repurposed wire lampshade mobile

wire has made an appearance in my projects on this blog many times,

from the various ways i have used wire tomato cages and wire lampshade frames,

to the simple crowns, cages, and domes i have fashioned from this inexpensive material.

earlier this summer, i grabbed some wire items that i've created in the past,

and combined them with wire lampshade frames and a few new finds

to create a whimsical wire mobile in my studio.

i love how it adds movement and color to the room

and because it's overhead, it takes up no space at all!

continue reading for the incredibly simple way it is suspended...

the photo below shows where the mobile hangs in my office...

that window looks out to the front yard and street,

and the light in this room is SO BRIGHT that it's very hard to get good photos.

notice that air vent at the top of the mobile?

not only does the air from the A/C (and eventually heater) cause the mobile to turn and spin,

but it is what everything is attached to!

in this photo, you can see some tan-colored lines above the lampshades.

those are pipe cleaner/chenille stems - each simply twisted onto the vent,

then twisted together with the ribbon that suspends the lampshade,

with another lampshade or dome suspended beneath that.

i hung a separate element from each chenille stem, so they all move independently.

it works perfectly!

 the mobile is made up of three wire lampshade frames in three sizes,

plus the dome i made from a tomato cage 

and the wire 'cagelet' that i made over a decade ago.

i also added two industrial wire light cages, found at a thrift shop last summer.

i've always loved embellishing lampshades... see more here 

and where credit is due:

my curly wire 'cagelet' was inspired by Alicia Paulson

who shared her darling cagelets (her word!) on her blog Posie Gets Cozy back in the early 2000's.

her colorful home and world always inspires me! 

i added colorful snippets of ribbon, paper drink umbrellas, and crystals to my mobile,

along with three silver clip-on bird ornaments and a cute little Tinkerbell ornament

as a bit of a 'Disney' tribute.

actually, this whole THING is a bit of a Disney tribute,
because when i look at it, i am reminded of the whimsical sculpture
that Disney designer Rolly Crump created for the entrance to 'It's A Small World'
at the Worlds' Fair in 1964... the 'Tower of the Four Winds':

all of my life, i have wished that they had rebuilt that sculpture
along with It's A Small World when it was installed at Disneyland after the fair.
i just recently heard that some of the spinning whirligigs on the Small World facade
were salvaged from that sculpture! (not sure if it's true...)

 when i turn on my ceiling fan or the A/C comes on, 

the breeze puts it all into motion!

(click to watch a video of it in motion !)

during this 'stay at home' pause in our lives, 

i am finding it very easy to use what i had on hand in new ways,

re-purposing and up-cycling even previous craft projects

to create new decor for our home without spending any money.

and the bonus? i'm clearing out space in closets & shelves as i re-use it all!

and projects like this one really 'elevate' my mood. wink. 

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #534

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna!