Tuesday, April 5, 2011

If Nothing Ever Changed, There'd Be No Butterflies.


This project was conceived after a weekend of papers had built up on the ned of my kitchen table. I decided to Mod Podge them down to MDF boards and see where it went.


It ended up being a pretty hod-podge of theater tickets, frequent diner applications, letters, receipts, even a Michael's 40% off coupon.

Before:

After:

 Michael's 40% off coupon. See ~




The butterflies were made in a very old school fashion. I found a bunch of templates online and printed them at different sizes (100%, 75% and 50%). Then I cut them all out (very roughly, in squares) and glued them to a sheet of typing paper. I photocopied it, making myself a sheet of multi-sized butterflies. Next I printed it onto book paper. 


I brushed a few coats of Mod Podge on both sides of the book paper and after it dried cut out the butterflies. The Mod Podge made them sturdy enough to accept all the layers of paint, glitter, Pitt Pen ink, stenciling etc.


It also made them stand up nicely when layered:



If you have any questions about this technique please let me know.

~~~~~~~~

I finally was able to enter the Simon Says Stamp and Show Anything But a Card! challenge. Every single week I try to enter their challenges and something comes up. Hope I did it right *grin*

This is also my entry into this weeks Etsy Inspired Challenge. We were to pick a product from XS Baggage and Co Etsy Shop and I chose this iPad 1 or 2 Kindle DX Sleeve Case Cover in Twilight Moon


The butterflies and color scheme really caught my attention.

As well as my contribution to the Quirky Crafts Mother's Day Gift challenge. Good thing my mama isn't online so I can post it. She loves butterflies and glitter, hopefully this will make my junk mail/table papers meets graffiti a little more palatable to her :-)


Get Your Craft On Tuesday

28 comments:

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

I love the 3D butterflies - as well as the pithy quote.

Thanks for all the tips, Nicole. I'm learning so much on your blog.

Now I just have to make time to use it!!

But I will. I haven't stopped changing yet ;-)

Cheryl said...

Love, love, love the colors and texture!

Sarah said...

Absolutely love your piece. The colours are amazing and I just adore your wording - just fab! Thanks so much for playing in our challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show. Hope to see you back again soon...!

Sarah

Laura said...

WOW this really is AMAZING !!! loving all the background texture and colour, sp stunning, wish i could make something like this xxx

chksngr said...

This is SO beautiful! I'm just amazed at how it started out and how it ended up...GORGEOUS!

Mary C. said...

I got up this morning feeling sick and defeated. My chest is so sore from coughing, the doctor is giving me yet another type of antibiotic and the RGH is coming home to a messy house and a sicko wife. Then I saw the title of this post in my google reader.
This made my morning. It is positively lovely and it makes me want to make something. Crafting is probably one of the few activities the doctor will allow me right now.
Thank you, my talented friend.

Kim said...

Gorgeous!!!!! I try to make backgrounds that look like this but I haven't got it yet- you have skills!!! Beautiful result from the papers on the end of your counter!!

email: Steph@SimonSaysStamp.com said...

WOW!!! I'm loving everything about this - the textures, the bright colors, the layout!! Amazing!! : D

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us at the Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge!!!

-Sarah

Cazzy said...

I am sure your Mama will love it, thanks for joining us at Quirky Crafts this time. Come back and vote Friday evening.

Cazzy x

Carmen said...

OMG Nicole it's simply gorgeous! And I've been recycling my receipts! Aaaaargh!

Spyder said...

Your gift to you mum looks fabulous, I would have loved to see more of it! Thank you so much for joining Quirky Crafts challenge this time round,please pop back this Friday, Saturday to vote for your favourite and ask you buddies o vote for you too.
(Lyn)

Jacquel said...

Wowzers! Your project is really cool & truly beautiful! Awesome work & thanks for joining us at Etsy this week!!!

Kelli Green aka Cajunstampingqueen said...

Simply beautiful!!! LOVE IT

Linette said...

The butterflies turned out beautiful, I love that they're 3D, so fun! I'll have to give this technique a try. I think it would be fun for kids to help with (and plenty messy too).

Cyndi L said...

That is gorgeous Nicole! Just wow.

Angi Barrs said...

Wow...what a beautiful design. So glad to see you playing with us at Etsy Inspired. :)

Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...

This is totally sensational! What a cool approach - to just grab what is at hand and go to town with it. Love the way your piece came out. The colors and textures are fantastic. Love the butterflies too! So glad you could join in our Anything But a Card challenge this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show,

Lynne Forsythe said...

soooooo EVERYTHING THAT EVERYONE ELSE SAID.......this piece is TOTALLY AMAZING!!

SOOOOOOO GLAD you were able to play along with the teamies of Simon Says Stamp and Show!!!

KathyB said...

Newspaper taken to a new level. Love it! Thanks for sharing. You are a very creative soul. I do mixed media collage, and I use a lot of small fabric pieces and papers. Stop by and see what I do with scraps.

Cherie said...

Holy guacamole this is so beautiful. Love the 3d butterflies and just the whole project.

ACreativeDreamer said...

Isn't it amazing what all that junk paper can be turned into? I love how it turned out... it's gorgeous!

Kathi said...

That's one of my favorite quotes. Your piece is perfect with it! Kudos.

I love, Love, LOVE this one.

But then again, I love most everything you do.

Marjie Kemper said...

This is gorgeous! Love your colors... so rich. So glad to have found your blog from the SSS link. Congrats on the win!

abbie at play said...

this is wonderful thank you! :) thank you also for explaining in detail how you made the butterflies.
i have one question, we are in the philippines and i've never seen modge podge. what is it exactly?

Anonymous said...

hi i really liked you photo with the butterflies, and i would like to know from where did you took them?
thank you
shiri

Unknown said...

Truly amazing!!!!

Unknown said...

Absolutely love the butterflies and the message. So true...

scrapeahappy said...

Love the journal! Is the quote
A stamp set or soemthing you made yourself! That is my favourite
Quote and I would love to have the stamp set.