Butterfly Craft Projects

So, what can you do with the cool butterfly wings from your Butterfly Smooch Stick favors, once the lip balm tube has been removed for use? Don't throw them away!!  My daughters and I came up with a couple of fun craft ideas that would be great for a kids' party.  Just think...you can get the favors and the activity taken care of all at once!

The first technique is probably the easiest.  Just take jumbo craft sticks (the size of tongue depressors), some paint, and adhesive magnet strips .

Cut the craft sticks in half and round out the corners with your scissors, then paint them a dark brown color to match the brown of the butterfly wings.

Once dry, insert the painted craft stick into the slits on the butterfly.

Turn it over and apply your adhesive magnet.  This will help to hold everything in place, so that the wings don't slip around at all.

Add some decoration on the top using 3D "puff paint" and/or little self-adhesive jewels.  You can bend the wings up just a little to make the butterfly look more realistic.  Easy and fun!!  

The other idea takes a little better manual dexterity,  but is also very kid-friendly.  Just take brown chenille pipe cleaners, regular size craft sticks (Popsicle sticks), and little suction cups .

Cut the sticks down to the appropriate size and round out the corners, like you did with the other project.

You can add a little hot glue to hold things in place, if you'd like. 

Wrap your pipe cleaners around the stick to form the body of the butterfly. We used three pipe cleaners for each craft stick.  

You can even make legs.  The pipe cleaners give the body a cute, fuzzy texture.

Slip your butterfly body into the slits on the wings.  If you decided to make legs, you may have to bend them down temporarily in order to slide the whole thing in easily.

You could just leave the butterfly like this to play with, or you could add a suction cup to the bottom so that it can be affixed to things.

Attach your suction cup to the bottom using hot glue.

The butterflies look great attached to windows because the translucence of the vellum paper allows the light to shine through.

 Do you have any other good ideas?  I'd LOVE to hear about them!

Guess What? ...Chicken Butt

If you live in another part of the country, (or in the countryside, for that matter) you may not be aware of the wildfire that has been sweeping our Northwest urban landscape: backyard chickens.  Keeping city chickens has gotten so popular around these parts that there's actually an advertising campaign that lovingly spoofs it.  

Well, I've been going back and forth in my mind for a few years about the idea of keeping chickens.  We eat LOTS of eggs (2-3 dozen a week), so it makes sense from a practical standpoint.  Also, my son has been pestering us for a pet bird.  Admittedly, he was talking about a parrot, not a chicken, but beggars can't be choosers, right?   On the downside, I've always been somewhat repulsed by fads.  In high school, I would stop wearing my hair a certain way or choosing certain clothes if more than a few people started doing it.  My husband has also been a hard sell in the chicken debate.  

Anyway, after much deliberation and the suggestion that learning all about chicken care would be a great focus for our urban 4-H club, we have decided to take the plunge.  So I introduce to you:

Ginger

(a Speckled Sussex)

Kyriarcho (a Silver Laced Wyandotte) 

The name apparently means "dominant one" in Greek...my son's bird.

Luna

(a Delaware)

Rose or Rosie

(a Red Star)

and Trixie

(a Golden Sex Link)

It's been pointed out to me that all but one of these is a stripper name.  Oh well.  We are looking forward to our great new adventure.  I'll let you know how it goes...