lord of the rings baby mobile

I was so excited for Colleen and Bobby when they announced their pregnancy, but I might have been equally excited when they requested a Lord of the Rings baby mobile. I love designing baby mobiles, and this was such a fun challenge! I spent lots of time researching costumes and props, designing the characters, making templates, and choosing a color palette. My phone camera roll was just movie screenshots of LoTR characters for several weeks!

Colleen and Bobby requested Frodo, Gandalf, Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas. I think Gimli and Legolas were my favorite pieces to create. I love their braided details, and Legolas' pointy ears are so cute.

I chose Gandalf the Grey (not the White), because of his cool hat. I was actually able to rework some of my previous designs for these pattern pieces. I modified Dumbledore's beard and the Scarecrow's hat. I did my best to copy the lettering onto the one ring, but I did make one small typo (embroidery-o?). If you happen to read Mordor Elvish, please let me know if it translates to something funny now.

Aragorn's cloak is double-sided so the red only shows from the front. I loved that detail in the movie costumes. I made the tiny ring that hangs around Frodo's neck from a real gold link from an old necklace. It was forged around an awl in my craft room instead of in the fires of Mount Doom, though.

For accessories I made Aragorn's crown, Legolas' bow, Frodo's sword "Sting" (complete with blue "glow" to warn of nearby orcs), and Gimli's axe! I assembled everything to a simple mobile arm that can be clipped to a crib or hung from a hook.

I love how it turned out, and it looks so cute in the nursery!