Instead of splashing out on an expensive cot mobile that will only amuse your child for the first six months of his life, why not spend a weekend making a personalized one of your own? For a small budget and a few hours of your time, you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of a one-of-a-kind mobile that you can hang with pride on baby’s crib! Here’s how…

#1 Get ideas

Scour the web and malls to get ideas of what theme you could use, or what kind of style you prefer.

#2 Check out art supplies

Visit Art Friend or Popular bookstore to explore options for your raw materials. If you find what you are looking for, get it on the spot to save yourself another trip.

#3 Buy / borrow second-hand

Ask your friends if they have old mobiles to pass down or buy online from e-bay or Yahoo auctions. What you are looking for is the stand with hook that will allow you to attach your mobile to your cot railing. What the actual mobile looks like doesn’t matter, because you’ll be making your own design. Added bonus if you find one that has a musical attachment you like.

Another option is to attach a hook to the ceiling (Check out Ikea) and hang your mobile down from there. But the downside of this is you’ll need to drill a hole to fix it up.

#4 Get to work!

Give thought to how elaborate or labour-intensive your concept is. Don’t aim for something that’s too complicated, especially if you’re not a craft-y person to begin with. Here a few simple ideas that you can customize to fit your theme.

#5 Felt creations

Purchase coloured squares of felt from Daiso. Cut out your desired shapes in pairs and use backstitch to sew the sides closed, as near to the edge as possible, and leaving a small opening for the stuffing. Include a ribbon loop with the open edges sewn into the inside of the shape. You can purchase stuffing from Spotlight or Art Friend. Once your item is ‘stuffed’, sew up the opening! Use ribbon or thread to sew your various items together.

Some themes you can try: A rain cloud with hanging raindrops, a tree branch with hanging fruits and leaves, or a series of hanging hearts of various sizes and colours.
Paper work

Buy thick cardstock – plain or patterned – and draw your design on it. You can purchase this from Popular, Art Friend or any scrapbook shop. Then simply use a sewing machine to run a thread through your pieces. You can string them horizontally, vertically, in a criss-cross fashion – your only limit is your imagination!

Some themes you can try: A cloud of butterflies, hanging circles, a canopy of leaves

#6 All tied up

Ribbons are a wonderful medium to play with! You can do all sorts of things with a variety of ribbons. Hang them from a wooden hoop or stick, which you can get from Art Friend. Tie bells to the ends or thread large wooden beads up. Just be sure that all small items are securely fastened in place, so that baby can’t accidentally pull them off and choke on them.

More ideas can be found here:
http://seniwithlove.blogspot.sg/2012/01/cute-mobile-ideas.html
http://www.potterybarnkids.com
http://pinterest.com
http://etsy.com

By Dorothea Chow

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