Last summer I was preparing my children's joint birthday Garden Party, scouring the internet for ideas, tutorials etc, and that was when I discovered the world of crafts. But most importantly, I discovered that I loved creating stuff with my own hands, and the instant gratification of seeing something I made bring smile to the faces of those I loved.
I first came across this method back last summer at my dear friend Claudia's Feito a Mao. But as usual, I have changed it a bit, and instead of using silk stockings (panty hose in America) I am using tulle. I was not trying to be clever, but tulle was all I could get my hands on quickly and I love using stuff I already have at home. So I gave this a go and it worked!
What you'll need:
* Thinner wire, the kind to make jewellery? It's less than a 1mm thick and very, very malleable.
* Tulle in the colours of your choice
* Coloured beads
* Wire cutter and Scissors
How to make the tulle butterflies:
2) Repeat 3 other times to get 2 sets of 2 wings = 4 wire loops in total
3) Wrap a piece of tulle around each loop and secure with the thinner wire, twisting at the end to secure in place. The trick here is to really pull and twist the tulle tightly so you get neater wings.
4) Now layer all 4 loops on top of each other and secure with the thin wire. I started doing 2 loops at a time, but I think doing all 4 together makes more sense as you use less wire! :)
5) Trim off excess tulle.
6) Now open your loops to reveal a butterfly shape!
7) Using the thicker wire, insert some beads. Quantity will depend on the size of your butterfly.
8) Wrap around the middle of your butterfly and twist the ends to secure in place. Twist the tip of the wire to form the antennae.
You can use as an embellishment (hot glue it where you want) or attach hair clips or pins to the back. In that case, you can glue a piece of felt or fabric to hide the tulle at the back.
