I posted last week about a super-cute idea a customer had involving some butterflies made of fabric, cardboard, beads, yarn and pipe-cleaner. Yesterday, I created a sample butterfly, just to see how long it took, how difficult it was, etc. This is what I learned!
Do: Get some really sharp scissors or a knife to cut the cardboard. It's a diaper box so it's really thick and it kinda hurts to chop through.
Don't: Run with scissors. It's all fun and games until someone loses and eye! (This did not happen to me yesterday--just sayin')
Do: Find a way to remove or cover up the words on the diaper box. Unless you are using super-thick fabric, they show through, as you can see in the pictures of my sample butterfly below.
Don't: Make things more complicated than they have to be. It's probably easier to use thick white paper to cover up the words that would otherwise show through, as opposed to using multiple layers of fabric.
Do: Use a lot of modge podge to glue down the fabric. I actually had both hands coated in it by the time I was done but it held the fabric down along the edges and it wasn't complicated.
Don't: Trim the fabric too short. Leave enough that it wraps around the edges. You're going to be covering it with yarn anyway.
Do: Be careful gluing the yarn on with the hot-glue gun!
Don't: Burn the crap out of your fingers like I did! (This is almost unavoidable since you're using very poofy yarn that sticks to your modge-podge covered hands!)
Do: Use beads that fit on the pipe-cleaner. Mine did not. I had to put the beads on a wire and then glue the whole thing on top of the pipecleaner
Don't: Cut corners. I felt like it would have been a better piece if the beads had actually gone over the pipe-cleaner but I didn't have any beads big enough and this was just a sample so I think it's okay for it's purpose.
Do: Use glitter glue or whatever you like to add some sparkle and shine to your butterfly.
Don't: Leave your decorated but still wet butterfly where your two year old can get ahold of it. Yep, smeary butterfly wings. Awesome.
This is my first attempt and it turned out pretty good. Both of my girls love it and it will be hanging in Lucy's butterfly garden room as soon as I get a clip for it. What do you think? I will be listing these in my Etsy store as soon as I get the supplies I need to make them correctly. Price point will be around $15.
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| My first attempt at the butterfly. This is the same fabric I used for the dress I sewed for Lucy. |
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| Other than being able to see through the fabric, I think it turned out pretty well. |
