Whether you swoon over swallowtails, melt over monarchs, or flip over fritillaries, you can have them all as beautiful butterfly art. In this post, you’ll see how to take color images and turn them into gorgeous metallic rimmed butterflies that you can frame or use as butterfly decor.
The “metal” borders are easy to make with air dry clay, metallic spray paint, and the free patterns below.
You can place your butterflies in frames or display them without.
You can make realistic looking wings……
Or fanciful ones like the butterfly below–
You can get completely different looks simply by changing the color of the border.
For example, here’s a Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing with a black outline……
And here it is again with super shiny high gloss metallic silver…..
A layer of resin gives these butterflies the glossiest of wings–
You can also go the minimalist route, and leave the wings un-filled–
If you have never used resin or paper clay, this is a great way to try both! The video in the instruction portion below takes you through the process, step by step.
Enjoy creating!
gather these supplies
- paper clay (Creative Paperclay or other good quality brand)
- clay clean up tool or old X-acto knife
- rolling pin or wood dowel for flattening and rolling out clay
- photocopies of your favorite butterflies or moths
- scissors
- clear sealer (such as Modern Masters Dead Flat Varnish)
- craft glue (such as Aleene’s Tacky Glue)
- paint (Gold Metallic or Silver Metallic)
- optional supplies if you want to embellish your butterfly art even more (gold flakes, rhinestones, etc.)
if you use resin, you will also need
- resin (ArtResin or other non-toxic epoxy resin kit)
- supplies for working with resin (gloves, cup for mixing, stir stick)
- heat gun or torch for eliminating bubbles in resin
step 1: make color copies of your favorite butterfly photos
Print copies of your favorite butterflies or moths. For the examples shown on this page, the following butterfly images from Shutterstock were used: Blue Morpho, Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing, Orange Tip, and Plain Tiger. Each of the images was printed at Staples on a laser copier on quality copy paper.
step 2: make butterfly body outline patterns
You can use the FREE butterfly outline patterns below, or you can make your own butterfly patterns by simply tracing around the wings and body shape of your favorite butterfly photo and adding a 1/4 inch wide outer margin to make a thick outline.
Click on a butterfly pattern to download:
QUEEN ALEXANDRA’S BIRDWING SHAPE
step 3: make your clay & resin butterfly art
Set up a work area with non-stick paper, air-dry paper clay, rolling pin or thick wood dowel (for rolling out the clay), and your cutting tool.
Watch the video to see the rest of the process:
resin tips
- Wear gloves. Resin can be messy
- Use a heat gun or torch for eliminating bubbles
- Keep a toothpick or tweezers handy in case any dust specks fall into resin while you are working
- After pouring resin and eliminating bubbles, cover your butterflies with a clean box or other clean container to prevent dust from falling into wet resin before it has fully cured. Keep covered for 3 days.
- Choose a safe brand. ArtResin is non-toxic and contains zero VOC. It is non-flammable, has no fumes, and is even food safe. It is also UV and HALS stabilized to protect against “yellowing”.
step 4: easy way to display
A painted birch wood panel makes an easy way to display your clay & resin butterfly art.
To give the butterfly a floating effect, first attach a small wood block to the panel.
Then glue the butterfly on top.
Group several frames and butterflies to make a fabulous wall display.
treat your backyard butterflies to their very own garden
In addition to creating amazing clay & resin butterflies for your walls, you can give some love to real butterflies who live in your area. Whether you have a sunny yard, or a patio or deck with just enough space for a few pots, grow some nectar rich flowers as well as specific plants that butterflies prefer to eat when they are at the caterpillar stage. You’ll enjoy beautiful blooms while simultaneously keeping your neighborhood butterflies happy. You can also help to sustain butterfly species that are endangered or at a critical level.
The monarch butterfly population has plunged to extremely low levels in the last decade due to pesticide use, habitat loss, and other factors. If you live in the eastern region of North America, you can join the effort to save the monarchs by planting milkweed. Monarchs need milkweed to survive, and specifically look for this plant when it’s time to lay eggs. Swallowtail butterflies are fans of dill and fennel, so planting a little extra of both in an herb garden is a perfect way to help the swallowtail butterfly population thrive.
Research the butterfly species that live in your area to find out their favorite flower menu and then treat them to a nectar buffet!
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