cloud mobileI am in LOVE with mobiles to hang over baby's crib and have been toying with the idea of making mobiles for a while now- They are so pretty the way the swing and dance- having said that I don't love all of them. Some are butt ugly or just plain uninspired. The purpose of the mobile is to to visually (and sometimes audibly) stimulate the child. I have read that lots of colors and shapes are very stimulating but when it comes to something to look at before bedtime surely less is more?
I did actually read most of 'Trees make the Best Mobiles' by Jessica Teich and Brandel France de Bravo (which is a BRILLIANT book and I highly recommend it to parents who are more open minded about alternative ways to raise their children) and although I am with them on the part about using nature to entertain kids rather than 'stuff', I think there is a way to bring nature into the bedroom and if the 'stuff' is handmade with love and thought then all the better. oui?
So naturally I'm partial to ones that either hand crafted or made from simple materials. wood, fabric, etc...
I am obsessed with clouds right now. I think its since I saw that amazing animation 'partly cloudy' from pixar and disney that did it... anyhoo, I have been wanting to make one and did a quick search to see if anyone had done anything similar with twigs (bringing bits of nature indoors) and fabric
and I found a few that I think are just gorgeous. very inspiring!
This is one made from various fabrics, all complimentary colors and are little rain clouds! CUTE. and so simple right?here's another raincloud (same concept) but made from felt. A lovely, tactile material. This is just hung from a wall but could be made into a mobile easy peasy. I do enjoy faces on things that don't have faces... The Japanese do it the best.
BIRDS
my FAVORITE mobile to date is one that I found on design sponge with a how to make guide. I heart it in a big way...
little fabric birdies sitting on a branch? AWESOME! you just collect sticks from outside and make a bunch of little birds from the pattern provided and VOILA! ( I would imagine that you could also use a clear varnish paint to 'seal' the branches too so it wont decompose on you and flake into baby's bed. just a thought...)The fabrics on this one are really bright but not at all overwhelming. sigh, me LOVES. and you could do it in any fabric/ color. I was thinking one made with linen and burlap birds would be really pretty too. made very simple/organic and then maybe just ONE bird is made with a bright color or pattern? FUN.
If you dont want to make your own there is a company called petit collage that make bamboo cutout mobiles with trees and little animals. so stinking cute... Theres a few to choose from, they can be bought anywhere but heres a link to some sold at Clever Tomato.I 've also been thinking it would super cute to knit a bunch of items to hang (could be birds!) I was thinking mushrooms would be awesome.
problem is that knitting is one of my 'newer' skills. aka, I still kinda suck.
Here are 3 knitted mushrooms I found on Knitting bee that could easily be turned into a very cute and unique mobile, n'est pas?
oh me oh my... the possibilities are endless!
and before I sign off I HAVE to mention one more simply lovely mobile- the paper mobile!I found this and couldn't find who made it but I could just eat it and am going to start cutting up paper post stat!
