More baby art and butterfly mobile

 

L and I made these leaf prints back in October for the space above Baby J's change table.  This picture is not the best but they are made up of a rainbow of beautiful fall colors.

 

 

I decided I wanted to make a butterfly mobile for above Baby J's bed like the one in the Micheal Olaf catalogue.  When I started doing some research on the computer I came across this SUPER COOL idea.  These butterflies are all made out of a recycled milk jug!! All you do is cut out pieces from a washed milk jug and tape them on top of the butterfly templates found on this blog.  L colored in the colors with permanent markers and then I traced the outlines with a black marker.  We cut them out and wound a thin pipe cleaner around the body using a couple beads for the abdomen and head.

 The super tricky part was trying to balance them to hang.  I ended up cutting four small pieces of invisible thread and glue gunning them to the top side of each of the wings.  I tied the four pieces together and then tied a longer line on to hang them.  Super complicated but they balance perfectly and are really stable.

The milk jug butterfly mobile was a hit with both L and Baby J!  

Dancers Mobile

The next mobile in the Montessori Infant mobile series is the Dancers mobile.  I was originally going to just eyeball all of the dancers and draw them myself but then I found a pattern and instructions here.  It made life a whole lot easier!

You are meant to use holographic paper for the dancers.  I used different coloured gift bags from the Dollar Store.  The whole thing cost $2!  I have to say it was a pain in the neck trying to hang and tie all of the pieces with the invisible thread but totally worth it in the end.

 

I introduced this mobile around three months and once again the little guy totally loved it!

 

At four months he's still enchanted by it.  Although there is another mobile in the series called the Flowing Rhythm mobile I think I'm going to call it a day!



Mother and baby whales mobile

I'm not sure if this is part of the Montessori infant mobile series or not but it is for sale in the Michael Olaf catalogue.  I wanted to make it because I think it is so beautiful and calming.  I decided to hang it in Baby J's room after the Munari mobile.  I am hanging the more calming mobiles in the bedroom and the more vibrant ones in the living room in his work area.

I made the whales by printing off pictures of Orca and Humpback whale mommys and babies and then tracing them onto silver and black scrapbook paper.  I used flower stem wire to hang them.  This was one of the easiest mobiles to make so far.  I have to say though I'm glad I made the whales while I was still pregnant because I don't think I would have gotten around to it after!

Baby J seems to like them.

In the background you can see his shelf which I will talk about in an upcoming bedroom post.

Gobbi mobile = JOY

The Gobbi mobile is the third mobile in the Montessori infant mobile series.  While making this mobile I had ideas of how I was going to write this post.  Let me say this is the most annoying mobile to make!!  If you are going to splurge and buy a mobile this is the one to buy for sure! 

 It is made by wrapping five graded shades of the same colored embroidery thread around five Styrofoam balls.  You make a hole in the centre of the ball and then wrap it around.  I've seen different easier versions using felted wool or just coloring the balls but I decided to use the embroidery thread because I like the way the light reflects off of them.   

So here I am all ready to post about what a pain in the neck this mobile is.... However when I introduced it to Baby J .....

 the mobile was met with this reaction.   PURE JOY!  That is the only way I can describe Baby J's interaction with the mobile.  Every time I place him under it he laughs, smiles and squeals.  He will lie under it for up to 20 minutes at a time.

All the work was sooo worth it!!

Octahedron mobile

This is the second mobile to in the Montessori series.  It is supporsed to be introduced between 5 and 8 weeks.  Baby J has two "work" areas in the house.  One in his bedroom and one in our living room.  This mobile is in our living room tied to the light fixture. I have to say this was my favourite mobile to make, probably because it's the easiest!  There is a full tutorial over at Little Red Farm.  Instead of using metalic paper I used Dollar Store gift bags which were way more economical.

As for Baby J he's not really that into this mobile.  He likes to lie with his head turned to the side all of the time so misses the mobile all together!  It's much better in his bedroom where the Munari mobile is because he can look at it in the mirror beside his bed with his head turned.  Maybe as he gets a little older he will be more inclined to look up.

Update  a week later and little Baby J is totally digging this mobile.  I lay him under it in the evening when the sun is shining on it and he just watches and smiles.  He loves it and I love watching him!

Munari Mobile

This time round with Baby J I wanted to try the full Montessori experience right from the beginning.  One part I was truly excited about was the series of visual infant mobiles.  You can read more about them here.  I really enjoyed making them all and it gave me something productive to do while I was pregnant.  The first one in the series is the Munari mobile.  It consists of black and white geometric shapes and a clear ball at the top.  It was tricky to make and even trickier to hang but the results are stunning!

(Warning do not try to hang this mobile when you are 38 weeks pregnant.  I was sooo frustrated, uncomfortable and sweating like a pig!)

If you would like to make this amazing mobile you can find the tutorial at the Little Red Farm blog.

Here is a picture of Baby J at only four days old and already the mobile has caught his attention.  Now at 7 weeks he loves to look at it.  About a week ago L was playing in his room and knocked it all down so I took it down.  That night he was looking at where it was supposed to be for a long time.  A few  days later I hung it back up and put him on his floor bed.  He was all smiles!

At the moment I have a mattress next to Baby J's floor bed that I sleep on at night for ease of nursing.  I slide him on to my bed to nurse and then slide him back when he's done(post to come about that).  I have a little night light that I keep on all night.  I have to admit that while he is nursing I just lie there and am mesmerised by the mobile.

Munari mobile...not just for infants!