These metalwork butterflies and dragonflies can be decorated by the children with permanent markers and they look oh so pretty when they catch the light! A really lovely craft for a summer display...
This gorgeous metalwork butterfly has multicoloured metallic beads and pretty designs in pastel colours on the silver wings.
You will need:
Jewellery wire
Kitchen foil
Beads
Permanent markers (optional)
Instructions:
- Fold your kitchen foil in half and cut out your wings, using our photos as a guide. For younger children you may want to draw an outline for them to cut.
- Cut a length of wire for the body, measuring against your wings and making it more than twice the length that you want the finished body to be.
- Thread a bead onto the middle of the wire and twist the wire to hold the bead in place. Your wire should now be folded double. This will form the tail end.
- Thread a number of beads over the two pieces of wire to make the tail. For a butterfly you only want one or two beads for the tail; for a dragonfly you will want to thread on many beads.
- Twist the wire together to hold the tail in, and then open up into a Y-shape. Thread beads on to each piece of wire for the length of the body. One piece of wire will run along the top of the wings and the other will run underneath.
- Place the foil wings between the two beaded pieces of wire and twist the wire together at the top of the wings to hold in place.
- Place a large bead over the two pieces of wire to form the head.
- To make the antenna, open out the wire and thread small beads on to each side. Bend the wires over at the top of the antenna, twist to hold and tuck the ends of the wire into the large head bead to secure.
Detail showing the butterfly's antennae
Our metalwork dragonfly. Note the seven beads forming the tail.
