I am THRILLED to share with you the steps to create a fun and zany "Hallowe'en In Wonderland" inspired mobile... as shared on the Graphic 45 blog a few days ago. As soon as I saw the new line by Graphic 45, this project popped into my head. I immediately thought of the movie scene where all of the card solders were trying to catch poor Alice... the cards were flying this way and that... and little Alice finally got away. I thought a hanging mobile would be a fun way to make those cards fly again!
A few notes... don't be afraid to try "off the page" projects. And don't be afraid to embrace the creative process during a project like this. This project started as a vision in my head... oh... it was spectacular! Although it didn't turn out how I envisioned it at the start, the changes that occurred during construction made it even better! Let's jump into this whimsical and silly Alice mobile!
Step 1... Create your frame. Instead of doing a traditional circle hoop for the mobile, I wanted it to be the shape of a playing card. We used the dimensions from a real card and multiplied it until we had the size we wanted. My darling husband put the frame together for me (thank you, Sweetheart!)
Step 3... Creating the roof of cards. I cut a piece of chipboard that was just a bit bigger than the wooden frame because I wanted the roof to hang over the wooden frame just a bit. Then I folded up about an inch on the two long sides to ground the starting and ending rows. (See more detail below) I determined that I would need 4 playing cards per row. Be sure to have the cards overlap by at least 1/2". I knew this project was going to be mailed across the country, so the roof had to be strong! The overlapping of the cards will keep them rigid and less likely to cave in!
You can see in this photo that the two outer rows were adhered to the chipboard that had been folded up. Also, the cards hang below the level of the chipboard for a nice edge to the roof. All of the cards were taped together with my ATG gun...and it worked perfectly!
Step 4... The Roof. The construction of the roof was the most time consuming part of this project. Once the two outer rows were in place, the inner rows could be installed. I used a hearty line of hot glue to adhere each row of cards to the rows next to them. Also note that the rows are not lined up, but skewed just a bit. This is a "Wonderland" project, after all! Don't forget to put down a fun patterned paper on the chipboard before starting to glue down your rows.
I built up the roof to 3 1/2 layers. Several of the rows on the top were different shapes and sizes, again, it is a "Wonderland" project and I wanted it to be a bit odd. I also covered some of the cards with paper from the "Hallowe'en in Wonderland" line, and some I left as playing cards.
Don't forget to add patterned paper to the bottom of your roof BEFORE adhering it to the wooden frame... just trust me! ;-)
Step 5... The Trim. I had originally planned to only put one layer of crystal trim around the edge of the roof. However, as I hot glued the roof to the wooden frame, there were sections that did not lie down perfectly, leaving gaps between the bottom of the roof and the wooden frame... totally not cool! So I grabbed the lacy trim to go over the crystal trim and cover the gaps. Problem solved... and I actually like the lacy trim better than just the crystal trim!
Step 6... The Teapot and Cup (and spoons). I knew that I wanted something fun to hang, suspended, from the center of the mobile and I had a great idea! I went to Toys R Us and purchased an inexpensive plastic tea set. Then I went to Home Depot and purchase silver spray paint and a short piece of clear rubber tubing.
I took the teapot, cup and saucer and 4 spoons from the tea set and gave the rest to my daughter as a special surprise (bonus... embellishments for my project AND thankful kisses from my daughter!). I spray painted the tea set items and set aside. (Surprisingly, the silver spray paint worked beautifully! No dripping and it was very resistant to scratching!)
I used my hot glue gun to secure the tea cup to the saucer. Then my husband helped me drill small holes into the saucer and the top of the spoons so they could be suspended with fishing line.
I used a bit of brown paint to paint the INSIDE of the clear rubber tubing to create the impression that tea was flowing from the tea pot into the tea cup. I added a bit of clear glue on the inside of the tea pot and the "flowing tea" was secure.
To create the whimsical look of tea spraying from the tea cup, I hot glued some green floral foam inside the tea cup. Then I took several feathers and poked them into the foam until I achieved the desired look. The "pouring tea" is not secured to the tea cup (again, because the project was going to be mailed to CHA Chicago and back). However, the tea cup and the tea pot were suspended to be sure that the "pouring tea" would line up properly when hung.
Finally, I cut hearts from "Hallowe'en In Wonderland" papers and black Bazzill Cardstock. I cut out some of the fun "Jabberwocky" cards, distressed and inked them. Each suspended piece of the mobile has double sided hearts and/or cards (double sided so the fishing line could be adhered between the hearts/cards.) I added some fun trim to hang the project (use a staple gun to be sure the trim will hold the weight of the project.) I added some crystals and this project was done!
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