Kirigami Butterflies

Lovely pop-up decoration of butterflies

Posted by Miho S.

About

Creating a string of kirigami (paper cutting)butterflies to make a fun decorative piece for anything from cards, window decorations, to book covers and more!

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You Will Need (4 things)

  • A Pencil
  • A piece of Paper
  • A pair of Scissors or exacto knife
  • Adhesive

Steps (7 steps, 15 minutes)

  1. 1

    Begin with a rectangular piece of paper.

    The pattern and colour are your choice, but try to choose paper thicker than tissue for your first time.

  2. 2

    Fold it in half.

  3. 3

    Draw any design you like, making sure to have some of it include the folded edge.

    Remember: anything you draw on one side will be a mirror image on the other side.

    *For example, if you want a flower or teddy bear , only draw half of it on one side*

  4. 4

    If your image is detailed, staple certain points to keep the paper aligned on both sides and reinforce delicate cutting areas.

  5. 5

    Use scissors or exacto knife to cut out your image.

    I prefer a scalpel type since they're easier to manoeuvre in small areas.

    *To try and keep track of areas to cut out, darken them with your pencil or mark them with an "x" so you don't mistakenly cut the outline!*

  6. 6

    Once you've finished, you can paint over it to add colour or as a stencil, secure it to books, windows etc...

    or if you would like a pop-up version...

  7. 7

    turn the end pieces at an angle (or play around with your cut out to see how it would pop up best) and secure them to a piece of paper, card, book etc...

    Done *^_^*