Grass Flower and Butterfly Centerpiece Tutorial

I grew fifteen bowls of grass on my outdoor patio the past 15 days. 

I was getting a little nervous until I began to see some sprouts popping up.

These were made for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch at my boys' school.  I have seen the boxes of grass and thought they were so cute.  On Pinterest (shocking) I found an old wooden box with wheat grass and delicate butterflies hovering.

The old noggin starting cranking and after a couple so so ideas, I thought origami butterflies would be perfect.

The flowers must be credited to my Poppa.  I told him what I was doing and he said, "Butterflies don't like grass, they like flowers."  Touche Poppa, touche.

So this morning, I went around my house clipping tiny flowers and some weeds, to come up with this cute little bowl.

Here are the specifics:
I found plastic cereal bowls in the Fourth of July section at Dollar Tree, 3 for $1.00.  I bought 15, knowing I was only making 12, but just in case.  Thankfully, I did that because Millie ate one.

I purchased dirt from Lowe's specifically for grass starting.  I was under the wire in time, so I wanted to do everything I could to make the grass happy.  Regular dirt would work, too.

The grass seed was a quick growing regular grass seed mix.  I did not use wheat grass - I couldn't find it.  And, being Celiac, I have a distaste for anything called WHEAT.

In each bowl, I bet I used two hefty handfuls of seed.  The first handful I mixed into the top layer of dirt, the second was scattered on top.

The bowls were wet most of the time as we were experiencing tons of rain.  Make sure you keep these wet.

Origami:  I tested a bunch of origami butterfly patterns, but this one was the simplest and I really loved how it curved and the wings 'open' up at the last step.  I used small paper squares, 2 inch square.  Your first valley fold is the color of your wings. 

This is the origami pattern I used: CraftJr Origami Butterfly

The hot glue gun and some florist wire was all I needed to attach the wire to the butterfly at the top, using the final fold to help secure the wire in the butterfly.

Assembly:  I made a ton of butterflies.  They were easy, relaxing and I'm picky, so I wanted a bunch to choose from.  I used two for each bowl, I think that's sufficient.

I clipped flowers in my yard, including: Gallardia, Lady's Mantle, Lavender, Daisy (of the weed variety), Pansies and three other flowers that I have in my yard, but have no idea what they are called!  Regardless of the names, just make sure the stem is somewhat sturdy to make it through the wet soil.

Then, stick in the butterflies!  I like to have one appearing to be getting some nectar from the flower and the other on a longer wire fluttering above.

It was fun, and easy, as long as you have the forethought to get the grass started a couple weeks prior.

 Bowls without the butterflies

These flowers were from my russet potato plant.

Life Cycle

For over a year, my boys have asked for the Insect Lore Butterfly Habitat. It was usually requested at an overpriced gift shop in a tourist location. I knew the questions would never cease. Happy Birthday, Little Man, here is a bucket of caterpillars.

We discussed the 'letting go' of the butterflies. That first discussion ended in tears. This morning, he was fine with it. Perhaps it takes him time to process. So, we decided it was time. One of the caterpillars was a little slow, about 3 days slower than the others, so he was only in the habitat as a butterfly for 2 days. He was a little freaked out. The other four...flew out so fast not one picture was taken that looked like anything.

This guy slowly walked up the side, stopped at the top for a portrait, then joined 'the big kids'.

We haven't seen them since.

But, the habitat was rinsed and is ready for our next batch of friends.

This is a great hobby/experiment. The boys were constantly checking on their new pets.

I think we've successfully pushed off the cat/dog wants for at least a month.

Butterflies

I am no Mariah Carey.

I think butterflies are cool to look at when they are in nature, but I am not one to slap one on a t-shirt or wear butterfly earrings.

But this is different. I have no idea how many butterflies were in this tiny space, but they were plentiful. You really could find one wherever you looked. One landed on me and just was so very content.

If you ever have the chance and are in Rochester, it is worth the extra couple bucks to spend 20 minutes at the Butterfly Garden at the Strong Museum of Play.