You see butterflies everywhere these days. I’ve been thinking about making some special butterflies since last fall when we said good-bye to our precious friend, Grace.
When I saw Somerset Life’s ‘Cupcake Liner’ challenge I couldn’t help trying my hand at making some out of paper. I took plain white cupcake liners, wooden clothespins, paint, glitter, ink, and some sparkly jewels and created some sweet butterfly clips.
For large butterflies I used 4 jumbo sized liners….
I folded them in half…
Folded them in half again…
Then I glued them together at the corners and glued the pairs overlapping like this…
You can add shape to the wings by cutting around the edges…
Sponging some ink at the outer edges adds a touch of color…
I painted the clothespins with soft acrylic colors (cuz I love to paint!) and sprinkled them with glitter…
A snip of natural twine works well for antennae…
I added some drops of glue to the ends and dipped them in glitter…
I took the painted clothespins, twine antennae, and some sparklies to create the body…
Be sure and glue the antennae onto the top of the clothespin. If you glue it on the back (like I did the first time) then you can’t see them when you clip them onto something…
And then I glued the clothespin in the center of the wings with craft glue…
A tiny ribbon flower on this one…
This one was made with jumbo liners on top and the mini-liners on bottom…
All sorts of materials can be used to decorate them…
Plain white is pretty too…
I made some baby butterflies using miniature clothespins and 2 mini-liners…
Here’s an example of one where I didn’t cut the liners at all…
A whole bunch of pretty flutterbys….
I love butterflies. They are a symbol of freedom.
They are the symbol of children who lose their lives early to illness, like my baby boy will. Whenever a child goes to heaven from Cockayne Syndrome we say they ‘grew their wings’ and are able to” fly free”. It’s so sad and sweet at the same time.
Just this last fall, our precious little friend, Grace, grew her wings. I’ve been so heart-sick I haven’t been able to post about it. She was the first child to pass away that I had held and spent time with. I love her and miss her being here. I wanted more visits to Morgan’s Wonderland with her and I wanted her mommy and daddy to have more time with her, too. There is some comfort knowing that when my Knox grows his wings, she’ll be there in heaven waiting to play…they will run and jump and enjoy limitless freedom from this wretched disease.
I dedicate this post to the beautiful Grace Rose. Grace, you will always be the most special girl to us, always in our hearts. Love you so much beautiful angel!
Words fail me my sweet friend! I have always been In awe of your talent. You are one of the sweetest persons I know and you use your talent in amazing ways! I am so grateful to have you and your family in my life! I am so glad you got to know Grace and that we still have sweet Knox! This is an awful disease and I thank God every day for the support I receive from people affected by CS. There are no explanations why our sweet babies have CS but I feel blessed that I have you because of it! Thanks for remembering Grace Rose! Love you !
Dearest friend we will always love Grace Rose, and remember her, and talk about her, and look forward to seeing her again someday. I’m so thankful for you, too, and for the chance to have met an angel on earth. Much love, Scarlett
How beautiful Scarlett! I am so sorry to hear about Grace Rose. Though, the thought of her ‘growing wings’ is a beautiful illustration which gives hope to the promise of heaven. Thank you for sharing your story and your heart with the world. It is such a privilege knowing you and your sweet family.
Beautiful butterflies, you always amaze me with how you’re able to take household objects and create something magical!!
Lots of love to you and little Gracie-Rose’s family! Such an indescribable loss, to hear of children and babies passing, but one can only hope these cherished children are in a better place that we might get to oneday and that we are better for having known them, and know their story! Love and Hugs!
They are so pretty – I thought the all white one resembled an angel and then read further down about Grace and understood why it struck me that way. We stumbled upon some news program recently about (sp?) Progeria. It sounded like it had to be a cousin of CS somehow since it is also a rapid-aging disease. Only 100 kids have it (not sure if they were reporting U.S. or world-wide). Anyway, the encouraging thing about the report was that they seem to have found a drug that is helping to slow down the aging process in these children. It’s still in early trial phase, but it gave me hope for the CS research! It was also a reminder that we need to make more things for the Etsy store — hopefully we can get some things done this spring. You continue to bring inspiration to our home through your art!
Butterflies for sweet Grace…your post today was just what my soul needed. Thank you for such a gift.
What a sweet tribute to Grace Rose , she was such a precious little one and was such a blessing for me in California. So glad I got to meet her
Thank you Scarlett for honoring her memory in such a way.
What a sweet post and tribute to a beautiful child. Bless you.
Thank you for your great tutorial & adorable butterfly design. I’m getting out my cupcake liners – I only have patterned ones so they will be different.
Thats lovely Scarlett, as are the butterfly’s or flutterby’s… @>— Love you!
Your butterflies are simple and beautiful. Grace Rose is a precious soul who now has her wings. No words can express the devastation of this disease and how many lives it affects. Scarlett you are amazing and I am so pleased to follow your blog and creativity. Blessings dear…
@Sue –Thanks so much, Sue. This is a special post to me in many ways and I appreciate you taking the time to read what I shared. I hope to see you soon and hear more about your new art space!
@Annmaree-So true, friend…I am most definitely better for having known Grace and connecting with her family when I did. Thank you so much for leaving your sweet comment, it means more than I can say.
@Susan –Yes! I heard about that new trial. It’s very encouraging! CS has ‘progeroid symptoms’ but the key difference between them is the lack of neurological development in children with CS. Did you know there is a little girl with true Progeria (also called Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome) just over in Round Rock? Check out her FB page (‘Adalia Rose’) She’s precious. I love getting her updates and seeing her pics. We sent her a letter and her grandmother called while I was out one day and I haven’t been able to reach her again. I would love for Knox to meet her sometime and make a new friend.
Thanks so much, Susan, I appreciate your visit and comment, glad you liked the butterflies, too!
@Sherry–Thank you for saying that, Sherry. I’m glad your soul needed it because my soul needed to post it.
I’m so glad you stopped by, I’m grateful to have you as a follower. Have a blessed week!
@Kathy–I’m so glad you got to meet Grace,too. You saw firsthand what a little doll she was. Thank you for stopping by and talk to you soon <3
@Renee-Many blessings to you, too, kind friend. I always appreciate your visits, thank you so much!
@Terry-I think the patterned ones will look great! If you post them please let me know, I’d love to see how they turn out. Thank you for your comment!
@Melanie-Thanks, Aunt Mely
I’m so glad you came by and saw these. I still haven’t gotten to your angel project yet….someday soon! Love you, too!
@Saucy Chick Sherry–I’m so glad you came by, I enjoy your blog, as well. This was the most precious little girl..I wish everyone could’ve known her. It is a devastating disease and there’s not a thing that can be done about it right now..no medicine…no therapy…I’m truly thankful for this outlet I have; for the ability to express and share all of these tough emotions…it helps me a lot. I appreciate your visits immensely, blessings to you too!
Dear Scarlett, your butterflies are so beautiful. Your step-by-step instructions are superb (and the photographs are so pretty!).
I am so sad to read about the loss of sweet Grace Rose but understand that while devastating for her wonderful family and friends, for little Grace it is a release as she grows her wings and flies free, at last. Truly bittersweet.
xxxxx
Hi Scarlett – you just have that most magical way of bringing CS to our lives – revelling in their lives, yet realising the butterflies will fly … you are so talented with all the things you create – I’ve loved these and I know my mother would have done too … As Joanna says … bittersweet – with bigs across the ocean to you and to Grace’s families … Hilary