After seeing the Dallas Gift Market photos posted on Julie McGuffee's trend forecast themed blog, trendsinformation, I was struck by the return of bright, vibrant whimsical designs returning to home accessories and decor for the upcoming holidays and into Spring. Seeing the photos inspired me to go against my neutral vintage nature and create these butterfly magnets using products from Jacquard.
I couldn't resist using my favorite waxing distressed technique which I will tell you about in this post.
Starting with some really basic wood shapes I had on hand, I painted the shapes with Jacquard's Neopaque paint in black.
Once I had the shapes painted (one coat, one side only), I used a wax candle stub to randomly rub the surface of each shape. Then, paint the shapes in bright colors. For colors like yellow over black, you may need to paint the shapes with two yellow top coats but I would not let the coats dry too long.
The secret to distressing is not to let your top coat dry too long. I wait until the top coat is "dry to the touch" and then lightly sand the surface. Areas where the wax candle was applied will easily rub off and result in a distressed surface.
At this point, paint the back of the shapes with the color of the top coat for a more professional touch.
While that is drying, print some inspirational messages on Jacquard's Cotton Percale Sheet for inkjet printers.
I love these cotton sheets. Once printed, you remove the paper backing and you're left with a lovely, naturally soft, printed piece of fabric. For this project, make sure your words are spaced far enough apart, sort of like this.
Now, use your sewing machine and black thread to sew around the edges of each word, directly onto the entire printed sheet.
Use scissors to carefully cut out each word, leaving a 1/4" border around the sewn edges. At this point, you can now peel off the paper backing.
Use decoupage medium and a foam brush to adhere the words to the wings and/or bodies of the butterflies. You may need to use a couple of coats and press repeatedly with your fingers to make sure the words dry flat. Once dry, embellish with self adhesive gem stones.
Of course, these butterflies would not be complete without antennea. I used 1" pieces of cloth wrapped wire with pearl beads glued to the tops to them (place glue on end of thread, then thread bead on wire) and glued the piece to the back of the shape with tacky glue.
Now, use the tacky glue to adhere the wings to the back of the body, making sure you place the words in the correct order when turned to front. I kept the wings flat to the back by placing my Neopaque bottles on the pieces.
Once glue has set, attach magnets to the backs of the butterflies.
Live Life Creatively,
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