Monarch Butterfly Garden Art

• Plywood
• Pencil or pen (something to write with)
• Jig saw
• Electric sander
• Sand Paper
• Random wooden things (for the butterflies body)
• Metal brackets & screws
• Sealer coat
• Black paint
• Orange paint
• White paint
• Nails and Hooks

Draw one side of the wings on the wood, then use a jig saw to cut them out.

Flip the wings over and trace them, this way you will have pairs of identical wings. Then cut these out.

I used a variety of wooden objects to make the butterflies body, like strips of decking, pegs and handles off a skipping rope. You can use whatever you have at hand.

I used a handheld electric sander to sand the wings, rounding their edges and sandpaper to sand the bodies.

Bend the brackets in the vice to the desired angle, making sure the pairs for each butterfly are the same. Screw the body to the middle bend of the bracket, then screw the wings on each side.

This seals the wood, helping to protect it from the environment.

The prep coat can make the wood rough so I gave it a light sand with a piece of sandpaper to smooth it out. Then paint the back of the project with outdoor black paint. I would recommend two coats to help protect the wood better.

Paint the orange now, as painting orange over black, will be too difficult and the colour won't be as bright. Don't worry if the edges are messy, as you will clean them up later. Depending on the paint this may take quite a few coats, I would recommend at least two.

Looking at reference photos of butterflies, draw your wing patterns. Remember they don't have to be perfect, as no butterflies are identical to another.

Paint all the black lines, then when dry paint the little white dots.

Position on the fence and use hooks and nails to attach to the fence.