it!  What about you guys?  Has anyone DIYed their own mobile?  There are so many great ideas out there on the internet, and I love the idea of something unique and hand made in a baby room.  Given how much time I will likely be spending in this room for the next year or so, I'll be glad for some interesting and beautiful things to look at.