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A Fluttering Bouquet of Whimsy

Happy Sunday to you all.   Jean here with a truly whimsical yet lovely  project for you

OH MY GOSH
This has to be one of the most beautiful bouquets ever!

 YOU can make it.   I will be making one for Halloween
 My Halloween bouquet will use AP collage 1787 Vintage Butterfly Graphics and horrid dyed cheesecloth in place of the ribbon.    There may be a few bats flying thru the butterflies too!



This would be lovely for formals, prom and of course, a wedding.  
Thinking out of the box, what about a party centerpiece in a basket or vase?

Alteredpages.com has fabulous Butterfly collages to fancy cut and then bind together.
Find Collages, Glitter Tubes, Crystal Lacquer, Maya Mists, Washi tapes and Mixers at www.alteredpages.com


You will need:
AP collages of your choice 1065, 1066 or 1787.   (4 or 5) depending on how full you want the bouquet)
Crystal Lacquer* or gel medium in glossy or matte
Spool of medium weight Florist wire (approximately 50 feet)
Florist green or white tape or your choice of washi tape
Ribbon as desired, but use wide rather than narrow (approximately 2-3 feet)
small round nose pliers (jewelry pliers)   sturdy scissors or wire cutter
sewing needle or tiny hole punch
Ultimate or Aleene's type glue

Apply Crystal Lacquer* or matte gel to the butterfly images & allow to dry.  CL gives the butterflies a glossy finish*, if you prefer a matte finish, the gel medium works great and both add strength.   
Add Terri Sproul Mixers with the Crystal Lacquer to provide subtle color if you wish.  
You may also mist the butterflies with the Iridescent Mist to give a glimmer.

Fancy cut the butterflies when dry. (cut image very close so all remaining excess paper is removed)   You can use your ink pad to add color to the edges of the butterflies, creating a more finished look.

Cut the wire into 16" to 19" lengths.  You will cut them all to size later.
Using your pliers, create a small closed loop on one end of the wire to hold a bead in place.  
Thread a bead onto the open end of the wire.

Attach the wire to each butterfly by using a hole punch or sewing needle to make a hole for the wire.
Thread the beaded wire into the hole with the bead showing on top of the butterfly.  Add a drop of Crystal Lacquer to hold it in place.  
Allow to dry as you make the next assembled butterfly.  (Before assembling,  you can layer the smaller butterflies onto the larger ones for visual interest by using a dab of glue or Crystal Lacquer.

After you have all assembled, you will wrap each wire in the florist's tape.   To create the bouquet, gather all the assembled butterflies together and  make sure they are the length you want them to be, randomly having small and large butterflies as well as long and short wires for a pleasing appearance.  Once you have done this and are happy with the composition, wrap the entire "stem" of the bouquet with florist or washi tape.   You can move the wires so that the bouquet has a layered appearance, just like arranging flowers.

Wrap the stem in ribbon; first take two small lengths (4 or 5 inches) of ribbon and crisscross them over the bottom of the wires to contain them. You can hold this in place with tape as it will be covered.  Starting at the top (make sure you have cut the wires to an even length) wrap the ribbon around the stems, there should be enough to go down the stems and back to the top.
Stop wrapping approximately 3 - 5 inches from the top.   When you reach that point of the bouquet, tuck the ribbon into itself and add a liberal dab of glue to secure the ribbon.  

Gilding the Lily:  create more stems using feathers or  ribbons to add to the mix of butterflies.


 
The photo was found online and was our inspiration for this tutorial, we attempted to locate the artist/crafter of the original work but were unsuccessful.   We did however write the tutorial and hope you find inspiration from the posting too.





Comments

  1. wow, this is awesome! thanks for the tutorial, can't wait to make one for myself

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is absolutely beautiful. I can see it in a summer or spring wedding. Instead of flower girls you could have butterfly fairies. Thanks for sharing, Connie :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. HAVE TO ADMIT, not an original design photo, we could not find the name of the original artist/crafter. We did create the instructions for your use however. We will be producing a Halloween version, so come on back to take a peek.

    ReplyDelete
  4. FANTASTIC!!! Can't wait to see the Halloween version! This would make a fun hat too!

    ReplyDelete

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