Ombre Embroidered Mobile

A calming twirl of turquoise can now be found hanging in this little corner of our home.

If you catch them at the right moment, a secret message is slowly revealed.

A promise of always.

A truth I want my children to know and believe.

A reminder we can read again and again slowly spinning in the sunlight.

Above the comfy tweed chair you can find it.

The chair that reclines and sends your eyes to the rich red words carefully stitched on stiff paper.

And just what is this secret message?

God loves His children with a Never Stopping,
Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.

Yes! (Can I get an amen?)

I love this quote from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.

We gave the book to our children last year and it has completely brought home the

idea to our family (not just the littles!) that the entire Bible points to Christ.

That "every story whispers His name" indeed.

Would you like to make your own Ombre Embroidered Mobile?

watercolor paints, paper, and paint brush

papercutter

pencil

embroidery needles, thread, and scissors

cutting mat

glue stick

small hole punch

nylon string

I'd like to add that I am a firm believer in modifying tutorials to fit the supplies

you might already have on hand. Working out of your stash is just smart.

Do not feel the need to use the exact materials if you feel you have a suitable substitute.

Now it might not be on the material list, but a secret message is necessary to the design process.

My quote is split into seven parts and uses 1.5" tall paper strips.

Each strip is 1" shorter than than the one above, beginning at 12" long and ending with 6" long.

Helpful Hint: Stick to odd numbers.

When arranging flowers, hanging frames in a collage, and even making mobiles,

things tend to look better in sets of threes, fives, sevens, etc.

Place all strips in descending order on your work surface - two 12", two 11", two 10" and so on.

(The above photo does not depict this!)

Paint one coat on all strips and let dry.

Remove the longest strips from your work surface.

Recoat the remaining strips and let dry.

Repeat the process until you have added one final coat on the shortest strips only.

The painting will warp your paper.

No worries, as you can easily flatten them with a just-warm iron.

Turn them upside down on a towel covered ironing board,

lightly mist with water, and iron flat.

I imagine you can also set them under heavy books,

but I have no idea how long that would take to flatten.

Once the strips are dry and flat, you can admire the beautiful and subtle ombre effect.

Isn't it lovely?

Now time to write out a secret message.

Because I wanted this to have a love note feel,mI free handed my words.

I am sure you could print out yours in a great font and transfer them to the strips, if you'd prefer.

Helpful Hint: Painting a third strip for each width might be worth the extra effort.

You might notice in future photos, that the top and bottom strips look different than my sketch.

After a few mistakes with sketching and embroidery, I redid those.

Having a third strip already prepared would have helped me avoid a time delay

- no waiting for more watercolor painting to dry!

After the words are sketched, poke holes with an embroidery needle through to the cutting mat.

These will be your guides for stitching.

I used a back stitch and planned the spaces accordingly.

Once the holes are punched, stitch, stitch, and stitch some more.

Now pull out the glue stick.

Slather glue on the back of both strips and stick 'em together.

They will slide around a bit as you adjust the ends.

Find the center of each strip and punch holes at the top and bottom.

(Except for the last strip.It only needs a top punch!)

For a 1" spacing between strips, cut 4 inches of nylon string and tie together.

This gives enough extra to keep from getting frustrated with tiny bits and clumsy fingers.

Keep track of your spacing by resting the strips on the cutting mat or a ruler.

Cut excess string when knots are tight. For the top string, cut yourself enough string

to hang the mobile at the desired height.

And, voila!

One fabulous Ombre Embroidered Mobile complete with a secret message.

Hang it up above a chair, bed, or desk and enjoy the never ending dance of sweetly stitched papers.