Easy DIY Star Mobile Tutorial

 Here is a tutorial to show you how to make a star wall hanging for your home, as promised.

It's very easy and lots of fun so even if you're a beginner you will find it quite simple to make.

What you will need:

-clay stars

-ribbon

-a piece of driftwood (or anything that works for you, eg cut branch/stick/reed)

click image for tutorial link

The first step, which is the most time-consuming is the making of the stars.

All you need is the clay of your choice - I used air-drying clay as it is the most convenient for me- and a star shaped cookie cutter.
The tutorial on how to do that is HERE.

After following the above tutorial, you have your stars ready and you've finished with the hardest part of the project. 

Now all that's left is to put it all together.

Decide on the formation of your stars.

Lay them out on a flat surface and play around with them until you find the shape you want your hanging to have.

Below are some versions I tried out before I settled on a simple -asymetrical- line of stars.

Once you've decided on how you want your stars hanging on your mobile you can cut your ribbon accordingly. Measure the length that you wish each star to hang at and cut the ribbon. 
Alternatively, you can decide and cut as you go for a more whimsy-inspired result.

Tie one end of the ribbon to your star and the other end on your driftwood/wood.

Keep going until all your stars are tied onto the stick in a satisfactory manner.

This is what my star mobile looked like after adding the stars.

Next you need to attach the ribbon that hangs the mobile up.

Whether you want this to be a long or a short piece is totally up to you.

I began with a large piece of ribbon and attached it by tying it at both ends of my stick.

Later however (when the mobile was finished and hung up) I decided that I prefered a shorter ribbon holding it up so I went back and cut the ribbon much shorter, as you can see in the picture above. 

This meant tying it somewhere in the middle of the stick. It also meant that it took a few careful attempts before I found where the ribbon had to be tied for the whole composition to balance.

  

Once you've attached the ribbon that hangs the mobile, you're done!

Enjoy your new star mobile!

If you make a star mobile following this tutorial, I would love to see pictures and share them on my blog.

Linked to:
Maybe She Made It

New Year Wall Charm

Just before we welcomed the new year we made a good luck wall hanging with the little one.

Actually, we made two different ones: the one pictured here with the red ribbon and another which has a ribbon somewhere between bronze and pink.

 One we kept and the other we gave away.

I'll be sharing pictures of the other one as soon as I can.

Linked to:

The Silly Pearl, The Dedicated House, Homework, Maybe She Made It, Annemarie's Haakblog, I Heart Naptime, House Of Hipsters

Easy DIY Clay Star Tutorial

 How to make easy clay star home decorations.

These are great for festive occassions but they are neutral enough to have around and enjoy all year long.

What you will need:

-clay (I used the air-drying kind)

-cookie cutter in the shape of a star

-a straw- to make the holes in the stars

-paint of your choice 

-sand paper - not too fine but not too coarse

-ribbon of your choice -to hang the stars with

Using a rolling pin, lay your clay out flat. Decide on the thickness you want your stars to be. 

TIP:Make sure that the clay is evenly rolled out if you want your stars to be all the same thickness.

Use your cookie cutter star to cut out as many stars as you wish from the clay.

TIP:When cutting out your stars with the cookie cutter, make sure you press down all the way to your work surface and gently rotate the cutter so that the clay star you have cut out is as neat as you can make it and that the edges are cleanly cut.
This will make a difference to the final look of the stars. If you want them clean cut and smooth pay attention to this step. If you want them more rustic-looking and organic in shape, then by all means be more cavalier with your cutting out of the stars.

After you have cut out all your shapes, you need to punch a little hole in each star so you can thread with ribbon to hang them.

Using a straw, place one end over the spot you want the hole to be.

Press all the way down to your surface, make a slight twisting motion,back and forth, then remove the straw with the little tube of clay trapped inside it. 

You should have a neat hole left in its place.

When you have cut out all the stars you need, let them air dry in a clean, sheltered place. 

TIP: The time it takes for the stars to dry varies on temperature and thickness. If they are in a sunny spot, they will dry up much faster than if they are in a shady, humid spot. 
I let mine sit in a sunny spot for a couple of days, making sure they were turned over two or three times.

When the stars dry, they will loose all extra moisture the clay had, so all imperfections - and cutting haste - will show magnified, like in the picture above.
So it's best to sand them to get them nice and smooth and bump free.

In this picture you can see the difference between the sanded and unsanded backs of the stars.

If you decide on sanding your stars, choose a medium weight sandpaper and sand them gently -or with more determination if you have any protruding bumpy edges you want to get rid of- until they are smooth.

When they are all sanded down, they will be completely coated in a fine powder. 

You must clean the stars thoroughly so you will not have trouble with the paint adhering to them in the next step.
A large brush helps in getting it all off.

Using the paint of your choice, start painting your stars.
I used an acrylic metalic gold paint.

You need to paint one side first, let it dry, paint the other side, let the other side dry and then do it again, ie paint a second coat on one side and then paint a second coat on the other side.

TIP: If the stars look exactly the way you like them, then proceed to the next step. If you feel they need an extra coat, by all means, go through the painting process one more time.

Now the stars are ready to be used in your various home decor projects or just hung around the house with a pretty ribbon!

I used an ethereal white organza ribbon to thread them on and hung a few over the kitchen window.

I also made the star mobile you can see below and that you can find HERE.

Linked to:
Maybe She Made It, Homework, The Dedicated House, Annemarie's Haakblog, I Heart Naptime

Upcoming Star DIYS

I have been preparing a tutorial to show you how to make the star wall hanging for your home, as promised, but it got so very long that I decided it would be better to cut it into two smaller ones.

So I will be posting a seperate DIY clay star tutorial and then following that I'll post a DIY Star Mobile tutorial. 

They should be up soon. 

Hopefully within the next couple of days.

Star Mobile

Gold star mobile.

I hinted at this a while back but haven't been able to post it till now.

It's a wall hanging made out of golden clay stars, driftwood and delicately shimmering white organza ribbon.

I will be posting a tutorial with a step-by-step how-to shortly so you can make it yourselves if you wish to.

Linked to:
The Gunny Sack, Homework

Monday Moodboard - Sweet

1. Galafic
2. HappeeMonkee
3. ZenzPhotography
4. Skrynka

Monday Mooodboard is a game played by the members of the European etsy Team every Monday.   The moodboard is a selection of items from the team that reflect your mood at that particular day.  It's lots of fun!
Anyone in the team can join in. Just link your very own moodboard to the host of the game Star Of The East

Monday Moodboard - Stuffed

1. BozenaWojtaszek
2. ScrapunzelPixie
3. Mirthquake
4. BlueTerracotta

Monday Mooodboard is a game played by the members of the European etsy Team every Monday.   The moodboard is a selection of items from the team that reflect your mood at that particular day.  It's lots of fun!
Anyone in the team can join in. Just link your very own moodboard to the host of the game Star Of The East.