butterfly specimen placeholder art

These frames are the best option we found for framing our monthly photo booth strips (something we started doing regularly about the time of the kiddo's first birthday, but only occasionally before then).

Afraid they'd stop carrying these glass-backed frames, I bought ahead and ended up with an empty frame on my wall. I decided to fill the empty one with some placeholder art until we have photo strips to fill that frame as well. (The glass-backed frames I used for this project are available from Target.)

This is a deceptively easy project. Find some butterfly art in a magazine or as a copyright-free image on-line. Print it out.

Cut carefully. Make sure your cuts aren't too straight or choppy, for the most naturalistic appearance possible. Go ahead and cut off the antennae.

Gather a spool of heavy thread, some double-sided tape, and your butterfly.

Cut a length of thread. Bend and twist at the center, and attach to the back of your cut-out butterfly using a tiny piece of the tape (this will also loosely hold the butterfly to the back pane of glass to help avoid slippage).

Flip over and check placement. Adjust if necessary.

Place in frame, sandwiching the butterflies between two pieces of glass.

I used three different butterflies to mimic the look of a specimen collection; you could switch it up even more and use three different colors of butterflies, or a dozen in different shapes and sizes.

The thread antennae give these a very realistic appearance, especially if you just let them lay, rather than adjusting them until they're perfectly symmetrical.

And in less than a typical nap period, it's done, and ready to hang on your wall . . . permanently, or until something better comes along!

Thanks for reading!

p.s. you can make these pictures larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that.


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cut "glass" 5-cent pendant shade

I promise, you're going to laugh.

Partially, because yes, I've made another light fixture. And I'm filling up this post with lots of photos of it finished.

The tutorial is just too easy.

The other reason you're going to get a giggle is that this cut "glass" pendant is made from a plastic 2-liter soda bottle.

We don't drink much soda (this is actually a 2-liter sparkling water bottle), so this pendant is pretty much a one-off in our house. Until the next time I need some sparkling water, that is. And because it was a "test" project, I didn't take photos of it in-process. But I really should have. Obviously. Because it actually turned out. Against all odds.

If I make another one, I'll update this post with a step-by-step photo tutorial, but honestly, you can replicate this really easily.

Supplies:

1) clean 2-liter plastic bottle, with label and sticky stuff removed
2) hanging lamp cord kit from the hardware store (mine came from one of the paper lanterns I used to have in the other corner of the living room)
3) low-wattage LED light bulb (DO NOT use a standard heat-producing bulb)


Tools:

1) sharp utility scissors
2) ruler
3) pen
4) rubber band
5) palm sander


Steps:

1) Sand down the surface of the bottle to help diffuse the light and to make your pendant look cool. Wear gloves to protect your hands and work outside.

2) Cut the bottle neck off of the plastic bottle, as close to the top as possible, so that the plug end of your light kit will fit through the resulting hole.

3) Using the rubber band and the ruler to guide your pen, mark a line on the bottle and cut along the line with your sharp scissors. The bottle should be cut long enough to disguise the bulb inside the fixture.

4) Assemble and hang.

And there you have it! No, literally, you can have one. They're really easy and inexpensive.


Other Lighting Projects:

Another Paper Lighting Fixture (Design*Sponge-inspired cupcake liner paper lantern)

The Fanciest Thing in My House (faux capiz shell chandelier)

Lampshade Re-Do with Upcycled Milk Jug (milk jug flower petal lamp shade)

Progress (lamp made from an old cedar stump and thrift store lampshade)



Linking up to:

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

Today's Creative Blog

DIY Show Off

The Stuff of Success


Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life