Showing posts with label butterflies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label butterflies. Show all posts

Friday, March 29, 2019

The Butterfly Conservatory for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

On my trip to London last year I made certain to time my visit with the butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum. I made it just in time, squeezing in on the afternoon of the very last day. It was magic. Then again, how could walking among butterflies not be?!

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

This project, is a sort of homage to that memory. A pretty space filled with flowers and fluttery things.

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

This project may take time, but it uses  only a handful of supplies. The structure is a Small Conservatory. That's it. I haven't added any fancy embellishments (but don't let that stop you from adding some dramatic flair!)

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

Inside I've added miniature wooden pots packed with faux flowers and leaves. They aren't properly scaled and they don't even look like any particular sort of 'real' plants, but they give a nice floral feel and provide lots of texture.

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

Those paper butterflies inside are all from my English Fairy Garden collage sheet. I printed it out at 50% to scale the butterflies down to a more appropriate size.

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

I haven't glued any of the pots in place so that I can move those potted pretties around, and even change up the Small Conservatory completely if I want to!

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

Besides paint and glue, the last supply I used was a plain sheet of cardboard. I've used strips to create the 'wood' floor and baseboards inside the conservatory.

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

Outside, again, I used layered strips of plain card to create a subtle architectural element to the bottom of the structure. I also used the card on the roof of the building to hide the slot and tabs that hold the piece together.

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

And that's it! Just those few little bits to make something quite pretty. If you'd like to see how I put this project together, follow along with this walkthrough video

Small Conservatory - Butterfly House - gslcuts.com

And here is your supply list:
Small Conservatory

Miniature plant pots
Faux flowers
English Fairy Garden collage sheet
Sheet of cardstock
White acrylic paint
Glue (white and hot glue)

Happy making!

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns

You know that as soon as I saw Graphic 45's "Princess" I was going to make crowns. It was an inevitability!

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

And I did! Three simple paper beauties.

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

I cut a simple three pointed crown shape from the 12" Princess pad, about 6" tall at the highest point.

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

Added a 1.75" band around the bottom, and secured a ribbon for tying between the layers.

Note: the gold piece you see there was a Fancy Gold Dresden Diadem I had in my stash BEGGING to be used!

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

This gave me the base to which fussy cut butterflies, die cut pieces, Princess Chipboard,
Princess Stickers and other embellishments were added.

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

These butterflies were snipped from papers from Olde Curiosity Shoppe—Deluxe Collector's Edition.

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

These were snipped from "Flutter".

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

There are a few Metal Brads here and there but I wanted to keep these crowns really lightweight so that they didn't slip around when worn.

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

Want to make your own "Princess" crown? Here's a list of all the supplies I used:

Graphic 45's "Princess"12" Princess Pad
Princess Chipboard
Princess Stickers
Square Tag & Clock Dies
Metal Brads 
Self adhesive gems
Foam Squares
Ribbon
Glue

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns - Nichola Battilana

Have a beautiful day, and here's hoping spring doesn't dally!

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Butterflies, Specimens and Inspiration

There was a butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum wrapping a few days after I landed in the UK. So, I jumped on a train and travelled across the country to the big city. I literally made it just a few hours before the exhibit closed.








The exhibit was in an exterior tent and it was all sorts of magic walking through the fluttering winged things.

Inside the museum there were loads of old school specimens.





Did you know that there are no real Dodo specimens? None! Not a single one! Every Dodo bird specimen found in museums is a reproduction.

But, what I really want to show you is this...


This Victorian display stands over 6ft tall and contains over 100 hummingbird specimens. It looks like chaos in photos, but in person it is absolutely amazing. I was trying to find additional information on this piece and it seems it's history is a bit of mystery. I think that adds to it's appeal.

Inspired by my visit to the Natural History Museum I've made a little butterfly "specimen" display.


I've used an inexpensive cubby box as a base and covered it with papers from Steampunk Debutante.


The butterflies are fussy cut from Butterfly Specifics from Olde Curiosity Shoppe.


I've added some small metal feet, Antique Brass Stamped Metal Brads, and an Antique Metal Door Pull to finish it off.


I have so many other interesting and inspiring things to share with you that you're going to be sick to death of me! But first I've got to get back to gluing stuff to other stuff and splashing paint on things.


Waiting for the train to London. Fun fact: you cannot get cream for your coffee in England! You can have your fill of milk, but delicious thick cream for your black gold is a rare treasure. I was gasping for a creamy cup of joe when I returned.



Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins'

I am in love with Graphic 45's Floral Shoppe. It's just so.... lush, gorgeous, beautiful, pretty. I can't say enough good things about it. Every sheet is a dream. Today I'm showing off some wearable art I created using this collection and the House Jewelry Pieces from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana


I've used various Floral Shoppe papers for the backgound keeping some pretty elements (like those pretty birds) nicely framed as a focal point on some of the pieces.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

I randomly stamped the base corners and frames with a floral design from Gilded Lily and applied gold embossing powder before gluing the frame and base together.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

A few sweet words snipped from vintage books. 

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

Paper butterflies are added too.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

Tiny eyehole screw is added to the bottom edge.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

Pretty charms and beads are added.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

What is it about those Antique Brass Ornate Metal Keys that is oh so appealing? Must have something to do with the possibility of opening new doors, or hidden treasure boxes.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

I really like the range in size. From statement piece, to delightfully wee!


Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

I was in a bit of a pickle when it came to finding pin backs for these pieces. The small house shapes are quite tiny so I wanted to use butterfly clutches rather than long pin backs but I couldn't find them anywhere! But I did find magnetic 'buttons'.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

These won't hold in place on a thick sweater or coat, but these little magnets are quite strong (they were trying to stick together when I was shooting the group photos for this post!) and will absolutely pull together through thinner materials. Not exactly what I was looking for, but hey, now they can be used as magnets by those who don't wear pretty pins, buttons or brooches.

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe House 'Pins' - Nichola Battilana

Want to make your own? Here are the supplies you'll need

Gold embossing powder
Acrylic paint
Beads, charms and jumprings
Small eyehole screws
Discarded books
Magnetic buttons




Saturday, August 18, 2018

A Little Big Fat Nature Journal

This month's AlphaStamps kit has sprouted an ATC sized nature themed junk journal.

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

I separated the panels from an ATC Ticket Journal as a base for many of the pages and used some Water Media ATC Cards for others.

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Really I just made a whole bunch of ATC's and then stitched those suckers together. They make a lovely fat little book.
Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

To bind the pages I simply poked three holes in one side, and tied them together with Bakers Twine which I've muddied up with a wash of brown paint.

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

The interior pages are a jumble of collage sheets and papers and fussy cut bits and bobs. Check the bottom for the complete list of supplies used.

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

Little Big Fat Nature Journal - Nichola Battilana for AlphaStamps

I'm really pleased with how all of those wee ATC's came together to form a cohesive bookette. If you'd like to make your own, here's all the bits and pages and papers I used.