DIY Butterfly Shell Art
Recently David and I spent the weekend in California for a friend's wedding. It was our first time leaving our son overnight! The wedding was the only obligation we had, so spent most of our time on Venice Beach, and wandering the Venice canals.
While we were meandering along the beach, I noticed a whole bunch of shells that kept washing in and out with the waves. They were snails that the birds had gotten to, so the shells were opened and their poor contents eaten. To me they looked like butterflies.
David and I collected a whole bunch and brought them home with us, because I had an idea for an art project. (My apologies that I'm not a better photographer. They color variation in the shells is absolutely incredible, and isn't coming across on camera as beautifully as they appear in real life.)
I popped out to Hobby Lobby and picked up this shadow box.
I pulled out the back, and began to lay out the shells that I found prettiest.
I tried to make sure there was a variety of colors and sizes, and we had brought home enough shells that I had a lot to choose from. I laid them out in this pattern, but wasn't too finicky about making sure they were placed exactly evenly. I wanted it to have a handmade look.
Once they were all laid out, I hot-glued each butterfly/shell into place. Then I went to my computer and opened up Google translate and a Word document. I typed stuff into the translator from English into Latin (striped butterfly, opal butterfly, largest butterfly, etc.), and copied the translation into my Word doc. For the record, I am 100% sure the translations aren't totally accurate, but I just wanted some faux science-y sounding Latin names.
I used the font Courier New, and put the title in 14 pt. and the butterfly labels in 6 pt. font. Then I printed them and cut them out as small as I could using one of those sliding paper cutters.
I just used straight pins I had in my sewing kit to pin the paper labels under their respective "butterflies," and I added a pin at the center of each shell to make it appear as though a butterfly was pinned to the board.
I titled the board "Papilionibus Maris," which Google informs me means "Butterflies of the Sea."
I really wish the colors of the shells were coming across in these photos, because they are incredibly intricate.
I hung up the shadow box in our great room, and I am absolutely loving this DIY art. All it cost me was some sand in my pockets and the price of a 50% off shadow box.
While we were meandering along the beach, I noticed a whole bunch of shells that kept washing in and out with the waves. They were snails that the birds had gotten to, so the shells were opened and their poor contents eaten. To me they looked like butterflies.
David and I collected a whole bunch and brought them home with us, because I had an idea for an art project. (My apologies that I'm not a better photographer. They color variation in the shells is absolutely incredible, and isn't coming across on camera as beautifully as they appear in real life.)
I popped out to Hobby Lobby and picked up this shadow box.
I pulled out the back, and began to lay out the shells that I found prettiest.
I tried to make sure there was a variety of colors and sizes, and we had brought home enough shells that I had a lot to choose from. I laid them out in this pattern, but wasn't too finicky about making sure they were placed exactly evenly. I wanted it to have a handmade look.
Once they were all laid out, I hot-glued each butterfly/shell into place. Then I went to my computer and opened up Google translate and a Word document. I typed stuff into the translator from English into Latin (striped butterfly, opal butterfly, largest butterfly, etc.), and copied the translation into my Word doc. For the record, I am 100% sure the translations aren't totally accurate, but I just wanted some faux science-y sounding Latin names.
I used the font Courier New, and put the title in 14 pt. and the butterfly labels in 6 pt. font. Then I printed them and cut them out as small as I could using one of those sliding paper cutters.
I just used straight pins I had in my sewing kit to pin the paper labels under their respective "butterflies," and I added a pin at the center of each shell to make it appear as though a butterfly was pinned to the board.
I titled the board "Papilionibus Maris," which Google informs me means "Butterflies of the Sea."
I really wish the colors of the shells were coming across in these photos, because they are incredibly intricate.
I hung up the shadow box in our great room, and I am absolutely loving this DIY art. All it cost me was some sand in my pockets and the price of a 50% off shadow box.
Comments
Post a Comment