Mobile basteln mit Kindern - so geht’s

Which mobiles are suitable for crafting with children?\r

Get creative:\r\nThe nice thing about mobiles is that almost any material and motif can be hung. Whether self-painted and cut-out motifs, natural materials, felted or modeling-clay figures, colorful <link> beads or fabric ghosts, there are no limits to imagination. The principle is always the same: shapes or figures are hung on thin threads from a horizontally placed stick or ring. Some mobiles also consist of several crossbars hung one above the other. This way the figures move lightly and come to life with every draft in the room.

Age-appropriate crafting:\r\nEven very young children can actively help make a mobile, for example by painting, cutting out, sticking, or tying knots. You can, for instance, print pre-drawn autumn motifs or collect materials for a mobile in the forest. Slightly older children can knead or felt figures or design a larger mobile with multiple crossbars. Whether you follow a craft tutorial or come up with your own ideas, you basically only need the usual supplies and a few good ideas.

Mobiles made quickly – with motifs to color

Craft ideas for small children should be as uncomplicated as possible. Therefore a mobile with nice motifs is just the thing. Your child can color the printed motifs glued onto cardboard and cut them out. Then each motif is punched and tied with a thin thread to a ring or a branch. The branch or ring is attached to the ceiling or the window with a sturdy ribbon.

Autumn mobile: Treasures from a walk in the woods

If you go for a walk with children, you often return with the <link> pockets full of treasures: colorful leaves or pine cones, acorns, oddly shaped branches or flowers are collected. Especially in autumn, when nature reveals the most amazing colors and fruits, there are plenty of craft materials for an autumn mobile.

You need:

A dry sturdy branch\r
A sturdy string or decorative cord for hanging\r
Various colorful autumn materials: dry leaves, red rose hips on the twig, dried flowers, small pine cones, acorns etc.\r
A thin string or thread to attach leaves, berries or cones\r
Clear spray lacquer\r
Old newspapers

Here's how:

The branch forms the base of the autumn mobile; the natural materials are hung from it. The branch should be dry and not rotten. If necessary, you can spray it with clear lacquer to prevent the bark from coming off over time.\r
Lay out the collected materials on newspaper and spray with a thin coat of clear lacquer. When the lacquer has dried, turn all the materials over and spray the other side as well. Lacquering is not absolutely necessary, but it does extend the mobile's lifespan. In particular, leaves dry out quickly at room temperature and lose their bright color.\r
Cut pieces of thread of varying lengths and knot one end to one of the fully dried materials. Knot the other end to the branch at regular intervals.\r
Knot the cord with both ends to the top and bottom of the branch so that a triangular hanger is formed. Now the mobile can be hung on the window or on the ceiling.

Felt mobile: Colorful and homemade\r

If you've always wanted to try felting, a homemade mobile offers the perfect occasion. Together with your children you can felt colorful balls in different sizes and hang them on a pretty branch with threads of varying lengths. The felt mobile looks especially beautiful as autumn window decoration. If there's no time to felt yourself, you can also buy colored craft felt and cut small figures out of it. For autumn, for example, gnomes or colorful felt leaves are nice motifs.\r

Colorful wood – a nature mobile with a twist\r

Does your child also pick up branches and twigs on every walk? Just make a colorful mobile out of them: cut dry, nicely shaped twigs to the right size and spray them with paint in different colors. Let dry and tie them with threads of varying lengths to a thick branch, which, if necessary, has also been sprayed in color.

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