DIY: Wind Up Butterflies

While hunting for a fun spring DIY project, I stumbled across {this adorable post} about how to make wind-up butterflies to tuck into a greeting card, and I couldn't resist making some of my own. With summer nipping at our toes, who can help but fondly gaze at beautiful rhodedendrons and colorful butterflies?

Not to mention how hilarious it would be for these to pop out of a card and scare the shit out of someone. :)

{wind up butterflies}

Supplies needed:

Pliers (needle nose work best)

One large paperclip (or about 5.5" of wire)

One small paperclip (or about 4.5" of wire)

A small rubberband or extra small hairtie



Colored paper, pens, pencils, etc for decorating

Steps (see below for photos)

1. Unbend the large paperclip by hand or with pliers

2. Bend large paperclip in half

3. Wrap the center of the wire around a pencil end to create a loop

4. Fold the "legs" of the paperclip vertically down, bending the center loop up so it is perpendicular to the legs

5. Bend the ends of the large paperclip up with the pliers

6. Make little hooks on each of the ends of the paperclip (this is the body of the butterfly)

7. With the small paperclip, unbend and make a loop as in step #3

8. Pinch the loop in an open position with the legs sticking out to either side (these are the upper wings of the butterfly)

Now thread your hairtie or rubberband through the pinched circle of the smaller paperclip and insert through the loop of the bigger paperclip, attaching it in place at the bottom on the loops.

Note: as you can see above, I had to loop my rubberband a few extra times in order to make it short enough to stretch tightly. You want a rather small rubberband for this project to work.

Now trace wings onto colored paper and cut out.

Tape the wings to your paperclip body with tape and decorate as you see fit!

With your forefinger, spin the top paperclip in circles until the rubberband is tightly wound (but take care not to bend your wire)

Tuck your butterfly carefully into a card to send to someone, or let it fly! :)

Have fun making a whole rabble of butterflies!!

P.S.- I bet you didn't know that the collective noun for butterflies was rabble. Isn't that just darling? My other favorite collective nouns include a parliament of owls, a murder of crows, a charm of hummingbirds and a murmuration of starlings. Birds get all the best ones. Isn't English just so poetic?