You might remember from our Charlotte window-shopping post that we found inspiration for a nursery mobile at a little shop called Lucy & Co. The designer of the yellow butterfly mobiles explained that they were made with floral wire, fabric butterflies, and glue—simple materials. Instead of butterflies, though, we brainstormed other ideas that would look like a gentle swarm hovering above our baby girl’s head. John kept suggesting bees because they matched the motif from our homemade wedding invitations, but I worried it would be a little too scary for a nursery. In the end we chose small yellow and pink blooms after a quick stop at Michael’s.
We fell for the feathery little florets that came off the stems easily and coordinated perfectly with our soft green and aqua palette. On sale and buy-one-get-one-free, two large bunches of faux hydrangea—one yellow and one pink—only set us back about eight dollars. We also picked up some silver floral wire, which cost a few dollars more.
Once we had everything, we settled down on the couch with The Celebrity Apprentice on TV and began shaping the wire into three spherical forms. This part was very much trial and error: starting with loops to set the diameter, then building the circle into a rounded, three-dimensional mass. Burger watched us from nearby with half-closed, suspicious eyes. We made three sizes—a large beach-ball-sized orb, a mid-sized one about the size of a cantaloupe, and a smaller intermediate sphere. We left a few wire ends feathering out to keep the look light and airy. (Later we removed the larger wire handle we initially used for hanging—more on that in a moment.)
With the wire frames complete, we began popping individual blossoms off the faux hydrangea stems while The Amazing Race played in the background. Each bloom left a small hollow nub on the back that once slid over its stem. To attach the blossoms to the wire, John suggested cutting each nub vertically with an X-Acto knife about a centimeter up the center. This created a forked pincher that could be dabbed with glue and slipped over the wire. The fork held the bloom in place long enough for the glue to dry and secure it permanently.
We clustered the flowers randomly around the spheres for an unstructured, charming effect. For glue we used Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue, which we already had on hand. It’s water-based and non-toxic—important features for anything that will live in a nursery.
When the orbs were fully covered, we retrieved three small white ceiling hooks from our hardware drawer. John drilled tiny pilot holes into the ceiling to make the screws easier to insert; having the drill helped give the leverage needed to secure things properly. We suspended each orb using ordinary white sewing thread and adjusted their positions until we were happy with the spacing. The thin white thread is nearly invisible, so the orbs appear to float in the air—exactly the light, airy feel we wanted. We varied the string lengths so the orbs hung at slightly different heights, and their differing sizes added visual interest.
The little offshoots of wire that we left sticking out added a whimsical touch once the blooms were attached, and the orbs cast soft, playful shadows on the wall. To hang them more discreetly, we removed the large wire handles we’d made and simply pinched a small section of wire on each sphere to create a subtle loop for the thread. That small adjustment worked perfectly.
Instead of placing the mobiles over the crib, we decided to hang them above the changing pad and newly refinished dresser because that wall had felt a bit bare. The crib wall already has a mirror to reflect light and give baby something bright and colorful to look at. The mobiles sit slightly off-center and a bit high for now, but we have plans for that wall and will share updates down the line.
Speaking of the changing pad, we secured it to the dresser using a screw-and-snap system that came with the pad. A sturdy snap screw gets attached to the back of the dresser where you want the pad to sit, then you screw it tight and snap the pad into place. We used a snap on each end of the pad so it’s stable and doesn’t wiggle.
You might also spot our little blue fan in some photos. Good air circulation in the nursery can help reduce the risk of SIDS and keep a baby comfortable, so we chose a compact, fingertip-safe fan that we can aim toward the crib. It complements the aqua ceiling, chandelier, and printed curtains, and you’ll catch a glimpse of another furnishing we’ll write more about later.
So that’s how we made a simple three-orb mobile to hang above the changing pad with basic supplies: floral wire, faux blooms, a bit of glue, and thread. The changing pad cover and our organic aqua crib sheets came from the same source and were a great price. Have you made a mobile before? Any tips or changing-table safety ideas to share? We’d love to hear them.