Folded Butterfly Mobile

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Paper/cardstock
• Scoring tool
• Bone folder
• Thread/yarn//cording
• Embroidery hoops
• Twist ties
• Glue gun/hot glue

FOR BUTTERFLIES:_x000B_

DIRECTIONS:

1. Choose paper in desired color story and cut into approximately 4"x 4" pieces.
2. Fold each piece of paper in half and draw a butterfly wing shape. There are many different butterfly wing shapes, but an example is provided in the "Get Patterns" Tab.
3. While the paper is still folded, cut out the butterfly wing shape so that when you unfold the piece of paper you have two symmetrical wings. Repeat this step with as many pieces of paper as desired.
4. With the two wings folded together, use your scoring tool to press straight lines radiating out from the body of the butterfly (the thinner edge) to the outer wing of the butterfly (the wider edge). The amount of scoring lines can vary from butterfly to butterfly, but an example is shown above.
5. On each of these scoring lines you want to bend the two symmetrical pieces of paper and use the bone folder to create a crisp folded line. You want to alternate which way the fold goes on each of the scoring lines so that you have an accordion fold. Repeat this step with as many butterflies as desired.
6. Cut each butterfly down the middle to separate the symmetrical pieces. Choose a left wing and right wing of different colors so each paper wing has a different colored mate.
7. To combine the left and right wings of the butterfly, cut a piece of paper approximately 1⁄2" wide and the length of the inner edge of the butterfly wing. Use your scoring tool and bone folder to fold this piece of paper lengthwise down the middle to form a channel.
8. Place hot glue on each of the inner sides of the channel and adhere the left and right wings to the paper channel, so it forms the underbelly of the butterfly.
9. Take a twist tie and fold it in half to form a slight "V" shape. This will represent the body and antennas of the butterflies by adhering it on top of where the two wings come together.
10. If mini butterflies are desired, repeat the same steps as above using your scoring tool, bone folder and hot glue to make simplified versions of the larger pieces.

FOR MOBILE BASE:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Choose two embroidery hoops of different sizes. For example, a 10" and a 6" hoop.
2. Suspend the smaller hoop in the middle of the larger hoop by using waxed thread/cording to tie knots connecting the two. Sandwiching the thread/cording between the embroidery hoop layers helps to keep the material in place.
3. Once the middle hoop is suspended evenly within the larger hoop, create a long loop that extends up from the middle of the hoop so that it is able to hang from a hook. This can be done in a variety of ways but the simplest is to find the exact middle of the structure and tie a looped string to it as pictured above.

FOR ASSEMBLING COMPLETED MOBILE:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make a paper hook by using a small strip of paper that has been scored and folded in half with small tabs on either end as seen above.
2. Place the strip of paper just above the middle of the butterfly’s back and adhere one tab to the left wing and the other tab to the right wing. This will create a small paper hook that each butterfly will hang from.
3. Repeat the previous steps for each individual butterfly, then attach thread to each of the butterflies leaving a trail of string approximately 18" long.
4. Begin tying the string to the two embroidery hoops that make up the mobile base, one at a time. You will notice that the base shifts based on the weight distribution so it's important to balance your mobile by adding equal weight to all sides. Make sure the knots on the mobile base are just loose enough that if you need to shift the butterflies around to distribute the weight, you are able to do so. You can always place a small glue dot to hold the thread in place once you find the perfect position.