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Supplies:

Piano wire-9" 32 gauge and 14" 22 gauge
Small oval bass wood plaque
Thin string or transparent thread
Thin needle
2" origami paper or cut 6" into 2" squares
white glue
black acrylic paint
violet interference acrylic paint
sandpaper
round needle nose pliers
wire cutters
scissors
seed beads
water base varnish
stamps
permanent stamp ink



by Karen Thomas

Instructions:

Fold four or five flapping cranes with the 2" paper.

Tie a seed bead at the bottom of a 6" piece of thread and feed the needle and thread through the bottom of each crane and up through the back. Bring the bead up through the small hole at the bottom. The bead will act as a weight and will keep the thread from coming through the top. Leave about 4" thread at the top of the crane.
Sand the bass wood base lightly and seal with wood sealer. Paint the base black and let dry. Stamp or collage words or images on the base with permanent stamp ink or paint with interference colors. Varnish with waterbased sealer when completely dry.
Pierce a hole through the thickness of the bass wood base at either long end about 4" apart. A sharp, thin awl will easily go through the soft wood.
Put the thicker piano wire strip into hole. The piano wire is very strong and will hold it's shape but will spring back flat if needed.
Cut three pieces of thin piano wire 2 ¼" to 2 ½" long. Make small loops with round pliers at ends of each piece making sure they are going in the same direction.
Tie one crane at each looped end of one piece. Make one crane a hang a little lower than the other. One crane should be 1" from the loop and the other 1 ½" away from the loop. Tie a piece of string in the middle of the wire with the dangling cranes. Secure the string with glue once the cranes are equally balanced. With the middle string, tie through one looped end of another piece of wire. Now tie a crane at the other end and balance unit before securing with glue. Build your mobile from the bottom up, balancing each segment as you go.


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