Wrong. ?I had to scale the project down a bit in order to make it more manageable, but even so, this butterfly mobile is fairly time-consuming. I think the efforts pay off, though, and when it’s finished, you’ll enjoy your fluttering butterflies for quite some time. ?List of supplies for the colored butterfly mobile:?

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Monofilament (fishing line)?

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About 100 die-cut butterflies (or a symmetrical design, such as a bee or flower). It helps the look if the paper is colored on both sides since it’s impossible to match up the two sides exactly.?

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12-inch-diameter embroidery hoop ?

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7-inch-diameter embroidery hoop?

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Ribbon?

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Glue stick?

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Tape?

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Ring to attach ribbons at the top and to hang your mobile?

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S-hook (optional for hanging)?I used the inner embroidery hoops without the hardware for the colored mobile. Using a tape measure, mark each hoop into thirds. For the 12-inch hoop, this will be 12.56 inches and for the 7-inch hoop, every 7.3 inches. Make a pencil mark at each spot. ?Attach a 24-inch length of ribbon at each spot, with a knot at the end of the ribbon on the 12-inch hoop, leaving about a 2-inch tail. Then measure each ribbon 5 inches from the knot and mark a spot on the ribbon. Tie a knot at each spot on the 7-inch hoop, keeping the knot directly on the spot on your ribbon.?I found it easier to ask a helper to hold the ribbon, matching the ribbon spot and the spot on the hoop while I tied the knot. Gather each of the three ribbons about 9 inches from the 7-inch hoop and tie them to the ring all at once, in one large knot. ?Make sure the hoops are level and adjust the knots if needed. You can trim the tails or let them dangle into the middle of the mobile. I chose to tie an accent ribbon of orange next to my yellow ribbon. ?At this point, I hung my mobile with a small length of wire on a coat hanger so it would dangle when I started to attach my strings of butterflies. ?Start with an 18-inch length of monofilament. Tape a butterfly close to the end of the filament, leaving a small tail. Burnish down the piece of tape. ?Take a second butterfly and coat one side with the glue stick. Match it to the butterfly that is taped onto the monofilament. You will be making a butterfly “sandwich” with the filament inside. ?The glue stick allows you time to slide the butterfly around and match it as best as you can. I didn’t match color to color; instead I used various colors on each side so that the colors would change as the butterflies twirl in the breeze. ?Put up to 4 butterflies (a couple have only 2 on the line) on each monofilament, leaving at least 3 inches of tail at the top on which to tie the string to the hoops. ?Each butterfly doesn’t have to be centered; some can be tipped slightly. ?As each string is done, lay it flat on a table or a countertop and tape it down at the top and bottom to keep the lines from getting tangled until you are ready to attach them to the hoop. (I learned this the hard way — the lines are very difficult to untangle!) ?When you have 6-7 lines finished, attach them at even intervals to the 7-inch hoops, leaving plenty of room between the lines. (Again, these tangle very easily.) I staggered the lengths of the lines from about 12 inches to 5 inches. ?Because the monofilament is so thin, you should be able to slide the butterflies up and down the string in order to position them, being careful not to slide the end butterfly off the bottom of the line.?For the outside loop, I used 9 strings of butterflies; 3 strings in each open section between the ribbons. Again, slide the butterflies so they are staggered and aesthetically pleasing to you. ?

When you hang your mobile, take care to keep it dangling. A slight breeze makes them flutter, but a strong wind will tangle the lines. ?

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The “Steampunk” butterfly mobile was made by attaching 3 chains to a 7-inch hoop. This time, I used the hoop with the hardware. The chain is attached by wrapping wire through the chain’s end and around the hoop. Again, gather all three chains to a single loop at the top. ?The butterflies were die-cut from old thesaurus pages glued to ivory-colored card stock. The pages were too fragile to die-cut and glue without backing. ?These lines have 1 butterfly per line, attached at the end of the monofilament. I began with an 18-inch length and made each line successively shorter, spiraling them up until the shortest line is dangling only 4 inches from the hoop.?Remember as you are making your lines to leave yourself ample length in which to adjust the length and tie your knot. ?The catalog mobile I first spotted used three hoops of staggered diameters and all-white butterflies. These scaled-down versions could serve as a lovely accent for a wedding celebration or a baby shower.?I had thought to make a third example from glitter paper or lightweight metal to illustrate this article, but frankly, after untangling my prototypes, I was out of patience and time. ?

I’m hoping you can learn from the mistakes I made and enjoy this project and its results!?

If you have questions or need clarification, add a comment online at www.hersutah.com.