DIY Butterfly Chandelier Mobile Instructions

For those of  you that have asked, "how did you do that?"

Here is a little tutorial. Hope it easy to understand...

Supplies:
- 18" embroidery hoop
- Jewelry wire or stringing wire .015" Diameter
- White spray paint
- Card stock paper- white
- A butterfly punch- I used Martha Stewart's Large Monarch Butterfly Punch
- Nylon (clear) thread and needle
- (100) clear rhinestone stickers
- 20- 25" of 0.5" ribbon
- 3 yards of 1" ribbon
- Glue gun
- Scissors

Directions:

1. Use only the inside ring of the embroidery hoop

2. Cut jewelry wire in two strips -  24" long

3. Cross these strips across the diameter of the hoop- wrap excess wire around the edges of the embroidery hoop like a

"+"

4. Paint the hoop and wire white

5. Punch (160) butterflies out of card stock paper using a butterfly punch- yes you will have sore palms!

6. Cut the Nylon thread to the following specifications:

• Perimeter: 16 threads measuring 12 inches long
• These all need 4 butterflies
• First row inside the perimeter: 4 threads measuring 15 inches long
• These all need 5 butterflies
•  Second row in: 4 threads measuring 18 inches long
• These all need 6 butterflies
•  Third row in: 4 threads measuring 21 inches long
• These all need 7 butterflies
•  Center: 1 thread measuring 24 inches long
• This needs 8 butterflies

7. In order to thread the butterflies you will want to take the end of each thread and tie a triple knot - this will keep that butterfly from coming unattached by sliding through the hole the needle will make

8. Thread a butterfly on with the needle so it falls onto the knot. For each consecutive butterfly you will want to do a double stitch through it so that it stays in place

9. I eyeballed the distance between each butterfly to keep them symmetrical, but try to keep them about 2 - 2.5 inches apart

Note:

There should be about 3 inches from the end of the thread leaving room to tie it to the ring / wire.

10. Keep repeating this process until each nylon thread has the appropriate amount of butterflies attached

11. Tie each string of butterflies on as you go starting with the perimeter and ending with the center

12. Cut 4 pieces the 1" ribbon to DOUBLE the length you want the mobile to hang from the ceiling 

Example:

Say you want it to hang 24" from the ceiling. You should cut each of your ribbons to 48" in length.

13. Cut 4 pieces of 1" ribbon to 2.5" in length

14. Make a loop with the ribbon and attach the loops with hot glue to the outside perimeter of the embroidery hoop at each junction where the wire is wrapped around the hoop

15. Thread the long pieces of ribbon through the loops

16. Bring each all eight ends of the four ribbons together and place a knot to stabilize it (Make sure it hangs evenly before placing the knot)

Note:

I tied a final knot about 12 inches from the mobile to stabilize it, and then used the remaining length to hang it.

17. Hot glue the 0.5" ribbon around the perimeter of the embroidery hoop -this will cover the nylon thread, the ribbon loops, and the jewelry wire

18. Hot glue some butterflies on the outside of the ring and even on the underside of the jewelry wire- so that when baby looks up they will see more butterflies!

19. Add rhinestone stickers to the bottom of each string of butterflies - you can even add some of them to the butterflies on the perimeter of the embroidery hoop - it is amazing how they catch the light

Note:

Even though the rhinestones are sticky backed, I attached each of them with hot glue so that they would be less likely to come unattached.

20. Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back- it was a lot of work, but you survived!

Of course all these directions come with the addendum: this is what I did, feel free to experiment!

There is no one right way to do this project.

You can make it larger scale or smaller.

Make any color you want.

I think it would be cute to do one using a variety of vintage looking buttons in place of rhinestones.

You could use any kind of punch or template that you desire. I liked the butterflies- but if I had it to do over again I would look for a little birdie punch. I think it would go better with my room theme... however, there is NO way in the world I am going to redo it now!

There are many, many creative lurkers out there... do me a favor, if you decide to do this project, send me a link to your blog, I would love to see your finished product!