Simple Project: Rainbow Bird Mobile

We are in full Spring mode here, even if the weather isn't quite as warm as I'd like.  One of the things I've been working on in spare moments is this rainbow bird mobile.  Easy, cheap and cheerful!

I ordered the polystyrene birds from Yellow Moon with the intention of just quickly painting them and hanging them in the front window.

However, as you can see, the paint didn't cover very well so I had to adjust my methods.

I dug out some tissue paper and glue and shredded two variations of each colour.  Then I just glued the paper over and let it dry.

Once it was fully dry I added small hook and eye screws to each of the birds (except the purple one which only has an eye on the top of the bird).

I used a small piece of string to hang the first one and then just connected the others using the hook and eye screws.  I've got some left over birds I plan to set out for the kids to do their own mobiles - great process art for them and a finished 'project' for showcasing around the house!  

Simple Children's Sofa from an Ikea Bedside Table

So I've been on the search for a suitable child-sized sofa for a while now.  Everything I've come across is too big, too bland, too childish or too expensive.  I was recently browsing IKEA Hackers and inspiration struck.  Here's the result!

I started with the RAST bedside table from Ikea for the bargain price of £8.99.  I wanted to have some storage underneath so made sure to drill the new holes for the seat high enough to fit a couple of baskets underneath.

Once the seat was fitted I toyed with the back support until I was happy with the angle, made a couple of marks and then guesstimated where to drill the holes.  Not hugely precise, but I've got a pretty good eye for these sorts of things.

The finished sofa frame.  Complete with pen.

What I don't seem to have a good eye for is when my child is drawing on sofas with pens whilst I am building them. Clearly not one of my best parenting moments as despite being less than 6 inches from him I had no idea what he was doing.


I filled the pre-drilled holes with coloured wood filler (I chose a colour that was too dark, so shows quite clearly). When it was dry I sanded the excess off and applied a coat of Danish Oil in the Jacobean Dark Oak with a lint-free cloth.  In hindsight I should have used a small wood dowel to fill the holes and stained over them.  A bit of wood filler would still have been needed, but the finish would have been much nicer.

For the cushions I opted for easy.  I bought two Lusy Blom cushions (£4.99 each) also from Ikea and simply cut one end of each cushion and took the stuffing out.  When they were empty I measured and cut the excess fabric off, stitched the ends and put roughly half the stuffing back in.  I made small throw cushions from the fabric remnants.

The end result was less than £20 and fits two small bums comfortably.  I love it.  More importantly, so do the kids!