Boho Floral Baby Mobile Tutorial - Girl Nursery
When it comes to all things floral, I just can't get enough. When designing my little girl's nursery, I chose to go with a rustic vintage Boho theme...Think "garden party" theme. Yes, that's a lot, but that also gave me freedom to be creative with many different looks. Click HERE to take a tour of the nursery and see other design ideas, decorative accents, and DIY projects.
When searching for the perfect mobile for the nursery, I couldn't find what I envisioned while still keeping the price reasonable. Instead of spending over $200 on a mobile that may or may not have coordinated, I opted to create my own to ensure it would be just the right touch for the nursery and not break the bank.
So my determined mind went into overdrive, and I made my way to Hobby Lobby and Michaels to let my craftiness and creativity go wild. I selected a variety of faux flowers, stems, and leaves that coordinated with the color scheme and theme of the nursery, staying consistent with peaches, soft pinks, creams, and soft seafoam colors and got started crafting!
SUPPLIES:
Flowers (variety of shapes and colors)
Leafy Greenery or Garland
1 12-inch Embroidery Hoop or Foam Wreath
2 yards of Ribbon
2 yards of Beaded Pearl Ribbon
1 yard of Clear Fishing Line (or Elastic Stretchy Jewelry Cord)
Wire Cutter
Scissors
Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Needle
Thimble
WHERE TO SHOP:
Check out the Dollar Store, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and other craft stores for flowers and ribbon. You can use either an embroidery hoop from Hobby Lobby (around $2 or less) or use a foam wreath from Hobby Lobby or the Dollar Store. I used the Embroidery Hoop in the tutorial below but using a foam wreath may be easier as you can just stick the flowers with a little hot glue into the foam wreath to attache them.
Savvy Shopper Tip: If shopping at Michaels and Hobby Lobby, check online for coupons.
COMIC RELIEF:
If you think this floral mobile came together in one short hour and no mess to show for it, think again and get ready to be frightened...
I am one of those "buy 10x more than I need and then return what I don't use" type as I create as I go so it needs to be a fluid process with freedom for mistakes and learning. I also was creating this during the midst of a big house move and home projects currently going on simultaneously (bathroom and kitchen remodels and hardwood floors installed) so as you can see... it was a bit of a chaotic disaster, but thankfully it all came together! I had my trusty sidekick to witness said disaster and get me through!
I just had an anxiety attack all over again... Don't say I didn't warn you! Now I know why people charge $200 for a mobile on Etsy!
If you need proof that this mess finally did get cleaned up before the baby arrived, well here you go... Just keep in mind, all beautiful things take work with many ups and downs during the process, but that's what makes it all the more worthwhile. #lifelessons
Now let's get crafting!
STEPS: CREATING FLORAL WREATH (BASE)
1.) Wrap and hot glue the embroidery hoop or foam wreath with ribbon to cover it completely.
2.) Hot glue the leafy greenery / garland around the hoop to make sure the outside is covered and full of foliage.
3.) Next hot glue the larger flowers to the wreath. Fill in the gaps with smaller flowers and extra leaves as needed until you are content with the way it looks.
4.) Cut two two 30-32" pieces of beaded pearl ribbon which will be used to hang the mobile.
5.) Think of the wreath as a clock as you wrap and glue one end of the beaded ribbon to the wreath at 12:00 and then wrap and glue the other end of the beaded ribbon to the opposite side at 6:00. Do the same thing with the other piece of beaded ribbon by wrapping and gluing one side to the 9:00 and the other end to 3:00 so that you are dividing the wreath into 4 quadrants.
6.) Attach the hanging floral strands to the wreath in equal distances around the wreath. (See steps below on how to create these pieces.) Vary the length of the hanging strands so they aren't all the same length unless you want a very symmetrical style mobile.
7.) After the hanging pieces are attached, grab the center of the attached beaded pearl ribbons and pull up to create a triangular shape (this is the top of the mobile where you will hang the fishing line). Cut another piece of fishing line long enough to hang it from the ceiling (I cut a 4-foot long strand to double it up) and attach it with an eye hook in the ceiling. Attach flowers to the meeting point if desired (as shown below).
STEPS: CREATING FLORAL HANGING STRANDS
1.) To create the hanging floral strands of the mobile, first lay out the flowers in the order you prefer. Alternate the order, colors and style of flowers for each strand to give the look you like. When you begin threading the flowers, keep in mind the flowers on the dangling fishing line should be facing down since that's what the baby is seeing.
Note: Many times I used two of the same flower buds together (1 bud facing down and the second bud facing up to give the flower a fuller appearance on the strand).
2.) Thread a larger hole needle with a piece of fishing line (or you can use elastic stretchy jewelry cord). Knot the end of the line and begin pushing the needle through the first flower, as close to the center of the flower as you can get. Make sure to use a thimble to protect your fingers! (Ask me how I know...) Push the flower down the line to the bottom of the knot so that the knot is holding the flower in place.
3.) After one flower is on the line, tie another large knot about 3-4 inches above the flower and start again with pushing the needle through a new different flower. (You will basically have a knot below each flower to keep it in place and from moving around.) You will keep doing this until you have 3-7 flowers on the line. Leave some room on the top of the line so that you can tie it to the wreath.
4.) Create the rest of the hanging floral strand pieces. I made 8 total strands for my mobile. Vary the order of the flowers that you use along with varying the number of flowers on each strand and varying the space between the flowers to give it a unique look. Most of my strands had either 3 flowers or 5 flowers on each strand as I like odd numbers.
5.) After all of your strands are created, put them in the desired order for hanging onto the wreath base, and then hang each strand from the mobile by tying the line to the wreath. I spaced them out by having 2 hanging strands in each quadrant.
Safety Note: Make sure that baby cannot reach the mobile or hanging floral strands. Once baby is able to sit up or stand in crib, make sure to raise the mobile so that baby can never reach the mobile or strands. Once my baby started standing in her crib, I not only moved the mobile up closer to the ceiling, but I also wrapped the hanging flower strands around the wreath base so that there were no more hanging strands to grab onto to be extra safe.
Who needs a bird's eye view when you can have a Baby's view?! Here's a view from the crib looking up to get an idea of what the baby sees.
Looks pleasant and whimsical enough for me! Here's one more view from below.
Thanks for reading! Check out my Nursery Decorating post to take a full tour of the nursery or for organizational hacks, check out my post, Nursery Organizational Tips and Tricks!
