Who's in for a Party?
It’s party time and you want
dynamic, out-of-this-world decorations - you want something special that
screams ‘Hey, this is me!’ No matter
what twist you want this party to take, making decorations can be cheap and
best of all, they show-off your amazing pics.
An up-high mobile will be hanging around long after the party’s
over. Butterflies not your thing, how
about family photos or random shots?
Make several mobiles by theme and decorate your entire pad! All you need is a quick trip to the hardware
store and maybe a bakery for a cupcake before the party.
So, let’s get started amping-up
your shin-dig – you’ll be done quicker than you can say ‘Hold on there
butterfly, I want to take your ph...’
A few tweaks of the basic instructions
for the mobile creates an entire party from food to table decor using thinner wire.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- Photos, two of each, one printed in reverse because you want this to look great on both sides – project was printed 8 x 10. Use pro printing so the photos are sturdy and won’t go limp
- Copper wire, 6’ of 14 gauge (BTW, you might want to get extra because your besties are going to want these as gifts)
- Adhesive to stick photos together, find your sticky whether it be double-sided tape, glue stick or spray adhesive
- Adhesive to stick photos to wire, white glue, hot glue or double-sided, non-shiny tape
- Jar or something about 2” in diameter
- Scissors
- Flipper flapper, AKA pancake turner
STEP 1: BY HOOK
OR BY CROOK (no stealing required!)
It’s to the kitchen with you
to find a couple of things. One, something to wrap the wire around for the hook
end. A flipper flapper (AKA pancake
turner) works well. Next, you’ll need
something that has a diameter of about 2” – give or take a shake of salt,
doesn’t have to be exact.
Make a quick sketch of how
you’d like the mobile to look. Check out the photos for ideas.
You have to hang the mobile
somehow, so form a hook by wrapping one end of the wire around the flipper
flapper. You can also form a circle,
depending on how you plan for this guy to hang around.
STEP 2:
LOOP-TO-LOOP
About 8” below hook, take
your 2” diameter something and wrap the wire around. Leave about a foot (not a real one) and
repeat and repeat again on down the wire.
Just imagine a butterfly circling around you as you form the circles.
OK, you don’t have to!
STEP 3: DON’T
RUN WITH SCISSORS
Cut around a small area of one of the photos – it makes lining up the
pictures sooooo much easier. Make sure
you’re working with one regular photo and one reversed. Read the back of the bottle, stick or
dispenser to apply adhesive to the hinny side of one photo. Line them up and press, press, press.
Think back to kindergarten
and carefully cut around the edges. Keep
on, keepin’ on until you have enough pictures for your mobile.
STEP 4: PHOTO
FINISH
Things just got
stickier. Stick your photos on the wire
with white glue, hot glue or double-sided, non-shiny tape.
Voilà, you’re ready to just
hang loose at your party. Stand back and
take in the oohs and ahhs and get ready to take orders!
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
 |
| The butterflies look so real, because they are (not really, but you get it!) |
Now that the mobile has
dressed up the place, you have to feed your guests and of course, you need a
little something else on the down low to make a theme splash (like the
table). How about some picks for
cupcakes and in some flowers you got at the market? It’s all the same steps as the mobile, just
smaller. Print photos wallet size,
making the same amount in reverse. Stick
them together, cut ‘em out and here’s where things go different. Hopefully you have one of those itty bitty
hole punches, if not, use something sharp to poke two holes in the center of
each photo. Make swirls in 20 gauge wire
using the ol’ pencil (if you can still find one!) leaving about 2” straight on one
end. Thread the straight end in the
holes and swirl the end with your pencil.
Make more, more, more – more is always better. Add to cupcakes, flowers anywhere you need
that party spirit. Who wants cupcakes?
Love photography as much as I do? Don't forget I make custom wearable art shoes from your photos. Check out my etsy site at www.etsy.com/shop/JoanMartinFee
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