Umbrella Mobiles

This colorful parasol/umbrella mobile will put your child in the mood for summer sun and beaches. Not only will your child have fun making it, she will have some decorative art to hang in her room when she is finished!

What You Need:

• Colorful cocktail umbrellas, available from party supply stores, online from Oriental Trading, or from Pier One
• One wooden chopstick
• Scissors
• Wooden skewers or popsicle sticks
• Strong string or fishing line
• Colorful beads
• Scotch tape

What You Do:

1. First, have your child select about five different umbrellas to use in the project.
2. You should tie some strings or fishing line around the chopstick with good knots near the chopstick. Leave the strings hanging down. Secure your knots to the chopstick with scotch tape if needed. You can probably fit about 5 strings off the chopstick.
3. "Open" the umbrellas and poke a small hole in the thin paper part, being careful not to rip them. Let your child put a bead on the hanging string, then help her poke the string through the hole in the umbrella. She can do this for each of the 5 strings, hanging umbrellas at various lengths from the chopstick.
4. You can tie a knot under the umbrella and leave more string hanging down underneath a few of the umbrellas. From these ones, tie the string around a wooden skewer from which you’ll hang more beads and umbrellas. Again, secure knots with scotch tape as needed, around the wooden skewers and around umbrella sticks.
5. Let your child repeat the process of stringing on beads and umbrellas under wooden skewers until she’s satisfied with the mobile’s look. Tie final knots for her under umbrellas, secure knots to umbrella sticks with scotch tape, and cut off any extra hanging strings.
6. Admire the colorful mobile and help her hang it in her room!