DIY: 3-D Framed Butterflies

So, this totally happened like three months ago, but I didn't have a camera to take pictures of it. So you get the blessing of seeing this project now! Aren't you lucky?

I first saw this project over on I {heart} Organizing, where Jen made this 3-D butterfly. I've since seen similiar projects on Pinterest. One with apples, how cool is that? But butterflies won me over. I've had this thing for butterflies ever since I had butterfly wallpaper as a little girl. But that is not what I got on here to talk about.

I checked out a nearby discount store for the "perfect" frame. (Perfect means cheap in my book, of course) I found this one Beal's Outlet. Don't be deceived by this picture...I actually got it for much cheaper than the price tag says. (%50 or something? I don't remember exactly)

I don't have very detailed pictures of the process (like I said, I was sans camera) but here is the basic gist. I took out the mat that came with the frame, which was already slightly 3-D and scrapbook-y. Then I held up 5,000 a few different scrapbook papers to pick two that "go." I wanted something with a subtle pattern, because the mat was already quite busy. When I *finally* picked two I liked, I cut the sheets down to 8.5x11" so that they would go through my printer. Then I printed a butterfly on the back of each one.

I thought it was going to be hard to cut out the butterfly's details along the wings, and I didn't have very good scissors. So some of the edges just got "rounded out." I was also afraid that, because of the raunchy scissors, things would look a little messy. So I pleasantly surprised when I glued those babies on the mat! They looked great! I just folded up the wings to create the 3-D effect.

Now it was time to pop it into the frame. My original plan had been to just remove the glass, since it wasn't a shadow box. My heart did a dive bomb when I discovered that the glass was built in to the frame, and I couldn't get it out. Boo frame.

My world began to brighten when I realized that the mat itself had a little 3-D effect going on, so the frame had been built to accommodate! Score! Ok frame, you are back on my good list.

So, I laid my butterfly beauties in the frame. See, just like this.

And then my freakishly long finger put the back of the frame back on...

Ta-da!

Isn't is purdy??

Then I put it on these built-ins, that definitely need a little more help. Later, mater. (Can you find it?)

Not to put myself in the "over-sharing" category, but here's a funny story about that last picture. The first time I took it, it looked like this:

Unbalanced, much? I turned on the one lamp to try to have as much natural light as possible, instead of using the flash. The other lamp was not plugged in....at first I erroneously thought that the cord didn't reach the plug. But my OCDness was rebelling against this picture, so I pulled out the piano to see if the cord would reach. Surprise, it did! But before I could "plug it in, plug it in," I needed to use this:

Um, its a vacuum, in case you couldn't tell. Sorry for the really dark blurriness. I was still without balanced light at this point, remember. The vacuum was necessary because I refuse to stick my hand down in a dark hole full of cobwebs. And now you know the truth about behind my piano.

There was also a surprise waiting for me down there:

Surprise! Lost hymnal! Down in the dark, cobwebby, hymnal-eating abyss. But not anymore! I vacuumed the cobwebs, rescued the hymnal, plugged in the light, and whala! What was supposed to be a simple picture of the built-ins but suddenly became a housecleaning project was complete!

Ahh, much better.

And me waving...

There is my simple decorating project that turned into a cleaning project which left me slightly crazy! And now you know that it is safe to visit me...the behind-the-piano-cobweb-monsters can't get you anymore.