Patriot Proud DIY Decor Project #1: Butterfly Clips

I can't believe May is already coming to a close!  Didn't it just start yesterday?  Sheesh!  At this rate it's going to be Independence Day before we know it!  With that in mind, if you're planning a BBQ for the 4th, or if you're just patriot proud and enjoy making a few things of your own to show off those stars and stripes, then you've come to the right place my friend!  Today I'm going to share with you one of our two "Patriot Proud" DIY decor projects that we made last year: PATRIOTIC BUTTERFLY CLIPS - a "My Guy & I DIY" original!   The next post will be the second project - PATRIOTIC PLANTERS/CANDLE  HOLDERS - click here to view that project http://myguyandidiy.blogspot.com/#!/2013/06/patriotic-proud-diy-decor-project-2.html

Patriotic Butterfly Clips



 

 

*Materials Needed...

hot glue & gun, mini-flag, clothespin, pipe cleaner, spray paint

 

*Materials Needed*



*How To:

1. Begin by spray painting the clothes pin for the body of the butterfly.  We went with the color blue since it was the closest color to black in our color scheme, but you could use red or white if you choose.  (depending on the size of the flag and clothespins you choose, you may need to cut down the clothespin for it to look proportionate)

2. Carefully remove the pole from the mini-flag.

3. Lay your flag backwards on the table and fold in the bottom two corners. *you could glue or even stitch the two corners together if you choose

4. Turn the flag back around to face front, being careful to keep the folds you just made in place.  Then clip the painted clothespin to the top/center of the flag.

5. Pick the whole thing up and with one hand squeeze the clothespin slightly open, then with your other hand, slowly cinch the remainder of the flag up and feed it into the open clothespin, being careful that the two corners you had folded in stay put and are held in place with the clothespin when you re-close it.  This step is the tricky part and may take a few practice rounds to get the coordination, but don't fuss too much about it being perfect.  Just focus on getting it all fed into the pin because once the material is all fed in, and the clothespin has been re-closed, you can then adjust the material around until you're happy with how it looks. *option: you could use a needle and thread to sew the flag into the cinched up position if you choose.

6. Cut the pipe cleaner to desired antenna length and glue to clothespin.  I chose red pipe cleaners, but you could choose white or blue.

*optional: you could add googly eyes if you choose.  It depends on the look you're going for.  I wanted a more adult look, so I opted not to add them. 



 

 



Thanks for joining us here at MY Guy & I DIY. If you’ve enjoyed our creations, be sure to share us with your friends and/or leave us a comment below! Maybe you have a tip or two or twist of your own you’d like to share. Please feel free. We’d love to hear from you and see your completed projects!