Here's a project I did recently based on unlikely inspiration... my old business cards! It seemed so wasteful to toss all of these little pieces of perfect cardstock. There had to be a project for them! I searched the interwebs and came up with very few ideas that inspired me. (I did use one idea from this site: http://geekgyrls.com/15-creative-uses-for-your-old-business-cards/. Ryan and I flipped them over and used them as labels for moving boxes. Especially the big reusable plastic kind that you don't want to write on. One strip of packing tape holds it in place.)
Then I had an "Aha!" moment... I quickly pulled up my inspiration folder of my favorite spaces and ideas for art that I could potentially execute on some scale. Doesn't that swirling ball of butterflies have such an impact? Let's see what you think of my smaller scale DIY version.
I did this project in assembly line format...First I folded the business cards. I wanted different size butterflies, so I found some other sturdy scraps in varying sizes. Something like flyers you get for the latest restaurant opening or postcards from the dentist. Keep in mind, if they are not glossy and more like construction paper, they'll soak up more paint and might not give you the look you're going for.
I made about 60 little butterflies, because I was creating while watching TV and just got into a groove. I did not end up using them all but will probably add to my installation in the future.
Then I drew one butterfly wing. You can use your own idea of the perfectly perfect butterfly wing. Mine was pointy at the top with a rounded bottom. (Sounds like the description of a female conehead. Heh heh.)
I then cut out along the lines I just made with scissors.
And pretty soon I had lots of little butterflies that look like they're about to take flight!
Next I painted them. I liked the idea of the solid black butterflies as in the inspiration image, but you could really paint them any color you like! Also, I discovered that spray paint doesn't work that great to cover the embossed lettering on the cards. This was especially true of some of the butterflies I cut out from the non-glossy papers I had. My solution was to use black paint with primer in it that I already had lying around. This worked very well. A second coat helped get the look I was after.
Then I drew one butterfly wing. You can use your own idea of the perfectly perfect butterfly wing. Mine was pointy at the top with a rounded bottom. (Sounds like the description of a female conehead. Heh heh.)
I then cut out along the lines I just made with scissors.
Next I painted them. I liked the idea of the solid black butterflies as in the inspiration image, but you could really paint them any color you like! Also, I discovered that spray paint doesn't work that great to cover the embossed lettering on the cards. This was especially true of some of the butterflies I cut out from the non-glossy papers I had. My solution was to use black paint with primer in it that I already had lying around. This worked very well. A second coat helped get the look I was after.
I didn't take a picture of the following step where I painted the reverse side. I ended up painting them with some acrylic craft paint I had lying around for a peek of color from the underside. Still a dark color, so not super obvious. But I can say, now that I have them mounted on the wall, they reflect a hint of purple on the white wall, which I think is pretty.
Once they were dry, I folded them a bit more to make them look like they were in flight and added a small sliver of double-sided tape where the "body" would be.
And here's the final result!
And here's the final result!
BRILLIANT!
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