I was with my Mom at Ikea a few days ago and she stumbled across a shadow box with 3D metal butterflies. She wanted to buy it but we had only gone to look around so she had not brought her purse with her. I wish I had had my wallet so I could get it for her but I left it at home.

 
     ,-. 
    (   )
     \ /
     |=|

Make it for Mother's day!

So that's exactly what I did.

Step 1: Supplies

You will need:
- Poster Board
- Contrasting Color Paper
- Tape/ Glue ( I used tape for this instructable )
- Scissors
- Knife/ Razor Blade
- Pencil /Pen

Step 2: Draw Butterfly Shape

You can print out a picture of a butterfly and trace it if you like but i chose to free hand draw the butterfly. Make this a little off center of the poster board to make this look natural.

Step 3: Cut Out Butterfly Shape

I used the razor for this. Try to be as close to the line you drew as possible.
(I forgot to take a picture of this step alone so I just used the next step over)

Step 4: Add Contrasting Color Paper

Place the paper on the backside of the cut out hole. Then you need to tape/ glue down the edges.The front pieces may need to be taped or glued down if too loose.

Step 5: Add the Cut Out Back On

Fold the butterfly shape in half so that the fold is on the middle of the wings. Then tape/ glue down the fold crease only. This is what creates the 3D effect.

Step 6: Cut Out Smaller Butterflies

Cut out smaller butterflies from the contrasting color of paper. Make as many as you want but not too much because that could over clutter the final product. I made four. These are about 2in squared in size. Make them different sizes and shapes to maintain the natural look.

Step 7: Attach the Small Butterflies

Now just attach the small butterflies in the same way as the larger one.

Step 8: Take a Bow

Step 5:
Make little colums from tape and put them under the wings to prop up the wings.

Step 7:
Don't touch the tape too much because it will cause the tape to not be secure enough and the butterflies will fall off.

Caution: Don't make this at 12:00 at night like me causing you to rush and make dumb mistakes!