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Persia Lou

Creative. Crafty. Fun.

Hot Air Balloon Mobile


I have been wanting to try to make the beautiful woven paper hot air balloons from PaperMatrix for a long time now, and finishing up the nursery gave me the motivation to give it a shot. PaperMatrix generously provides free pdf templates that you can print off, cut out, and weave into amazing 3D works of art.

If you have a Silhouette or some other kind of cutting machine, this project will be a lot quicker for you. However, it is definitely possible to cut this project by hand, and, honestly, it’s kind of a relaxing thing to do.

Copy paper is a bit flimsy for this project. A slightly thicker paper works better, but cardstock might be too thick. PaperMatrix has videos on their site to demonstrate the weaving technique, which are very helpful but may be a bit overwhelming if (like me) you have never tried paper weaving before. I would recommend just getting your hands on some paper if you are feeling confused. For me, it all made a lot more sense when I could play around with the paper a bit.

You will need some paper clips to hold your project in place while you weave.

At the end you simply secure your project with a little bit of glue. It’s really kind of amazing.

I probably spend a couple hours cutting, weaving, and gluing each balloon. It got easier the more balloons I had made. The piece that connects the basket to the balloon will cover a lot of imperfections, so you can definitely get away with less-than-precise weaving and cutting. My balloons are a bit wonky, but they’re my wonky balloons, and I love them.
To make the mobile, I hung the balloons from fishing line leftover from this project hung from dowel rods cut and painted white. I followed the basic mobile layout at PaperMatrix, which worked just fine. It took a bit of fussing to get it to balance, but it got there eventually.
Now it is happily spinning and dancing over the crib in the nursery.

What do you guys think? Have you tried paper weaving? Is this a project you would tackle? There are some seriously fantastic projects over at PaperMatrix that I’d like to give a shot in the future. I may have to get a paper cutting machine first though.

 

July 5, 2013 6:00 pm Alexis Middleton Filed Under: Craft

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chelsea @ Making Home Base says

    July 6, 2013 at 5:13 am

    Your mobile is darling! I love those woven balloons – they are so neat! Thanks for sharing!

    • Alexis Middleton says

      July 9, 2013 at 4:40 am

      Thanks, Chelsea!

  2. ChristaQuilts says

    July 6, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Those are really cute. And of course they remind me of a quilt pattern 🙂

    • Alexis Middleton says

      July 9, 2013 at 4:41 am

      Thanks, Christa! It would make a cool quilt pattern. Let me know when you have it all designed. 🙂

  3. Chrissy @ Adventures in DIY says

    July 8, 2013 at 8:21 am

    I have never tried paper weaving, but wow! This mobile is really cute and unique! And it would work for either a boy or girl! Love it! 🙂

    • Alexis Middleton says

      July 9, 2013 at 4:45 am

      Thanks, Chrissy! It could absolutely work for a boy or a girl. PaperMatrix has a few variations that are all pretty neat if you are interested in giving it a shot.

  4. Heidi Amber says

    July 9, 2013 at 11:13 am

    These are so neat! And they make the most darling mobile. This nursery is going to turn out amazing :)<br />Heidi @ handmadefrenzy.blogspot.com

  5. Bethany says

    July 9, 2013 at 3:30 pm

    Love this mobile! Gorgeous!

  6. Heather SettingforFour says

    July 15, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    I featured you today here: http://www.settingforfour.com/2013/07/10-make-create-and-decorate-summer.html Thanks for sharing your creativity at Project Inspired! Hope to see you at the linky party tonight at 8 pm EST!

  7. Ella Mark says

    September 24, 2013 at 5:20 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  8. Ella Mark says

    September 24, 2013 at 5:20 am

    Most of the hot air balloons have the lovely colours, they looks great while flying in the sky. Hot air ballooning ride is the most eco friendly rides. If you want to buy tickets online then you can visit http://clickit4tickets.co.uk/.

  9. gail calis says

    September 28, 2013 at 11:08 am

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

  10. amy says

    December 27, 2013 at 8:26 pm

    These. Are. Adorable!

  11. Pins, Needles & Fashion says

    March 21, 2014 at 2:59 am

    I love love love these! they are adorable. <br /><br />www.pinsneedlesfashion.com

  12. The Happy Creations says

    June 3, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    I love your air balloon mobile!!!Super cute and great for a boy:):)<br />Thanks for sharing:):)

  13. Caroline Quan says

    January 15, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    so cute! can you make a video showing how to make it? i watched the paper matrix video and it doesn&#39;t really help. i cant get the first row…

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