In this little corner of the world I get lost in creativity; a craft project, an article or just in thought.


Thursday, May 23, 2013

How to make a butterfly using doilies


Anyone can experience the thrill of creating a butterfly with fabulous colors. Using doilies as the wings and a pipe cleaner for the body helps to keep this activity cost down to a minimum.
Topping a wrapped gift or having a pretty butterfly sticking out of a gift bag will surely bring on a smile!




 
Gel paint was used  in 3 different colors
2 doilies were used for each wing - symmetrical technique was used here


Start with the lighter colors before the darker ones
Try to use paint in moderation as the doilies are delicate and thin, not made for holding much wetness- using a heat gun to dry paint quicker may be helpful.

The backs can be painted, if you wish, any way you like either now or later.



Once paint is dry put doily wings together with insides facing each other --- put something between the doilies like folded up paper or cotton stuffing before gluing the sides closed all around the edges ----  This will give the butterfly dimension.




About 8 inches of pipe cleaner folded in half makes a good main body.


Here orange fiber was added for a special effect.

Glue the body to the doilies which are slightly overlapping.

A painted wood BBQ skewer was glued to the back to enable the butterfly to stand upright in a group of paper flowers.

a slight thickness of the wings can be seen as they are not totally flat.

You can also make several of these to use as wall decorations, without the skewer of course, or  connect them with yarn to make a butterfly banner!


Another way to make a Doily Butterfly is to use food coloring!
Butterfly made using food coloring

Linking up to some awesome blog parties!


8 comments:

  1. Those are super cute!! My mom has made them with coffee filters too. :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Krystie! thanks for linking up at Fun Friday blog hop. I've followed you back. Have a great weekend! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cute! I can definitely see how those would be lovely on a package, or in a pot of flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a cute idea! Thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, cute butterflies. I wish I was as creative. My mom is though. She can sew, stitch, and crochet. :) Thanks for the visit to my blog. I have followed you back and will be back. I am going to encourage my mom to join your blog. I think she will enjoy it. I just have to get her involved and show her how.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your butterfly project! You can see it here:

    http://funfamilycrafts.com/doily-butterfly/

    If you have other kid-friendly crafts, we'd love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful project idea!

    ReplyDelete

It makes me smile when comments are left. I know others love comments as much as I do, so I always like to return the favor!