Recycled butterfly canvas

With PaperArtsy’s new theme being Deconstruction/Recycling/repurposing etc I decided to revisit an idea I had a while back.

I actually started the project but didn’t like where I had taken it so I ripped all the bits off and have now used the canvas for a different project! Below is the previous project before I took it too far and ended up discarding it!).



First I started with a canvas (4×4 I think) added a layer of Tim Holtz tissue paper. 



And then came the messy bit! 

I really love the new limited edition frescos from Lin Brown and I had a bit of a play with the colours on some paper first (which will make some very nice backgrounds for cards etc!). 



Once I had decided on which two colours I wanted to use it was the moment of truth (can I pull this off or will this be a project that I never get to see through to finishing).

So using the frescos “Bougainvillea” and “Caribbean sea” and my trusty credit card I started to scrape the colour on. Avoiding the main focal image of the butterfly. 

I took a baby wipe to take off paint where I had gone over the image. (Because I need to see this for the next part 😉 ) 



Here comes the repurposing/recycling part….

I raised the shed and found loads of little bits and bobs! 

Cogs, washers, ball bearings, nuts, split pins, fuses, springs, chains, clips etc. 

And set about positioning these items to form the butterfly. Then stick it all down (for this I used glossy accents, because it’s what I had to hand). 

Next I added some bling to match the background colours. 



And did some stamping using PaperArtsy stamps (esn11 and eev06) using archival ink (jet black) and snowflake fresco paint.



Lastly I wanted to add a quote or some words so I raised my stash of stamps and found a few quotes that I liked. 



I decided to use a quote that goes well with the PaperArtsy theme and the butterfly “what appears to be the end is usually the start of a new beginning” 

I hope you like it, I really enjoyed making this project and it will hang on my wall in pride of place 🙂