Thursday 4 September 2014

Golden Butterflies - paper mache technique using a balloon

Today I am sharing a project that I have been wanting to do for a long time. It is based on a paper mache bowl project that i saw online. After watching the video, I thought it was a great idea that may work with die cuts. I tried with my new Intricate Butterfly dies and it work!


I used: 
  • a balloon, 
  • white glue, 
  • vaseline, 
  • a disposable bowl, 
  • a scoop to measure glue/water, 
  • water, 
  • paper, 
  • gold spray, and from 
  • Sizzix Big Shot 
  • Sizzix Intricate Butterflies
  • old newspapers



I mixed the white glue with water, about 1/2 ratio. This is not a fixed thing and you can make it more watery if you want. Then I spread a thin coat of vaseline over the ballon.


I die cut loads of butterflies using all three sizes from the intricate dies from the the Intricate Butterflies Thinlits set. Then dip them individually on the mix of glue and water so that they are completely covered.


I placed them carefully on the ballon, making sure that they all overlap, so that there is only a few free on the edges. And I let it dry overnight. Probably a few hours would have been enough, but I did not want to risk it.


Once it was completely dry, I pierced the balloon. Be careful as the whole thing tends to fly away. On the right you can see how it looks once the balloon is removed.


Finally I spray it all with gold spray, I used Krylon's 18KT gold plate, one of the best in my opinion but hard to get in the UK. I used another disposable bowl - a takeaway food container - to hold the butterflies in shape while spraying. Then I sprayed it also and trimmed the edge off to make a base for the butterflies.


 The finished result. I am so happy on how it looks.


And with the base looks nice too.


And you know what?

It also doubles up as a head piece. If I get invited to Ascot next year, I have my head gear sorted!

I loved this project so much that I did another version. But I will that for another day...


12 comments:

Sue blay said...

Wow wow wow! What a great idea :)

Kath Stewart said...

wow I love your tutorial and hey the new headgear may just start a new fashion trend...hugs kath xxx

Maxcine said...

Paula, this is very beautiful. What a great idea. X

Sharon said...

Great idea Thanks for sharing

xenaciro said...

chulisimoooooo.gracias

Katia said...

wow esta precioso el tutorial, ojala pudieras hacer tus post también en español!

Gabyalk said...

Me he quedado muertaaa!!!! Que geniallll !!! Me encantaaa, ya me pongo a intentarlo

Leanne said...

What kind of paper did you use??

Paula Pascual said...

Leanne, I used a thick paper of about 120gsm (Not sure what the equivalent in the USA is). I am going to try for card next time and see if its doable.

Gram Crafteer said...

This is a very cool idea, better yet, it opens up a ton of possibilities for other projects!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous!!!!

Julieta's Gift Craft said...

Your artwork is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

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