HOW TO MAKE A PEBBLE MOBILE

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved the seashore. The scrunch of shingle under your feet, the sound of waves crashing down on the shoreline and that unmistakeable tangy seaweedy smell you’ll find nowhere else - this is my idea of heaven. Beachcombing in search of the sea’s bountiful treasures like fossils, shells or perfect pebbles is one of my favourite pastimes and something I hope to continue to do for many years to come.

Shells collected over time

In this post, I’m combining my love of the garden with my love of beachcombing to give you a crafty way of adding natural art to your piece of paradise in the form of a pebble mobile.

Before you begin this project, you’ll need to spend hours combing the beach in search of holey stones, seashells and pieces of driftwood or anything else of interest you can string up. To safeguard the natural environment, only take what you need and don’t acquire your materials from bird protected habitats or areas subjected to coastal erosion. Even art needs to be mindful of the planet.

Once you’ve acquired all your raw materials then here’s how to make your pebble mobile:

Lay out your materials in rows

Lay out all your materials in rows in the order you’d like them to hang on your mobile. Drill small holes in the centre of your pieces of driftwood and carefully drill the shells.

Use a long length of garden twine or string

Next cut a long length of garden twine or suitable string. Wrap a piece of Sellotape around the end to stop the twine/string from fraying. This also makes threading a lot easier as the string will have more of a firm end.

Sellotape the end to prevent fraying

Tie a knot around your first hanging object. Ensure it is well secured so that it won’t fall off. A couple of good knots should do the trick.

Knot your first item securely

About an inch further up the string, tie a knot to act as a separator then thread through your next object. I’m alternating stones with pieces of driftwood and shells but you can place your items in any order.

Tie a second knot about an inch up from first item

Add next item

Tie a second knot after the item you’ve added to stop it from moving about and keep it in place. If the holes in your objects are quite large then tie a knot on top of the first one and keep doing this until your knot is large enough to prevent the item slipping through.

Tie knot after each item added

Continue in this fashion, adding objects and tying knots until you have almost reached the end of your piece of string. Remember to leave a free section to use to tie up your mobile.

Keep adding items separated by knots

Stones, shells and driftwood look pretty together

You should now have a lovely strand of threaded items ready to hang.

A finished strand ready to hang

You can hang your mobile from a tree branch or a pair of large crossed dowels if you wish to make a more traditional 4 strand mobile.

I have used mine to add a touch of natural art to a random concrete post sticking out of the ground in the back garden. Don’t really know what that post was for but now it’s an additional bit of interest in the back border rather than an ugly old eyesore.