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You are here: Home / Seasonal / Spring / Earth Day - Recycled Crafts / Turn Empty Jars into a Butterfly Oasis

April 10, 2012 · 16 Comments

Turn Empty Jars into a Butterfly Oasis

Earth Day - Recycled Crafts· Home Decor· Seasonal

My inspiration for this project came from  a page I saw  in a home decorating magazine.

The designer had placed preserved butterflies inside a cloche, and placed it on a coffee table. I don’t remember what the article was featuring-I was drawn straight to the butterfly cloche. However, when I went out to my local craft store and priced a cloche…($50.00) I knew I had to figure out a way to make it myself, and less expensively.

I looked around my house to find glass that I already had, turning jars and bottles upside-down in my head.

I was happy to find what I needed from my garage and pantry. A great way to recycle old bottles and jars!

This project was quick, easy, and very inexpensive.

It would make a unique gift for someone- costing pennies. I bet you already have most of the stuff collecting dust  in your house.

Here is what you will need:

  • 2.5″ Butterflies in Various Colors (as desired)
  • Green Moss
  • Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  • Wire Cutters
  • Twigs
  • Chipboard – from a spiral notebook, cereal box or anything else you could recycle from
  • Glass Jar(s) that you have on hand

Let’s get started!

I sent my kids outside to gather twigs for my project. They brought in giant branches! I guess I wasn’t very specific. (But I had a lot to choose from!)

You will want to choose sections of twigs that have a lot of “character.” V’s, and knobs and tiny branches for the butterflies to “sit” on.

While they were scavenging outside, I was scavenging inside, gathering my jars.

You can use any jar that has a wide-mouth opening.

You can use canning jars, those clear vases you get with flower arrangements, or old candle jars.

I was surprised how many perfectly-sized jars I found in my pantry.  Spaghetti sauce, salsa, and  jams were a great size.

After you select your jars, remove any labels and wash them thoroughly.

(Goo Gone is wonderful for removing the sticky residue from labels and stickers.)

Using jars of different sizes and shapes makes your display more interesting.

Let’s prep those twigs!

Trim down the twigs to fit inside the jar. Use wire cutters to give the twigs a nice, clean edge.

Then, select the butterflies you would like to use, and arrange them onto your twig as desired. Glue them to the twig using hot glue. Make sure they are really secure, as you will not be able to make changes once they are inserted into the jar.

Insert your butterfly twig into the jar. Do not glue the twig, it should stay fine.

Now, take your jar, flip it upside down, and trace the bottom lip of the jar onto a piece of chipboard.

I used the back of a spiral-bound notebook. You need the chipboard to be sturdy. A cereal box would also work well. Whatever you would like to recycle.

Cut out the traced circle.

Adhere  green moss to the circle using hot glue. Apply the glue generously, and mush the moss into the glue. (Mush is a very sophisticated crafting term.)

Don’t worry if the moss hangs over the edge of the circle.

Then take your hot glue gun, and run a generous line of glue around the rim of your jar.

You will need to work quickly here.

While the glue on the rim is still hot, press your inverted moss circle onto the rim.

Press and hold until the glue dries.

Some of the moss is going to fall down into the interior of the butterfly jar. That is okay. It will settle back down to the bottom when you turn it upright.

That is it!

Repeat for as many jars as you would like for your display.

Enjoy a little spot of Springtime in your home!

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Shaunte

Shaunte is a 30-something, chocolate-loving, SAHM from Utah. She has been scrapbooking since 1997, the dreaded era of photos cropped with deco scissors. Since then, her work has evolved into a clean, linear, photo-focused style. Her favorite subjects to scrap are her husband and five kids (never a lack for subject material there).

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Comments

  1. Buttons and Paint says

    April 28, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    These are so lovely, thanks for sharing! We have featured them on our ‘insect crafts’ round up (with a link back to you) x http://buttonsandpaint.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/insect-crafts.html

    Reply
  2. Cat Hantsche says

    April 18, 2014 at 1:42 pm

    Hi Shaunte

    These are gorgeous, make beautiful presents too, love the idea of making instead of buying the same generic things off the shelf and they are unique and more thought put into a homemade present than a store bought one.
    Did u buy the moss from a craft shop or collect it and let it dry out?
    Now when I see the little silk butterflies at the craft shop I will be sure to buy a few and have them on hand ready to use.
    (Make a lovely house warming present)

    Love your blog, will have to put it in my favourites 🙂

    Cat. (Australia)

    Reply
    • Shaunte says

      April 21, 2014 at 4:00 pm

      Cat-
      I purchased my moss at the craft store. I am sure you could dry your own, it should be fine as long as it is completely dry (so it will not mold) Have fun! I still love mine, and it has been a while since I made it. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Debbie says

    July 28, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    I just remodeled our bathroom with a butterfly theme. These would look awesome in there. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Steve Langille says

    April 22, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    My wife and I tried creating a butterfly, twig & moss within a jar, but after a while mold/mildew started to grow within the jar.

    How do you prevent this from happening?

    -Steve

    Reply
    • Shaunte says

      April 22, 2013 at 1:14 pm

      @Steve- I live in a very dry climate, so this has not been an issue for me. You could try leaving some ventilation at the bottom of the cloche- maybe add some holes to the cardboard before gluing it into place. The moss would camouflage the holes. Make sure you are using dry (crunchy) twigs, not flexible green ones. Another idea- slip in a small package of desiccant. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  5. Dana B says

    April 18, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    These are really pretty!! thx for the idea!!

    Reply
  6. Valarie Florer says

    April 18, 2012 at 10:12 am

    Great idea! Gonna make some! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  7. SarahB says

    April 11, 2012 at 11:38 am

    @Monica, you can find the butterflies here: http://www.consumercrafts.com/store/browse/catalog/floral-butterflies

    You can click any of the supplies that are highlighted in yellow and it will bring you to a link where you can buy the products!

    Reply
  8. Monica says

    April 11, 2012 at 11:33 am

    I would really like to try and make this. Can you tell me where you got your butterflies? I have never seen anything like that before, it’s incredible!!

    Reply
  9. Lucy says

    April 11, 2012 at 6:23 am

    This is something I will definitely make! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  10. Kathryn says

    April 10, 2012 at 11:13 pm

    Cool idea! Putting this on my future projects list. Thanks for sharing this with us:)

    Reply
  11. Andrea Amu says

    April 10, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    What a super cute idea for do it yourself cloches!
    I want to make these !

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    May 22, 2012 at 6:01 pm

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