Anthropologie Knock Off Mobile

Hello!  It's Randi from Swoon here with an Anthropologie inspired DIY for you.  I'm always looking for unique decor for my girls' bedroom and this time I turned to the ever-innovative store for inspiration.  I decided to try to recreate the cascading garlands of flowers and vines seen in the display windows of my local store this last spring. Stealing a page from Anthropologie's book, I tried to use recycled materials as much as possible. I made mine to keep up year round, but I think the finished product would make a lovely statement at a party or wedding with a floral theme!

You will need: 3 egg cartons, scissors, white and yellow acrylic paint, a medium sized paint brush, jute twine, a hot glue gun, a small light weight branch, 1/8 yard green fabric, and 1 sheet of matching green felt.

Step One: Cut up egg cartons. Deconstruct your egg cartons to make two different kinds of blooms. The easiest way to break down the egg carton is to cut the top off first, then cut off the middle pieces that stick up.  Cut slits around each egg holder on all sides and break apart.  To make the yellow flowers, trim the tops of the egg holders all around until you acheive a bell-like shape.  Follow the same steps for the white flowers, but also add slits at all four corners and carefully fold the ends up. I chose to make 24 white flowers and 12 yellow, but you can choose any ratio you would like (add more egg cartons/flowers for a fuller look).

Step Two: Paint flowers. Carefully paint flowers with your paintbrush and allow to dry for one hour.

Step Three: Make vines. While your flowers are drying, cut or rip your green fabric into 1/2" strips. Cut an 18" and 20" piece of jute twine.  Wrap each piece of jute twine with strips of fabric, securing with hot glue on both ends of fabric strips.  You will need about 3-4 strips of fabric per piece of twine.  Once your twine is wrapped, cut 10-12 simple leaf shapes out of felt and attach to vines with hot glue.

Step Four: Assemble wall hanging. Carefully poke a hole in the center of each flower from underneath with the tip of your scissors. Cut four pieces of twine in various sizes, the longest being about 25". Decide how many of each flower you want per strand.  Attach flowers by tying a knot in the twine and then sliding a flower from the top down to rest on the knot, leaving about 2-3" between each knot. Tie each strand to your branch in desired order, about 1" apart. Tie the ends of a piece of twine to both ends of your branch and use a nail or tack to hang from the wall, and you're done!