13.9.11

Bangle Butterflies Tutorial

Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
I have always liked to create things from whatever is lying around the house and now sharing a fun project to use up those old misshapen or outgrown bangles.Metal bangles are very popular here in India. 
Of late we have accumulated quite a few " unusable " metal bangles at home as either they have been crushed out of shape [ little kids can easily crush these metal bangles out of shape by some enthusiastic games!] or they have become too small for my daughter [ how fast children grow!] Instead of throwing them away we made Bangle Butterflies out of them!
What you need to make Bangle Butterflies
  • Bangles: You need some old metal bangles- small "kid" ones are the easiest as then you don't have to struggle to get your stockings to cover them. If you don't have metallic bangles use the conventional florist wire which is traditionally used to make the stocking butterflies.
  • Stockings- these are available as nylon stockings and very popular in flower making. I found 2 main types in the Indian market - the small cheaper variety [wont cover a bangle well] and the larger and longer variety [ slightly more expensive but good for this craft]
Stocking Butterflies Tutorial
  • Scissors
  • The rest of the stuff depends on how you want to go about it ie To stick your parts you can use glue gun, white glue or florist wire or thread or twine
  • Embellishments 
How to make Bangle -Stocking Butterflies
You can make a butterfly using 3 bangles as shown
Shape your bangles into kidney shaped butterfly wings as shown.Make a central body by compressing your bangle. The central body of this butterfly happened by accident- it broke while I was shaping it so twisted it into a body with antennae!
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
I found I liked the 5 bangle butterfly better.Shape the bangles as shown. Shape the 2 front wings similarly by laying one on top of the other. Shape the back wings slightly differently.These metallic bangles are pretty easy to shape and mold as you like.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Wrap a bit of nylon stocking  around your bangle butterfly wing.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Stretch and pull the nylon stocking towards the wing tip as shown
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Tie the nylon stocking securely at the bangle butterfly wing tip.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Cut off the excess nylon stocking.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
In the same way cover all your bangles with nylon stocking.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Shown below are the wings of the 3 bangle butterfly
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Assemble your Stocking butterfly- You can do this using a glue gun , nylon thread, etc.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
When I first made this Bangle butterfly I didn't have a glue gun so tried various methods to assemble the butterfly. Sticking everything together with white glue works but you need a lot of patience!Using a Glue gun is the easiest option but if you don't have a glue gun you can use a florist wire or strong nylon thread to tie the wings to the body of your butterfly.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
So if you dont have a glue gun you can use a wire or thread ": Thread it through the 2 wings of opposite sides
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Tie the wire or thread to the back side of your butterfly's body as shown. Again if you are using a glue gun- super easy to attach the wings to the body of the Butterfly.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Embellish your butterfly with gems, beads, felt
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Or add a it of swirly glitter glue as shown below
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Use your butterfly as a flower pot accessory like we did here .
Stocking Butterflies Tutorial
Other ideas to use your bangle butterflies: make a wind chime, use it to decorate a photo frame, use it as a fridge magnet, make a magic wand out it!Little girls will love magic wands made out of butterflies and they make great party favors.
Bangle Butterflies Tutorial
Well I hope you enjoyed this bit of recycling . Do leave me your comments
Edited: Yippeee! This Recycled project won at the Craft room Challenge[Home Decor Project]!
If you are on Pinterest you can "Pin" this tutorial by clicking this button : Pin It

106 comments:

  1. Great tutorial! I've always wanted to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very pretty recycled bangles great idea to use them to add colour around the home like this. Thank you for sharing with us at Craft-Room Challenge, good luck XOXO Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow..lovely idea...tutorial is great..will definetly try it..thnks for sharing the tutorial

    ReplyDelete
  4. Quite lovely, thanks for tutorial, have to give this a try. TFS.

    Judie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank You dear friends for appreciating my Bangle butterfly

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome Tutorial Sonia you're always so detailed I love it! You make it so easy for people like me to try these projects, and Congratulations on all your projects that have been showcased you Deserve it for such GREAt Work!!

    DIVAOF5.BLOGSPOT.COM

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely butterfly♥. Thanks for sharing.

    Hugs Marita

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cool buterfly great job!
    byebye,Lean

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great idea for recycling bangles1

    ReplyDelete
  10. WOW, lovely butterfly, great tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love it!
    Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great idea, and they look fabulous! Thanks for sharing your great tutorial too! Good luck, and thanks for joining us at the Craft-Room Challenge. Maria x

    ReplyDelete
  13. As always, a great effective tutorial! Little girls here would love wearing them in their hair. I will have to remember this after we have the next grandchild, who of course will be a girl!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! This is awesome upcycling Sonia! Love how you worked a misshapen bangle into these fluttering beauties! Fabulous work! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very pretty butterflies! They would make great embellishments! I love the idea and thanks for the great tutorial! :)Amy

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sonia, You just amaze me everytime I visit your blog!!
    The things you think of using that most people would throw away. These butterflies are awesome!!
    What a creative mind!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. these are too good! thanks for teaching!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Like the bangle butterfly creation. I like Butterflies. Now I have to find some bangles or use florist wire which I have. I have plastic ones that were my daughter's but they are not pliable/cannot be shaped without breaking.
    Melissa
    "Sunshine HoneyBee"
    http://CreatedbySunshineHoneyBee.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, this is very pretty. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your cards are all very beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sonia you always do such fab job on your tutorials!! Always detailed but easy to follow :) The butterflies are a wonderful recycle project and beautiful also! Thanks for sharing/

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cool! I love it! I do make nylon stocking flowers, but never a butterfly so far, so i guess today is the day! Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  22. creative idea. thanks for the tutorial

    ReplyDelete
  23. awesome!!!! never even thought of it!! and thanks of sharing those ideas of using the butterflies!! so patiently , you have taken so many photos!!My Patience never goes along with my photography!!kudos!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sonia - so nice of you to share the tutorial. All the best for participating in the contests. btw what type of gauge do you use while attatching the wings. Have a great day

    ReplyDelete
  25. very beautiful and creative!

    ReplyDelete
  26. love this butterfly, thanks for the idea .and congrats on being the blog hop winner at make it monday, this seems to be ur lucky month:)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Разкошна пеперуда!Поздравления!

    ReplyDelete
  28. These are great! Thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  29. You've taken recycling to a new level...simply gorgeous!! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love the butterflies you made..... the are really pretty :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Fabbie idea!.. Love the reuse! :D

    ReplyDelete
  32. Fabulous !! Thnx fr d tutorial. :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. wow too good i need both ...they looks super cute..

    ReplyDelete
  34. This is fabulous! Lovely lovely use of those bangles :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. To do that you must have a lot of free time and patience! I could never do it! Congrats! It is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thank You dear friends for the awesome encouragement
    Nityakalyani- Any gauge wire should work to help attach the wings- I used a thin wire .

    ReplyDelete
  37. Great idea for recycling bangles!

    ReplyDelete
  38. You always surprise me with your beautiful creations!
    Greetings Baukje

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wow!! big thanks for the tutorial..and thanks for the comment u left on my card...yup i did look for other challenges where that card can fit...but didnt find any.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wow, so many gorgeous projects, loved having a browse through your blog.So creative. The Flutterby is so pretty. Carolxx

    ReplyDelete
  41. On my! Doc this is such a cute idea. I have tried these with the regular craft wire. Made stocking flowers too. But using bangles is a brilliant idea :)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Awesome, simply awesome, thanks for sharing. I tried my hand at making these butterflies and I failed miserably but you seem to have sailed through. Love the pink butterfly the most. And out of a bangle - HOW CLEVER!

    xxx Monica

    ReplyDelete
  43. Thank You dear friends for the warm and encouraging words.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Great work,thanks for sharing!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Fabulous butterflies and a great idea. Thank you for joining us at Craft-Room Challenge.
    xxx Hazel.

    ReplyDelete
  46. This is superb my dear :)
    thanks for the detailed how-To ;)
    Have fun!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Doc... This is absolutely super.. Absolutely love the pink butterflies.. Thanks for the tutorial and thanks for playing again with craftyJc again...

    Hugs,
    Khush

    ReplyDelete
  48. Wow Wow Wow...u simply rock !!

    ReplyDelete
  49. really beautiful, and you explained the steps very well, thanks for sharing!!!
    Paula

    ReplyDelete
  50. So adorable!! I love how you come up with new things every time!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous13/9/11

    You are so creative! I just love your work!
    hugs
    Deanne
    http://deannescreativejuice.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  52. it turned out so lovely, what pretty colors too! I don't think I have ever seen a prettier stocking :)

    ReplyDelete
  53. oh these are so pretty Sonia .. whata fabulous idea.. and make your flower pots come alive
    Lisa
    ps .. Congrats on winning the candy on my blog for MIM.. please email me at lisa.coe@btinternet.com
    with your address so i can post it out to you
    Lisa xx

    ReplyDelete
  54. Anonymous13/9/11

    Simply gorgeous! Totally loved this tutorial.. I'm following you now.. and am looking forward to seeing lots of inspiration here.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  55. What a lovely idea - cute little butterflies! Thanks so much for joining our Craft room challenge...Esther xx

    ReplyDelete
  56. Sonya this is so clever and these butterflies are real pretty love the orange one :-) thanks for joining us at Craft room challenge- debix

    ReplyDelete
  57. Anonymous14/9/11

    This was a great idea and a great tutorial. I am definitely going to try this. Thank you for sharing! They are beautiful!

    Dorcas

    ReplyDelete
  58. Oh my gosh, Sonia, this is so creative and beautiful! I love, love the butterflies! You have the best tutorials...they are so easy to follow! What an amazing, gorgeous project :)

    Lisa
    indymermaid.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  59. those are so pretty. I love them. I also love the idea of using things that you already have laying around the house.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Fabulous idea and how wonderful that you did a tutorial also. Thanks for joining us at Craft-Room Challenge. Kim xx

    ReplyDelete
  61. Sonia, I am always so impressed by your creativity, I love this butterfly:):)

    ReplyDelete
  62. How beautiful, and what a wonderful tutorial, such clear step by step instructions. I always like making something pretty out of nothing. Thanks for joining us at Craft-Room Challenge and good luck. Julia xx

    ReplyDelete
  63. Sonia - your creativity is outta the world. What a fabulous piece of art that is!!

    This will make a lovely hair accessory for little girls too!!

    You are oh so wonderfully creative and soo generous with ur time by sharing all these lovely tutorials.
    Thanks for playing along at CraftyJC Challenge

    ReplyDelete
  64. How very pretty Dr Sonia! I love the little details!

    Re: your win on Make It Monday, have you sent your address to Lisa J so we can get your prize off to you? If not, send it to my email address on the post..

    http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/2011/09/make-it-monday-54-new-linky-party-and.html

    and we'll get it off to you asap!

    Mary J x

    ReplyDelete
  65. Me again! Don't worry, Lisa has told me you've emailed her already!

    ttfn!

    ReplyDelete
  66. its amazing....

    WOW.. Thats really a great post.. This is a very interesting way to make the butterflies...
    Scavenger Hunt Ideas

    ReplyDelete
  67. ths s beautiful sonia...love the pretty pink color on that

    ReplyDelete
  68. this is such a wonderful tutorial, sonia! your creativity is so awesome! love your sweet bflies and they can be attached to so many things! thanks for playing along:)

    ReplyDelete
  69. BEAUTIFUL job with your butterfly!You are so creative!I just LOVE your ideas and work!:)

    ReplyDelete
  70. Sonia, this is so beautiful. I love coming over here to see what you have created.

    DIANA L.
    http://dianamlarson.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  71. Very clever and so very pretty! Thank you for sharing this!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Vowwww!!!!thanq for ur grt tutorial.....
    butterfly looks sooo beautiful....

    ReplyDelete
  73. Oh my goodness. I have never seen anything like this and I am in complete awe! These are wonderful little flutterbies. :D
    Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful tutorial.
    I guess I won't be going out to a dinner anytime soon...all my stockings will be torn for crafts! LOL
    Lisa xx

    ReplyDelete
  74. Super clear and easy tutorial. you are full of such lovely ideas. Must try this one out too.
    Hugs Mrs A.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Those butterflies are wonderful! It is so much fun to use things in new ways. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Stop by my blog when you get a chance, Sonia...I have an award for you (which coincidentally coincides with this gorgeous project)! :)

    Lisa
    http://indymermaid.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  77. hi, i really liked ur the butterfly craft...and thanks a lot for a very simple n understandable tutorial...stop by my blog sometimes..

    ReplyDelete
  78. Beautiful butterflies, i'm a fan of this friends, lol!... I know a lot of time ago a technique to do flowers with nylon (panty hose that the ladies used) so I see this I remember.. looking like the same. I never see butterflies with nylon only flowers... You did amazing projects. Good Luck!
    -Sony

    ReplyDelete
  79. Beautiful butterflies. I love how you gave life to misshaped bangles :).

    ReplyDelete
  80. I have some of these butterflies that I purchased, but now (thanks to you) I can make more myself. Thank you so much for your detailed tutorials. They make everything look so easy. Your butterflies are gorgeous!

    Kelly
    http://kellyscraftylife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  81. Thank You so much for the encouragement dear friends

    ReplyDelete
  82. That really looks pretty in the potted plant/ They look like fun to make too!

    ReplyDelete
  83. Sonia, its a wonderful butterfly you have created using old bangle & stocking material. the tutorial is very good. a small suggestion, if you add the antennae it will make it even more beautiful and lively :-) best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Such beautiful butterflies. I love them and may even have some of those bangles lying around. Wonderful tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs
    Brenda
    I would be honored if you came to see my blog here

    ReplyDelete
  85. How cool is this? I love the finished project- and I think you should write a book! I always find a treat here when I stop by!!!

    ReplyDelete
  86. Looks dainty n nice, all set to sit on a lil girl's headband or frock :)

    ReplyDelete
  87. This was a great "how-to". I just spent a good bundle on something like this and thanks to you, I no longer have to! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  88. Wonderful Dr. Sonia. Really loved it. Now, i'll be using my metal bangles lying unused for years because of my too sensitive skin.......

    ReplyDelete
  89. Beautiful butterlies and a super tutorial...thanks, Dr. Sonia!

    ReplyDelete
  90. Love that butterfly, fantastic job Sonia!

    ReplyDelete
  91. u r the best dr sonia.....amazingggg job!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  92. u r such a amazing craftier..very innovative..thanks for grt tutorial

    ReplyDelete
  93. wow... I saw this at a shop and I have always wanted to do this..!!! But I could not make out how to attach the wings to the body... !! Thanks for sharing ... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  94. Wow Sonia! your website is extraordinary - wonderful! this is a project I am going to try soon - your tutorial is wonderful - so clear, thank you for sharing this... off to read more now :)

    ReplyDelete
  95. Wow great idea Dr. You have done a good job . And your tutorial with many pictures is superb... Thanks for your frequent visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  96. its so beautiful... thanks for sharing..
    love u....

    ReplyDelete
  97. oh god sonia i just throw a bunch of my old bangles ...i feel so bad :-(.... but thanx for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  98. WOW I always wanted to know how to do these butterflys, THANK YOU for the FAB tutorial, I shall make some for my daughters room as it's under decoration and I did buy some shop ones but do need more and bigger ones
    hugs
    Ildiko

    ReplyDelete
  99. Lovely Soniaji!!!Thanks for dropping by my blog!!

    ReplyDelete
  100. I love these butterflies! In the school where I used to work here in India, we also were making stockings flowers for parents, red ones ))) Thanks for reminding about this craft, I am going to buy the supplies now!

    ReplyDelete
  101. Really wonderful...loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  102. This is brilliant!!! I had been wondering about these butterflies!!! i love the tutorial!! TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  103. Hi sonia,
    You are just great. I saw butterfly made out of bangles.its so beautiful. You are just a innovator. I threw away few bangles last month. If i would have seen your site earlier i could have used it. But no worry i would definitly make one . Very brilliant. I just keep on checking your site and i love them, its ocean and is filled with so many ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  104. wow ! what a great work u have don superb!

    ReplyDelete
  105. kiran23/7/16

    Nice and very easy tutorial. .thank u mam..I hv tried this and the outcome is vry pretty ...its lovely :)♡

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...