I had a baby so I’ve invited some fave guests to take over for me while I spend time with the little guy.
Growing up, I had an aunt who lived in Canada. Every year for my birthday she’d send me a card and a fancy little gift. She always found the neatest things! One year, when I was maybe 10 or 11, she sent me another card—and when I opened it up, a paper butterfly fluttered out of the card. It was magical! I was enchanted. I remember wasting an entire afternoon trying to make my own out of paperclips and a produce rubber band, only to miserably fail. I was convinced only Canadians could make those magical butterflies! Fast forward to 2012 and I found myself still thinking about them. But this time, after much research and diligence, I think I’ve finally cracked the code!
I made my butterflies into Monarchs, but you could use different materials to create any sort of colorful butterfly. I think a sweet floral paper would be so pretty for an invitation to a little girl’s birthday party.
Materials: You’ll need heavy cardstock, 24 gauge wire, silicone rubber bands, needle-nose pliers, scissors, tape, a paintbrush, a black marker, and a white ink pen.
- Measure and cut your wire. The wire used for the top wings will be 4 inches, and the wire used for the bottom wings will be 5.5 inches.
- Find the center of the longer wire. Wrap it around the base of your paintbrush to form a loop.
- Keeping the loop horizontal, bend the tails of the wire down vertically.
- Bend each tail in towards each other to form a hook to hold the rubber band.
- Find the center of the shorter wire, and wrap it around the base of the paintbrush. Instead of forming a loop, pinch the wire to form a circle, and bend the tails of the wire out to form the base for the wings.
- Assemble the body of the butterfly. Wrap the rubber band around the top wire and set it in the center.
- Thread the rubber band through the loop of the bottom wire, and attach it onto the bottom hooks.
- Draw the shape of your wings and cut them out. You can make them as plain or fancy as you want. They don’t have to be perfect—be creative!
- Outline the edges of each wing with your black marker. Draw lines and doodles on the wings to replicate a Monarch.
- Use the white ink pen to draw dots on the outer edges of each wing
- Tape each wing to the body of the butterfly.
- Holding the body of the butterfly with one hand, use your forefinger to turn the top wings and wind up the rubber band. I found that between 40-50 rotations made the wire nice and tight. Be careful not to wind too far, or the wire might bend!
- Carefully insert the wound-up butterfly into a card or book. Whoever opens it will get a flutterly little surprise!
Thanks for the chance to finally figure out how these darned things are made!
