Thursday, November 5, 2015

DIY Geometric Baby Mobile | Part 1: The Clay Stars


Having a cute mobile for Jason's room was a must for me. Because June slept in our room, I never decorated a nursery for her. So I went a little over the top in this space! :) I wanted it to be eye catching, fresh, and modern, and industrial! When I made the geometric part, I wan't sure if it would even look good... but then I added these adorable salt dough star beads to them and it just felt right! I'll be showing you how I made the frame on a later post, but today I want to show you how to make your own clay beads for a DIY Mobile. 


When making something to go above your baby's crib, please make sure it will be out of reach, securely attached, and void of any choking hazards. It is recommended NOT to use strings longer than 7" on your mobile. See this post HERE for more safety tips.


I used my friend (and fellow Marine wife's) Emily's recipe HERE. 

It calls for:
4 cups of All Purpose Flower
1 cup of Salt and 
1 1/2 cups of Warm/Hot Water. 

That is WAY more than enough salt dough to make a baby mobile, so feel free to half that.

I had June whisk all the dry ingredients together, thus the cut baby hands. :)


I was going mix the dough with my hands, but after I added the water, I didn't feel like I was getting a good consistency, so I got out the big guns (aka Kitchen Aid!!!)


You want it to look and feel like sugar cookie dough. The salt will feel lumpy in it though. I found that using hot water melted the salt better.

 Also, store the unused dough in a zip-lock bag, so it won't dry out while you are working with it.


To form your bead, roll a small ball in the palm of your hand.


Using a combination of spoons and fingers, gently shape the sides into a five pointed star (or whatever other shape you desire! I also made animals ones... but that's a story for another day)


Use a toothpick to make a very wide opening. They puff up while cooking, so make those holes big.


Bake in your oven at 350. I had mine in there for quite a while... it was so long ago thought that I don't remember specifics... but I just cooked them until the didn't feel wet anymore. lightly browned is preferable since we are dealing with such thick salt dough.


If your holes got messed up while cooking, you can use a drill with a small tip to enlarge them. Believe me, it will save you so much time! If any of them crack or slightly burst from baking, no biggie- just use wall putty and a fine grit sandpaper to repair it. They just become inedible at that point. Haha! Paint with acrylic paint & make sure the room you use them is has low humidity.


I used thick, stiff string, and a long upholstery needle to string the beads up.


Remember, don't make your strings longer than 7". I originally had mine longer, and then made them shorter after I did my "mommy nesting" safety research. 


Cute, right?



I used a mug hook screw to hang it from the ceiling & gave it a good tug or two to make sure it was secure. I love how cute it is hanging above his crib!

And here is mega plus for you: this baby mobile cost less than $10 (probably closer to $5) in supplies to make. Personally, it's the cutest one I've ever seen! :)

Well, that's it for today. Check out the below posts from the rest of the nursery! :)
 All the new posts from this series are listed below:
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)