Custom Baby Mobile: Bruno's Fun Time Adventures

A few months ago I had a VERY enthusiastic mom-to-be contact me through my Etsy Shop and request a custom mobile for her baby's room featuring the much beloved and first baby of the house Bruno the French Bulldog!  The inspiration for this mobile came from the mobile The (Mis)-Adventures of Pheobe and Paige I made at the beginning of the year, but I was sure to incorporate some of the beloved activities of Bruno's parents.

Look at that face!! What a handsome little French Bulldog. His face just is too precious. 

 

 

As I often do, I started this mobile with some common interests this family has. People after my own heart, they love to go camping, and Bruno loves to come along for the fun!  The camping Bruno is ready to go with his trusty headlamp and a roasting stick and marshmallows. (Can you imagine if he actually wore a headlamp? OMG so much cuteness!!) 

 

The next figure needs little explanation. Bruno is obviously super, and thus Super Bruno had to be made. It's difficult to see from the angle of the photo here, but he's got a trusty B on the back of the cape. I like to think he's keeping a helpful eye over baby. 

Bruno's mom loves the story of Alice in Wonderland, so this next piece was inspired by the rabbit from the Alice in Wonderland cartoon. I really love how this one came out. The ruffle was done with my sewing machine and it gives it just the right amount of authentic detail. 

If you've never seen the film Up, what are you doing with your life? It's such a sweet and sentimental film and it's also fun to play with ideas from it. Since the film Up (so cute) is also a family favorite so I was sure to include Bruno having his own Up-inspired adventures. 

Lastly, Bruno's dad is a fierce drummer in his spare time, so in order to make sure dad had his own inspired figure, I came up with this Bruno drumming figure. It's complete with a sweet little heart shaped tattoo (tattoos are also a hobby of Bruno's dad so it was another simple nod to him). 

My little extra figures are always included and Bruno's dad has a love of stars so they were also tied in here. Plus they went perfectly with a number of the figures so it was a no-brainer addition. 

 

Here you can see the figures all together. 

Here is the finished piece. I've heard from Bruno's mom that they'll pass along some photos when the mobile is hung up, which I always look forward to. 

I love the opportunity to create sentimental nursery pieces for families. I hope they're treasured even after baby leaves the crib.  If you have an idea for a custom mobile, I'd love to hear it!! You can contact me through my Etsy shop Lavender Paper Hearts. 

The (Mis)Adventures of Phoebe & Paige

The latest custom mobile I finished up is called: The (Mis)Adventures of Phoebe & Paige. This client wanted a mobile that captured the fun and silly personalities of her dogs Phoebe and Paige for her son's nursery and she presented me with some great ideas and information to start off with. Both of these lovely lady dogs seem to have very strong and yet lighthearted personalities. One of the greatests parts of working with this client was to read how playfully and lovingly she described her dogs personalities. It might sound silly, but it's these kinds of details that let me get a sense of perspective on the dogs themselves, but I also learn about the personalities of the client, their owner. 

First we have Paige, a dainty little Min Pin. My client described Paige as "shy and girly. She sits with her front paws crossed like a lady." Paige also sounds like she can get excitable as she spins around in circles a lot, but she also gets a bit nervous and skittish at times. So, I sort of envisioned her as an excitable yet proper Southern Belle who maybe gets the vapors from time to time. 

Here is a baby photo of Phoebe the Boston Terrier. Phoebe was described as, "is basically exactly like Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toons." She adores her owners and anyone who comes to visit. She also loves to take time to smell the roses (except she's too enthusiastic and she ends up sticking her face in the flowers and then sneezing her face off.) 

Just look at these ladies. How cute are they?!!

Here is Lady Paige as the uber-Southern Belle, complete with pearl necklace and lace gloves. 

Here, Paige is showing off her sort of spastic and constant movement in rollerskates. Paige is also partially blind so her sort of clumsy sort of excitable manner is only heightened because of this so I added a blind fold to play up the loving inside joke for her owners.

  

This piece features both ladies in a hot air balloon - but with all balloons. It's a play on a piece of art called Mr. Penguin Balloons Print by Showler & Showler that my client said served as an inspiration for decorating his room.  

Here Phoebe is taking time to smell the roses (and also sneeze because she does it 100%).  I made really small flowers and added some white cotton fabric to her other paw to give her a hanky. 

These flower details are in the early stages of drying. My long tweezers and sharp scissors definitely came in handy for these.  

Phoebe is apparently quite the adventurer. She apparently is so adventurous in fact that she's permanently injured her leg from being so carefree and jumping off of things more often than she should. 

As always, I like to add a few subtle extras to add layers and depth to the mobile.

The finished product is one I'm really proud of, and one I hope their baby boy loves looking at! This client was also a dream to work with. She had some great ideas to get me started in the right direction and she gave me so much fun backstory that I felt like I really got to know not only her, but her personality, and that helps me translate what she's looking for in the perfect mobile for her baby boy. 

xoxoxo

If you have an idea for a custom mobile, I'd love to hear it!! You can contact me through my Etsy shop Lavender Paper Hearts.