Around almost a year ago, I discovered Pinterest. And then my social life disappeared. Funny how those two things are linked, huh? Then I introduced it to the Fireman’s sister in law, and her social life disappeared! Strange little blight. Anyways, so many people have been sucked into the little vortex that is Pinterest that Sherry and Katie at Young House Love and Bower Power, thought up something called the Pinterest Challenge. It’s a great idea, meant for you to get off your butt and actually make some of the stuff you pinned. This is the third time they’ve hosted it, and the first time I’ve done it.
So, since the Fireman’s gone for a few weeks, and I have all this time on my hands, I decided that I would participate. There was only one pin that I knew I had all the supplies for and that I’d been dying to make…enter the butterfly globe.
Insanely gorgeous, right? But do ya see that price tag? $600 clams!? Y’all are crazy! So, clearly being the naive crafter that I am, I thought, “HEY! I can make that!”
…Now I know why they cost $600. I. Now. Hate. Butterflies.
Turns out, around Christmastime I found an old globe at an antique store and grabbed it for $10 (literally the cheapest one I’d ever seen. Who knew they were so expensive?). I had this project in mind, but clearly never got around to it. So, as soon as I saw this challenge go up, I started Googling around for pictures of butterflies and printing them out. In theory, it’s a relatively simple project: cut butterflies out, paste them on globe. Easy peasy, right?
WRONG. It’s like a puzzle trying to get them all on there, and trying to make them look right. And at first, I taped them down because I wasn’t sure if they were going to stay there, and then halfway through it I started pasting them down. Lesson learned. Do it right the first time.
Now obviously, I didn’t go into as much detail as the one on Pinterest, because, quite frankly, I didn’t have the time or the patience to cut any more butterflies. There are already over 250 of them on that globe! If my claws hands ever uncramp, I might think about doing the islands, but for now, I like how it makes you fixate on the continents.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, its absolutely gorgeous the way that it came out. It’s just that next time, I definitely need to give this way more time to put together. By some miracle, it turned out how I imagined that it would. I’m so proud of myself!
After everything was pasted on, I just sealed it with some Modge Podge to make sure it all stays there. I think I’m going to have to do a couple of touch ups here and there for the next few days as it all settles in, but overall, I totally love how it came out. I bet it would look even better if I had the coordination to cut out smaller butterflies for the details.
Oh, and the total cost of the project?
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Globe: $10
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Butterflies: $0
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Arthritis cream: $5 (HA! Just kidding.)
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For a total of $10! Woot!
So that’s it, folks. I actually accomplished the Pinterest Challenge! Yay for me! Now I’m off to go soak my hands in a hot bath…
Psst – Don’t forget to check 365 Days of Photography for my daily picture!
This is lovely. I love all things map/globe related. Trying to find a globe for our livingroom but they are so darn expensive. Well done for surviving all the butterflies 🙂
I know! I was so shocked to see just how pricey they were. I’d recommend checking out thrift stores or antique stores.
It looks so cute! And I had no idea that globes could demand more than $10 at an antique store. I’m keeping my eyes open for a cool globe makeover too so hopefully I’ll find a cheap one too! Oh, and maybe there are tiny butterfly stickers you could use to fill in the smaller islands and such!
Nikki
Thank you! Hopefully they make some small enough…there is no way I’m cutting any smaller ones out! Good luck with your globe makeover! I’d love to see it!
Well, even if your hands have aged prematurely, it looks awesome. 🙂 Great job, and thanks for linking up to the Winter Pinterest Challenge!
Erin
[…] on them. I love the idea behind this globe! making the continent out of something else? Like this globe out of butterflies! Wow! A lot of work, but a really fun piece in the […]
LOOOOVE! I’m a huge globe and map fan, and I love this take on globes, I think I’d use my silhouette to cut the shapes out of scrapbooking paper, not as pretty, but easier! AMAZING! I’m so impressed. thanks for linking up to the point of view and I’m featuring your globe today!
Thank you so much!
I think yours looks even better than the $600 one!
I scored an old globe and have been planning to add some butterflies too, in a slightly different way.
Do you happen to have any links you could share for where you found some good printable butterflies?
Thanks!
Here are some of the links for the butterflies that I used…
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/butterfly-colors2.htm
http://www.graphics99.com/beautiful-butterflies-picture/
I just Googled variations of “butterfly” and found a bunch of them that way. Good luck on your globe! I’d love to see what it looks like when its done!!
Or if anyone else has a source for nice, printable butterflies, I’d appreciate it!
I try to not spend any $$$ on my upcycling projects 😉
[…] on them. I love the idea behind this globe! making the continent out of something else? Like this globe out of butterflies! Wow! A lot of work, but a really fun piece in the […]