Modern Paper Mobile for Babies

June 9, 2010
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When the twins were one month old I made them a mobile like this and hung it over their crib.  Looking at it was my daughter’s favorite activity for almost 6 months.  The contrasting black and white shapes are perfect for infants’ undeveloped vision.  It’s also very simple to make, using only cardboard, paper and some thread.  At the bottom of this post is a template that you may download and print, or you can design your own black and white shapes.

Update: Someone over at the Made by Joel Facebook Page, uploaded a photo where they attached the printed squares to a tree branch, like I did on the Nature Mobile. A very easy, and beautiful solution! Nice one!

This is how you can make one:
– Cut two strips of cardboard about 14 inches long. (I used illustration board and painted it red, but any cardboard will work.) Then lay them in a cross and use some double sided tape (or glue) and stick them together.
– Print the template and cut out the mobile shapes.
– Cut 4 pieces of thread, about 9 inches long each.
– Tape the strands of thread to the ends of the mobile arms. Just lay the string on top of the arm and stick tape on it, then fold the tape under.
– Next mark the center on the back of each mobile piece and tape the other end of the thread onto it so that the thread attaches near the center.
– Take another length of thread (about 12 inches) and tie each end to the cardboard stick that’s on the bottom. (See photo.)
– Now tie one long piece of thread onto the loop you just made, and attach the other end to the ceiling. You can use masking tape to attach it because it’s so lightweight, or you can use a small hook.
– Once you have it hung, you can adjust the balance by sliding the threads around where you tied the knots so that it hangs level.

That’s it!  Hang it so that the baby can see it while lying down.  When it spins around, they really start to track with their vision.

Template: Click on the image below, then print.

31 Responses
  1. Lori Henriques

    love your patterns. reminds me of something in our childhood house…very 70s. i wonder if you might consider posting le mademoiselle et le mobile…? :)

  5. Joel Henriques

    Thanks everybody!

    Lori – Yeah, I need to find of good copy of that movie with Tess and the mobile on my backup hard drive. I only have a super tiny version. I'll try and do that. She's so cute in it.

    Jill – Cool, you're right. It almost does look like "love". Perfect!

  7. Joel Henriques

    wabili – If you download the jpeg it will print automatically on a regular 8.5X11" piece of paper. The squares will be 4X4 inches. You can print it smaller though if you'd like. (If your printer doesn't have borderless printing.)

  9. Genie

    Perfect. My sister is due with their first baby this fall and this will be a part of the gift that I am sending them. Homemade and perfect. I think instead of cardboard for the crosses though that I'm going to use painted paint stirring sticks. Thanks!

  11. Dolores

    Joel, how can I thank you ? Our 3 m. old daughter was so restless, we tried everything from swaddling with white noise to letting her cry for 5, 10 and 15 mintues, nothing worked, I started getting pretty worried as our first child would fall asleep anywhere ant any time without any problem. Anyway I decided to make your mobile, and ever since I hung it on top of her cot, she is soooo quiet and happy to be lying down, she even falls alseep on her own ! Merci, merci, merci from down under !!!!!!!!!

  12. Joel

    Dolores – Wow! What a wonderful story. I’m so glad the mobile helped! I know my daughter loved looking at the high contrast shapes when she was a baby. Very fun!

    1. Joel

      The metal was some old wire that I got from my wife’s grandpa. It was repurposed. I can’t remember what it was for, but I think it’s aluminum, or steel, or a blend of the two.

  18. Cassie Combes

    I love your mobiles. But am very interested in how you made the mobile stand. What sort of wire etc…

    1. Joel

      I’m not sure you could find the exact wire I used. It was old repurposed wire that I got from my wife’s grandpa that was salvaged from a grocery store. I think it’s aluminum, or steel, or a blend of the two. Then I just drilled a hole and poked it into the wood. I’ll let you know if I ever see any wire like that in stores.

  19. Mobile voor baby’s - Ecomama

    […] Made by Joel heeft een heel simpel en mooi ontwerp voor een mobile, die je gratis kunt downloaden. Het is een simpel knutselprojectje, maar je zult echt zien dat een baby heel anders op deze mobile dan op een grijs Nijntje mobile. […]

  22. sandra

    hi,

    my 9 year old dd and I just made the mobil and are super excited to hang it… are the pics supposed to lay flat facing down or at an angle

    1. Joel

      Great! Yeah, I’ve done it both ways. When a baby is lying directly underneath it, then it’s nice to have the pieces lay flat so the baby can see the designs below. But hanging them upright is totally good too.

    1. Joel

      Yes, I know what you mean. I just put a small piece of tape in the middle of the square of paper, then unstick and re-stick until it’s close to flat. It’s almost impossible to get it really flat. But close is good enough! It kind of swivels around better that way anyway. Fun to look at! Oh, and another trick is you can kind of slide the thread left or right, under the tape, to make small adjustments too.

  24. Andrea

    I love that your projects are so simple/high contrast and so elegant and beautiful. More art to see for kids is always a good thing. We think in pictures, young ones have to non-verbally communicate, it’s very powerful.