How to Make Mobiles for Kids

You can make mobiles for kids as a way of bringing a festive feel to any room with colorful motion. And using some favorite easy-to-find items can be a fun way to create some personalized art.

Mobiles can be made simply to add a splash of color or they can create magical sounds like wind chimes. The impact of your mobile is only limited by your imagination.

Follow the links below to find out how to make mobiles of your own:

Springy Mobile

Create a mobile with some springy bounce and add life to any room.

Wind Chime Mobile

Bring the lyrical sound of wind chimes to your home with bells.

Balancing Act Mobile

Use items found in nature to create a beautifully balanced mobile.

Bounce to the next page to find out how to make a springy mobile.

For more fun activities and kids' crafts, check out:

Springy Mobile

Anybody can make a mobile, but can they make a springy mobile like yours? Try this recipe for bouncy fun with mobiles.

What You'll Need:

Coat hanger
Brightly colored electrical tape
4 to 6 little trinkets, game pieces, etc.
Construction paper
Scissors
Black darning thread
Needle

Wrap the coat hanger in brightly colored electrical tape. Choose 4 to 6 trinkets to hang from the mobile. Now make large and small "springs."

Start by cutting a 3-inch-wide squares out of construction paper. Take the square and begin cutting from the outside edge, turning at the corners, and spiraling inward to the center. Leave a "knob" the size of a penny in the center.

Thread the needle, make a knot, and poke through the underside of the "knob." Cut the thread about 5 inches from the knot, and tie the end around the bottom part of the coat hanger.

Knot another piece of thread, and, going from the top of the spring to the bottom, poke the needle through the outside edge of the square. Next, knot the thread around a hanging trinket.

Notice how the square looks like a spring? Make springs unique by starting with triangular or other shapes and cutting toward the center.

To make a longer spring, start with a bigger shape. Use a smaller shape for a shorter spring. Finish making springs and hanging trinkets. Display your springy mobile and enjoy.

Find out how to make musical art on the next page by creating a magical wind chime mobile.

For more fun activities and kids' crafts, check out:

Wind Chime Mobile

Hang your wind chime mobile outside and listen to its sounds. It's as if the soft breezes are singing to you.

What You'll Need:

Plastic coffee can lid
Scissors
Ruler
String
Plastic egg carton
Large jingle bells

Adults should help kids with the cutting in this project. To make the wind chime ring, cut the center from a plastic coffee can lid. Make sure the ring is at least 1/2 inch wide. To make the wind chime hanger, punch 4 holes evenly spaced around the ring. Thread a piece of string through each hole. Bring the ends of each string together at the top, and tie them in a knot. Punch 4 more holes between the others. Hang string down from each hole on the ring. Make egg carton bells for each string. Cut out a cup, and poke a hole in the center. Thread the cup through the hanging string, and tie a jingle bell into each cup.See the next page to learn how to create a nature-themed mobile.For more fun activities and kids' crafts, check out:

Balancing Act Mobile

When making your "Balancing Act" mobile, notice that one heavy and one light object can still balance. It all depends on where you position the items.

What You'll Need:

1-1/2 yards of yarn
Blunt scissors
One 12-inch wood dowel with 1/4-inch diameter
Two 6-inch wood dowels with 1/4-inch diameter
Natural items such as shells, bark, and rocks

Cut the following pieces of yarn: one 15-inch, one 9-inch, five 5-inch, and one 4-inch. Tie one end of the 15-inch piece of yarn to the center of the 12-inch dowel to hang the mobile. Tie one end of the 9-inch yarn piece to the center of one 6-inch dowel. Tie the other end of the yarn piece to one end of the 12-inch dowel. Tie one end of a 5-inch yarn piece to the center of the remaining 6-inch dowel. Tie the other end of the yarn to the other end of the 12-inch dowel. Tie the 4-inch yarn piece to the center of the 12-inch dowel. Tie the remaining 5-inch yarn pieces to the 6-inch dowels. Hang natural items such as shells, bark, and rocks on the yarn ends to balance the mobile.For more fun activities and kids' crafts, check out: