The Birdie Mobile

I guess you could call me pretty crafty. Growing up my Mom would sew everything from dresses for me to new drapes for the house. I would rummage through her leftover fabric pieces and create costumes which mostly consisted of mismatched pieces put together with safety pins and crooked stitches. But I did learn to use a sewing machine and hand stitch, which I am incredibly grateful for to this day. I also took a "Learning to Sew" class one summer when I was 10. Don't be jealous, but I did learn to sew my own culottes ;)

So when I decided that his nursery will have a bird theme (I use the term "theme" loosely since you know how I feel about them) I decided that a bird mobile would be perfect. I did some research and found some darling ones on Etsy.com. Oh how I love you Etsy. But I wasn't willing to spend $75 on something made of felt so I thought "why not make it myself?!". And that's what I did.

Here's how I did it:

The supplies:  (Really this couldn’t get any cheaper!)

1 twig wreath found at any craft store
Felt fabric sheets (I got mine at Walmart with mixed colors in a package. You can probably get two birds out of one 8x10 sheet.)
Embroidery thread, mixed colors
Needle with large eye
Poly fill

Ribbon

Screw hook

Once I decided on the colors of each bird, I cut out two pieces (front and back) and then one wing in the second color felt. In retrospect, I wish I had put a wing on either side of the bird, but it was too late when I came to this conclusion. So the option is yours. 

I picked different color thread for each bird as well just to heighten the colorful look, but you can just use black or white thread. The little circles were completely free form too. The stitch I used was a blanket stitch done by hand. Here is a great tutorial on how to do the blanket stitch. 

All the finished birdies! I took some white twill yarn and threaded it through each bird and coordinating circle. I tied knots and added little wooden beads to make sure everything was at the right height when hung. 

And it's done! We used white ribbon to attach it to the ceiling with a simple hook. It really is darling in person.

Apparently sewing a mobile wasn't enough for me so I decided to make his name and some more birds. I strung these together and hung them on his wall with mini clothespins. Very cute.