Making Butterflies

Hi Everyone
Today, the Mini Project is Making Paper Butterflies.
Usually, I like to make the Friday Project from tools/ materials which most people will have in their stash. This project is a little different because I'm using a specific cutting die and stamp tool. The stamp and die come from Paperartsy and I bought them as a single purchase. I think it's possible to buy them individually - have a look at their website for details.
I will be developing this project into an embellishment kit so will make this available in my Etsy Shop. If you don't want to buy the set you could always have a go with my little kit.



The process is simple - cut out 3 die cut butterflies from thickish paper stock , the top butterfly is cutting out the stamped image. This is not necessary - you could just cut out a shape but I do like the fact that the top layer becomes the butterfly as a recognisable insect. I've used a variety of colours for my butterflies - all using Tim Holtz Distress Inks (lovely colours). I stamped out my images, cut them up into smaller pieces (easy to handle) and then used the die to cut out the stamped image. There is a window in the die to allow for precise placing.


I cut out a plain shape per butterfly and embossed each one differently (just to add interest) and then cut 1 shape from a magazine. The embossing is not necessary but as I've mentioned it does add to the item. The embossed butterflies have had a coating of colour too.
The butterflies were organised into piles of 3 - a print, an embossed shape and a magazine cut. I then machine stitched all the layers together and fanned out the layers to form wings.
I want to use the butterflies to adorn some workshop kits for a particular project and have added a piece of embroidery thread to act as the tie, I'm thinking of tying the butterflies to the handles of my kit bags. This tag idea is a test item and I will try out other possible attachments in due course.
I really enjoyed this project, it's quick and looks effective. I hope you are inspired. If you are without a die cutting system and were making a single item (or find yourself with loads of time !!!) - you could consider just hand cutting a butterfly shape (3 at once). I hope you are inspired to have a go.

Have a great weekend.
Thanks for reading.