Make Your Own Fairy Butterfly Barrettes and Pins

For each butterfly, cut a 4-inch length of ribbon and a 3-inch length of ribbon. Tie each length tightly around the middle with yarn, floss, or ribbon wire.

To keep the ribbon from fraying, brush diluted glue or glue sealer on the ends (a 1/2-inch border should do). Once dry (it shouldn’t take long), trim the very ends of the glued portion to resemble butterfly wings, scalloping the edges of the upper set and cutting slight concave curves in the lower set.

Hot glue both pairs of wings together in the center so that the upper set slightly overlaps the bottom. Fold a 10-inch length of yarn, floss, or ribbon wire in half and wrap it around the center of the butterfly, threading the ends through the loop formed by the fold, as shown.

Tighten the center tie so that it is snug around the butterfly and then knot the ends together (the knot will serve as the butterfly’s head). For the antennae, knot both of the tie ends an inch or so from the head and trim off the excess beyond the knots.

Use your fingers to shape and fan out the wings just a bit. Then you can embellish them with faux gems, sequins, or other decorative notions.

Hot glue the finished butterfly to a barrette or pin back, and it’s ready to wear.