DIY PAPER BIRD MOBILE plus a free printable

My mom and I made this paper bird mobile for above Jack’s crib and we really loved how it turned out. I had previously scoured the internet looking for a woodland or bird themed mobile and found some really cool ones like this but the price tag was more than I could afford. I knew it would take forever for us to sow little felt creatures so a paper bird mobile sounded like a great idea. One of my mom’s pet peeves about mobiles in general is the fact that they don’t look dimensional from the baby’s point of view. Often times they are made to look pretty from the side and not the bottom. This was designed to be interesting from Jack’s point of view. It was kind of an experiment but if you would like to do one yourself, follow along!

Materials you will need:

• Double-sided craft paper (must if you want your birds to look pretty from the top and bottom) I got mine at Hobby Lobby.
• Double stick tape
• Fishing line
• Wire
• Wire cutter
• Needle-nose pliers
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Hook

Step 1: Make your birds

You can either download my bird template or create your own.

You need 3 pieces for each bird; the basic bird shape and 2 separate pieces for the body top. First trace the templates onto the craft paper; then cut out. I used 2-sided contrasting papers for the bird and the body top pieces. Fold the 2 body pieces where the fold marks are indicated. Use the double-stick tape to attach the flaps onto the bird, and also use double stick tape to attach the two top body parts to each other. Fold the wings of the bird where the fold marks are indicated. Repeat this until you have 9 birds.

Step 2: Prepare your birds

In order to attach your birds onto the wire which we will make in a later step, punch two holes on the top of the flap about an inch and a half apart. Then tie fishing line through the holes to make a loop.

Step 3: Make the mobile

Take a long piece of wire around 20 inches long and make a loop in the center of it using the needle-nose pliers. The center loop is where fishing line will attach to the ceiling. Then make two loops at the end of this wire – these are where the birds will hang You will repeat this until you have 4 pieces of wire in descending sizes. The length of each of my wires (after the loops were done) turned out to be 17 inches, 13 inches, 11 inches, and 9 inches long. Note: Make sure the end loops are similar and use the same amount of wire – this affects the balance of the mobile.

Step 4: Put it all together

Start with the top of the mobile. First hang fishing line from the longest wire and hang it up somewhere temporarily. (We hung it from my dining room chandelier to put it together.)  Then slide the fishing line that is on the birds unto the end loops of the wire. Then tie more fishing line to the bottom of the center loop to attach the next piece of wire. Repeat this until you have all 4 pieces of wire and 8 birds hung. The 9th bird goes at the bottom.

Step 5: Hang it up!

We used a hook screw in the ceiling to hang the mobile from. I love how lightweight it is because it’s always slowly moving and I’m not scared if it happens to fall on Jack.

Have fun! Oh and I spent maybe $15 total :).