I absolutely love butterflies. They're gorgeous to look at, and inspiring to watch while they fly. Since I don't live in a place filled with butterfly gardens, I figured I would make my own.

For a cute and easy design I decided to make a heart. There's almost no way to mess up hearts, and it's generally an obvious enough design that you won't have to explain it. If you want to make a different design it would be super easy, because the steps are the same until you arrange it.

This project took me about two days to complete, but if you have a longer attention span then it could be possible in one. All of the butterflies are made of card stock paper and held to the wall with scotch tape.

Step 1: Gather Materials

The materials needed for this instructable are:

-A pencil

-A ruler

-Scissors

-Tape (scotch, painter's, or duct will work fine)

-Colorful paper (I bought a set of card stock paper from Michael's that had several shades of purple, but any kind of paper that will hold its shape will work as well)

Step 2: Choose a Pattern

Now it's time to choose a butterfly pattern. I looked up images and drew a few to choose what I liked best, but to make it easy on yourself there are several cutout patterns on Pinterest, or you can copy the one that I used.

Step 3: Fold

When folding your paper make sure that it will be wide enough for half a butterfly. Make a mark where the width is right and fold your paper along that line. To ensure a straight line take your ruler and draw a line where the fold will be before folding.

Once you've made the initial fold, take the paper and fold again backwards, so that you make an accordion fold. Repeat this with the rest of your paper and with all of the sheets of paper you plan to cut butterflies from. I initially folded 3 sheets per color, but the amount of paper you'll need depends on how many butterflies you plan to make.

Step 4: Trace

Now that your paper looks like an accordion, you can begin to trace. On the fold of the paper, take your butterfly cutout and trace one wing (later you'll cut on the fold to make two wings). Trace as many as you can down the paper, then move to the next fold. Repeat this with as many sheets of paper as you have.

I was able to get about 12 butterflies per sheet of paper with a butterfly that was about 2 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches wide. Depending on the size of your butterfly you may be able to fit more or less.

Step 5: Cut Out

In order to cut out the butterflies, I found it easier to separate the rows. To do this just cut down the folds of your paper on the outside of the wing, giving you separate lines of butterflies. Fold the sheet in half along the crease, and cut both halves following your outline.This will create a whole butterfly.

Repeat this step until all of your butterflies are cut out.

Step 6: Arrange

Now that you have freed all of the butterflies you are ready to arrange! Tape the outline of your design on the wall (this isn't necessary but makes it much easier while taping butterflies). Then place a piece of tape on one wing and attach the butterfly to the wall. This will give it a 3D effect.

While taping the butterflies it's easiest to go from top to bottom, so you can peel off the tape as you go down. Continue to follow the outline and if you choose you can completely fill it in or leave some space in the middle. I chose to improvise mine a little, and added more butterflies to the bottom left of the heart so it would appear as though they were flying away. This step is completely up to you, so let your creativity loose!

Once you're done with your design take a step back and relax. You've done an amazing job, and made something that will hopefully brighten your home and your day.