Saturday, March 9, 2013

Butterfly Collage

I think it's time to think spring.  Those ten inches of snow we got on Tuesday will be the last of this season.  Yeah, that's probably not true but it's nice thought anyways.  Last weekend I made a project that totally got me thinking summer.  {Forget spring, I went right to summer.}

When you think of butterflies, do you think of flowers?  I do.



One of my favorite spots to enjoy the beauty of flowers is my mom's gardens.  Every spring and summer I spend hours there taking photographs.



Her flower gardens have been the inspiration for a few of my projects - Flower Photo Block Quilt and Earth Laughs in Flowers Tray.  And now they are the inspiration for my butterfly collage.


I know I'm a Johnny - come - lately to the butterfly collage scene but this idea has been in my head for about a year.  But I think my butterflies are unique.  In fact, they are one of a kind.  Why?  Because they are made from my original photographs of flowers in my mom's garden.



After selecting the photos that I wanted to use {not an easy task as I had hundreds to chose from} I simply printed them from my home computer on presentation paper.  Since an actual butterfly has colors on both sides of their wings, I flipped the images and printed on the back side of the paper.  {Of couse, no one will see this detail - it's just for me.}



Then using a butterfly paper punch, I punched out 42 butterflies.  {Actually, more than 42.  I just couldn't decide which I liked and narrowed it down later.}  I scored each butterfly along the body and slightly folded the wings up to give each one some dimension.


Then I glued them to a piece of heavyweight drawing paper and put the collage into a shadowbox frame.  {I got the frame at Jo-Ann's - 40% off sale + 20% off coupon}



 I absolutely love how this came out.  The hardest part was deciding on the 42 butterflies.  Like I said, I had many choices - enough that I could make another.

Here are close-ups of the butterflies:






Do you have a favorite of the flower butterflies?  I think the pink lupine is my favorite, which is why I put it in the middle.  But I love them all.  



Now if spring would hurry up and get here...

I am sharing at my favorite parties.

22 comments:

  1. What can I say?? This is absolutely stunning!! I am in love. I SOOOO love what you've created, and more so because you used actual photographs from your mother's garden. I can't get over it. What a very special piece of art you've created. And did I mention that I LOVE it?? So glad I saw this over at the It's Overflowing link party. I'm pinning this one!

    Debbie

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    1. Thanks Debbie. You are so sweet. By the way, I LOVE it too.

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    2. Debbie took the words right out of my mouth! Stunning! And made all more special because they're your own photos of your mom's flowers. Love love love

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  2. I love these! I love that you used your own photos.
    This is fun to do with kids too just using old magazines.

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  3. WOW!!!I simply love them...what a great idea...they are unique indeed.Have a great day!

    Shantana

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    1. Thank you so much Shantana. I hope you have a great day as well!

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  4. So beautiful! What a great idea to use your own flower photos! Gorgeous!

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  5. I think that this is just stunning. What is presentation paper?
    Erin
    erinandvictor@yahoo.com

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    1. Thanks Erin. Presentation paper is used for brochures and flyers. I bought some at Office Depot awhile back for some other project and thought it would work well for this project. It has a nice finish which allowed the photos to pop some which is what I was looking for.

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  6. Beautiful! I too take lots of flower pictures and did not know what to do with them. This is perfect Where did you get the punch and what brand is the butterfly punch?
    Sandie

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    1. Thank you Sandie. My butterfly punch is from ek tools. I don't remember where I got it - maybe Jo-Ann's or Michaels.

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  7. LOVELY PROJECT!!! I think I like yours best, and yes, I've seen lots. Super pretty!

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  8. I love, love, love this!! Just found you through the Pin Junkie blog party and am now your newest GFC follower :) I invite you to stop by my blog and link up with my NO RULES Weekend Blog Party.

    Have a great weekend,
    Paula
    lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com

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  9. Oh. My. Goodness! This is so beautiful. I could stair at it all day. I am def pinning this.

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  10. You have created a beautiful butterfly display. Best I have ever seen!

    Have a Fantastic Friday!
    Jenny @ http://jennylynndesignz.blogspot.com/

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  11. This is a wonderful idea. Colourful, nostalgic, vibrant. Thanks so much for sharing.
    Darlene

    http://darlenebnemeth.blogspot.ca/2012/08/day-26-magically-transform-mistakes.html

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  12. Love this! So beautiful and unique

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