How To Create A Beautiful Driftwood Bead Mobile

I’ve been making things in preparation for my best friend’s 10th wedding anniversary party this weekend and this driftwood bead mobile is one of them.  It’s going a small and intimate party in the garden with around 40 guests.  Our plan is to create a feel based around my garden nest.

Hippie, Bohemian vibes.  It has a really laid back and relaxed feel to it.  It’s where I spend most of my time during the warmer months.  There is lots of colour and things to draw the eye.  It’s the perfect place to relax and create beautiful things.

Driftwood Bead Mobile

Beads are something I’ve always enjoyed making things with.  I love seeing them all strung together in different colours and different sizes.  The way they capture the light and throws shadows around.

The Wood 

We’re lucky enough to live near the beach, therefore, foraging for driftwood isn’t really ever a problem for us (we’ll neglect to mention that I can’t often get there…).

What length, size, straightness you decide upon depends on where you’re going to be hanging it and what your taste is.

The piece of wood I used was chosen for me.  The Bates’ have a Springer Spaniel who, like ours, has a penchant for bringing you sticks.  Who even knows how they manage to constantly find them?  As often as we hide them, they always come back for me.  Quite convenient on this occasion.  Willow has very good taste in sticks.  Thanks Willow.

Metal Eye

I bought a pack of 25 brass eye (at least, I think these are called eyes) from my local DIY store.  They were around £3.50.  I measured the spaces between hooks in the very precise way of having them two fingers width apart and screwed them in.  I screwed two in the top, both roughly an equal distance from the end of the wood.  Again, I just used something random to measure the distance.  A bead pot, or something that was nearby.

The Beads

I have a huge box packed full of different colours, sizes and types of beads and metal findings.  They’re something that I often go back to throughout the year so I continue to hoard curate them.  Some of the beads are from necklaces that I picked up cheap and deconstructed, some are from when Tor and I used to have a florist shop although I’m quite sure I bought the bulk of them a few years back from eBay.

Bead Strands

I strung the beads on lengths of fishing line.  It was quite thick, therefore, I suspect it is meant for sea fishing.  I didn’t string them in any particular order.  To me, they look good mismatched and different.  I attached a bell to the bottoms of a couple of the strands.  Feathers to the bottoms of another couple and just mixed them up.

The Finish

I finished the mobile by tying some purple ribbon to the top eyes on the top to hang the mobile from.

I’m so pleased with how it turned out.  The whole thing took me about five hours to make, so I’d certainly say it was a labour of love and not something you’d ever be able to make money from making.

If you’ve made anything similar or have any ideas of how to mix it up a bit, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

When you’re ready to try another project, how about making your own vintage wedding bouquet?

Thanks for reading x