It took me awhile to decide what kind of Mobile I wanted in our Nursery. I’d seen lots of cute stuff, but nothing that seemed quite right for us. My nursery color scheme is Pink, Grey, and Gold and I didn’t really wanna stray too much from that, and I tend to find a lot of nursery stuff really, really childish. Yes, I know, the nursery is for a child, however, I just can’t handle too much of it. So I decided to go with something both my Husband and I would love and something that I could make myself. So, Harry Potter it is!
There will be several sets of instructions here to kind of break it down into smaller, more manageable DIY sections.
PART ONE: Make your Broomsticks!
So, I ended up making several of these, and only ended up using one in my actual mobile. I’ll probably end up using the other broomsticks for something else in the nursery later. Here’s what you need for your Broomsticks: Several small dowels, Raffia (I got mine in the floral section of Hobby Lobby), a glue gun and glue sticks, a box cutter, and twine.
Start by scoring your dowels to make them smaller. I scored them all the way around with my box cutter and once I’d scored them, I just broke them in half with my hands. Then I cleaned up the rough edges with the box cutter so it wasn’t going to give anyone a splinter. After the dowels are cut you want to color/paint (whatever tickles your fancy) them. I used markers on a few, crayons on some, and colored pencils on some. I wasn’t sure what I wanted them to look like so I tried all three.
Next take a large section of Raffia in your hand and begin wrapping it around your fingers so that you’re holding it with both the bottom and the top appearing to be rounded. Using just a dot of hot glue to keep it in place, begin to wrap the twine around the raffia more towards the bottom to create the look of the straw section of a broomstick. Use another dot of the glue to secure the end of the twine in place.
Once the twine is wrapped around the raffia, you’ll have a smaller loop on one end, and a larger loop on the other. You want to cut those so the “loops” of Raffia are gone and it’s just the strands. I then cut them to keep them all even. Find the center of the bottom of your raffia so you know where to insert your dowel. Putting a bit of hot glue on the end of your dowel, place it into the end of the raffia and hold it until it hardens. Viola! You’ve got your Broomsticks done!
PART 2: Creating your Winged Keys!
Here’s what you need for your winged keys: Skeleton Keys (Either vintage or reproductions. I purchased reproduced keys that were simply made to look old off ebay. I just wasn’t willing to spend the money on actual vintage keys. These keys were only $3.00!), Wing patterns, Transparent bead illusion cord (or good old fashion fishing line), Hot glue, and Transparent Vellum Paper.
Start by finding what kind of wings you want your keys to have. I used everything from Dragonfly to Butterfly to Angel wings! I wanted each of them to have their own bit of personality. I will happily send you a PDF or Word Document of my wings if you’d like to use mine. Print your wings in various and assorted sizes onto some printable vellum paper. Vellum paper is a bit pricey (I got mine at Staples and it was $16.00) I typically don’t spend that much, however, I knew this was going to be the best way to keep the wings transparent while still being durable. So I broke down and spent the cash.
Once your wings are printed, you’ll need to cut them out. It’s easiest if you leave a section of the vellum in the center to attach the key onto. But some wings have to be cut separately, in that case, I glued the wings together. Once you’ve cut your wings you’ll want to use your hot glue to attach your wings to your keys.
For the ring that you’ll attach these keys to, I bought a cross-stitching ring and used the center ring! I spray painted it gold so reflect the color in the keys (and my nursery accent color).
PART THREE: Assemble your mobile!
Once you’ve got your keys made, your broomsticks made, and your ring painted, it’s time to assemble your mobile! Use your clear fishing line to attach your keys and broomsticks to the ring. Any design is a good design so get creative! Then attach either ribbon or twine to four areas of the top and join them together at a loop knot to make a hanger for your mobile. And there you have it! A Harry Potter Flying Key Mobile!
(Left) One of our cute little nooks!
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