Wire and Bead Hanging Mobile Art

Craft wire — 20 gauge is easy to bend but holds its shape

Wire cutters or heavy-duty scissors

Beads in various sizes and colors

String or fishing line for hanging

A thin dowel, stick, or stiff wire for the horizontal arm

Pliers for tighter bends (optional)

Cut three to five pieces of craft wire, each about 12 inches long.

Bend each wire into a unique shape. Try spirals (wrap around a pencil), stars (fold into points), circles, moons, or free-form abstract curves. Each one should look different.

Before closing the ends, thread beads onto the wire. Slide them along the shape to where they look best. Beads add color and weight.

Twist or loop the wire ends closed so beads stay in place. Tuck any sharp ends safely.

Cut a longer piece of stiff wire or use a thin dowel as the horizontal arm. About 12 to 18 inches works well.

Tie each wire shape to the arm with string, hanging at different lengths. Space them so they can spin freely without tangling.

Find the balance point — slide your hanging string along the arm until the mobile hangs level. This is the physics part. Heavier shapes need to be closer to the center.

Balancing the mobile is the most challenging and educational part. If one side dips, move the hanging point toward the heavy side or adjust the shapes.

Alexander Calder invented the modern mobile as an art form. Show your child images of his work for inspiration — his mobiles hang in major museums worldwide.

Fishing line makes the hanging connections nearly invisible, which looks more elegant than string.

Add multiple tiers by hanging a smaller arm from one end of a larger arm. Multi-level mobiles are more complex and more visually interesting.

Hang the finished mobile near a window or vent where air currents will make it spin and shift.