Coiling a cardboard tube is really easy after painting it. The paint hardens the cardboard, but the trick is coiling it at the right moment. You can make so many things with this method, like these adorable Coiled Cardboard Tube Snakes! This Coiled Cardboard Tube Rainbow Mobile that I made for Spoonful is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day and for spring. Bring on the rainbows!

Print Project

Coiled Cardboard Tube Rainbow Mobile

Supplies

• 2 12- inch wooden dowels
• Yarn
• 6 4- inch cardboard tubes
• Paint: red blue, green, yellow, orange, purple
• 2 sheets white felt
• Hot glue gun or white craft glue
• Scissors

Instructions

• Paint the inside and the outside of the cardboard tubes, one of each color. Allow them to dry until slightly damp. You should be able to handle the tubes with your hands without getting paint on your, however, the tubes should still be damp and pliable.
• Meanwhile, while the tubes are drying create the top of the mobile. Glue the two dowels together in a "plus sign" fashion. Measure and cut a 4-foot long piece of yarn. Fold the yarn in half to create a loop at one end. Wrap the yarn around the center of the dowels several times. You should have about 6-inches left for the hanger (the looped end of the yarn). Tie the yarn in a knot around the center of the dowels to secure, trim off excess.
• Now that the tubes are dried to a damp state (see step 1), begin cutting at one end and cut on a slight diagonal all the way to the other end of the tube.
• You will have a long pliable strip of cardboard when you are done.
• Take that strip and coil it up tightly.
• Repeat with all the colored tubes. Set all the coiled tubes aside to dry completely so that they are no longer damp. This may take a few hours.
• When they feel completely dry, stretch each coiled tube out gently.
• Cut 6 length of yarn measuring about 30-inches each. Tie yarn to the end of each coiled tube. Nothing fancy, just tie in a knot that will hold. Hang the dowels from a hook in the ceiling. Tie the open ends of the yarn to the dowels at different length to attach the rainbow coils to the mobile.
• Cut a sheet of white felt in half. Fold one of the halves in half as pictured.
• Cut a cloud shape from the open end of the folded felt. Glue it onto one of the four dowel ends, gluing the crease of the felt to the top side of the dowel. Repeat this step for all the dowels.

I originally made this project for Spoonful. Spoonful has since closed and the instructions were taken down. I am putting the instructions here until such time that Spoonful projects are redirected to a new home. At that time I will remove the instructions and link directly to the project on their site.