Hey, guys and gals—Mandi here! Whether you’re into super heroes, wizardly fiction, or just like thunder storms, this lightning bolt mobile isn’t just for kiddos. It’s a quick and dirty project, too. Well, only dirty really if you accidentally get metallic paint on your fingers, but hey—instant manicure, I guess! Check out the simple instructions to make your own lightning bolt mobile.
Supplies:
-printer paper
-fishing line and/or lightweight string
-metallic paint (spray or otherwise)
-one 4″ wide sheet of basswood
-one 10″ long dowel (diameter is your preference)
Tools:
-printer
-power drill
-smallest drill bit
-craft blade
-steel ruler
-cutting mat
-pen
-scissors
Step One: Click here and here to download each required lightning bolt template. Then print out the templates and cut out the shapes.
Step Two: Lay out the lightning bolt shapes onto the basswood and trace with a pen.
Step Three: Cut out the shapes with a fresh craft blade using a steel ruler to guide the blade.
Step Four: Paint the shapes with metallic paint in a well-ventilated area. Be sure to wear protection over your mouth and nose!
Step Five: Drill tiny holes into the top of each lightning bolt. Before I marked my holes, I held up each bolt with lightly pinched fingers to make sure the bolt would hang straight where I drilled the holes. This means they won’t be drilled at the center. Check out my hole placement below for reference.
Step Six: Drill five tiny holes across the length of the dowel. (I chose to paint my dowel white, by the way.) The holes do not need to be perfectly spaced.
Step Seven: Tie fishing line/jewelry line onto each lightning bolt and through the holes of the dowel. Make sure the bolts are lying out, as shown above, before knotting the wire and trimming away the extra line. Then thread string through the outside holes for hanging the mobile.
I hung my mobile using a small, sticky-back cup hook, but you could use screw hooks or brackets as well. If you’re not into metallic paint, you can make this mobile any color. Hey—why not try rainbow lightning bolts? –Mandi
Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson. Photos edited with Spring of the Signature Collection.
Sorry for the late reply on this, Laura! They’re floating bookshelves! They’re designed so that the books conceal the brackets. I bought mine here: http://amzn.to/TqsqU8 -Mandi
Craft wood like bass and balsa are very soft and can even be cut with scissors. But still you should keep them out of a baby’s reach. I lowered the mobile for this photos, to get everything in one shot, but in actuality the mobile is now hanging above our changing table. Still, I keep it out of reach and it’s extremely lightweight, so I don’t have to worry about it falling. -Mandi
Well done! Your blog is great for young carpenters that want to do things right! Very educational
this is very cute but…couldn’t it be very dangerous for a young one to have pointy pieces of wood above their bed?
so cute!!!! love it!
xoxo, kerri
This makes the Harry Potter nerd inside of me so happy!
sooo cute!
xxoo,
nikki
www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
I love those unique glass vases! Actually, all of these pictures are very beautiful! Thank you for sharing! http://www.razzlendazzle.net/default.asp?dept_id=45350
I love this! We have deemed our office the nerd room – where all of our Harry Potter, LOTR, and Doctor Who things go to thrive – and these would be perfect in there!
xoxo
Taylor
Being a fan of Harry Potter, I don’t personally see anything wrong with putting a few of these up in my own room. Or everywhere. 😉
I love mobiles though, thanks for sharing!
http://theflyingarmchair.me/
This reminds me of Harry Potter. Great idea for a themed child’s room. 🙂
http://xfallenmoon.blogspot.ca/
So many cute crafts, I can’t wait to try them all! You guys are all so wonderful when it comes to chronicling memories and giving special homemade gifts, so I was wondering if you have any particular crafts that you’d recommend for grad gifts/going away presents? I’m a recent high school graduate, and saying goodbye to all my friends is proving to be very difficult, but I’m sure one of your fabulous craft ideas would help ease the burden!
Hi Lisa,
Yes! We’re working hard on a MAJOR update. Coming next month. Sorry that it’s difficult to search right now. Try the search bar at the top of the page in the mean time.
xx- Elsie
Are y’all planning on updating your crafts bar with recent projects? Unless I pin it it’s difficult to search for something that was posted a couple months ago…unless I’m missing the trick! Thanks! 🙂
This looks so cute! What a great idea!
Love, Lily, Two Crazies One Blog
http://www.twocraziesoneblog.tk/
This is a fun project! I love it!
I love that! It would look good anywhere. Ahh I’ve had one too many accidental metallic manicures myself…but spray painting is too much fun.
Metallic gold + lightning bolts = absolutely perfect! I will do this someday when I have kids on my own. I hope they’ll love Harry Potter as much as I do. 🙂
Love this! So cute! I’m also trying to stare at these pictures long enough to figure out how those books are being displayed…are they clear wall shelves?? Dying of curiosity!
This would look so cute in neon colors !