Dollar Store Butterfly Door Hanger DIY
What better way to welcome spring and summer than with a gorgeous butterfly door or wall hanger! You've seen them already made for wreaths - but have you wondered how to actually make the butterfly? Well, today I'm going to show you how! Made from scratch using dollar store items, you will be surprise how easy it is to make one!
This whimsical wall hanger has a rope outline in a butterfly shape made out of poster foam board with a burlap fabric covering - all from the dollar store! And the best part, you can dress it up with pretty florals and bows, too! And then, this butterfly hanger can be placed on your door or wall as a decorative accent - making a great statement to welcome family and friends to your home!
So let's get started on making a dollar store butterfly door hanger!
Supplies Used
- Poster Foam Board
- Craft Knife
- Burlap Fabric (from Dollar Store Messenger Bag)
- Seam ripper
- Iron
- Chalk
- Scissors
- Rope
- Hot glue
- Coat hanger wire/wire cutters/needle-nose pliers
- Beads (2)
- Ribbon/flowers
Instructions
Since I can't draw that good - or should I say, I can't draw a straight line, I found free templates online of a butterfly's right and left wings and body that I copied, pasted, and printed out. Each wing took up the entire printed paper sheet. But if you want a larger butterfly, divide the wings into two pieces (top and bottom) at the curve and size each piece separately on a sheet of paper. If not, copy, paste, and size the below images to print onto paper.
Then cut the images out and . . .
draw them onto poster foam board.
Next, using a craft knife, cut out the individual butterfly wings and body.
Assemble the pieces to form the butterfly.
Next, open the seams of the dollar store messenger bags and iron the wrinkles and folds out.
Lay the foam board butterfly wing on top of the printed side burlap and draw a 1/2" border around the wing using a piece of chalk, and cut out.
Match the pattern of the first wing fabric with the second piece, outlining the wing, leaving a 1/2" border, as before, and cut out.
Then cut small slits in the fabric around the wings and . . .
begin hot gluing the fabric around the foam poster board butterfly wing.
Since the glue can be very hot, use the handle of a tool to press the burlap over the poster board wing edges.
What a great match-up of fabric on the wings!
Time to glue on the rope border!
To hide the ends of the rope, start at the center straight side of the wings and begin gluing the rope on at the edges of the wing - all the way around!
To cover the body of the butterfly, first, separate the strands of the rope and . . .
then place a dab of hot glue on the back top and begin wrapping the rope strand around the body - adding more hot glue in increments until . . .
the body is completely wrapped. Seal the end with hot glue. Cut out a 12" piece of coat hanger wire - folding in half. Use needle-nose pliers to curve the ends into faux antennae.
Insert the antennae under the rope strands into the back of the body - gluing in place. Glue on beads for the eyes. Glue body edges to the edges of the wings.
Cut a small strip from the handle of the messenger bag and glue onto each side of the wings to connect.
Glue on the original paper templates to the back of the wings to cover the messy looking edges.
How cool is this handmade dollar store butterfly hanger!
Adding florals and a bow really takes it to the next level for a beautiful wreath!
Resources for this project:
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Comments
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Instructions are excellent, project is simple, outcome is beautiful! Can’t wait to try it!
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💜💜Aww, how sweet, DI! Thank you so much!
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OMG! the little eyes on the butterfly are too cute! very nice project.
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Many thanks, Carolina! You made my day!
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Frequently asked questions
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I love this! Where did you find the messenger bags? I looked at 99 cent store, Dollar Tree and Dollar General with no luck.