Over the weekend I bought a beautiful piece of butterfly taxonomy at the flea market. I’ll share some photos of it hung up later this week. I’m loving what the color, pattern and dimension of these pieces can add to a room:
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Here are a couple of eBay listings that caught my eye:
I love the round frame. This seller has two round pieces.
I like the flowy, non-traditional pattern of this seller’s butterflies. Feels a little more modern.
They look pretty yes, but I'm deeply uncomfortable with buying framed real butterflies as this surely encourages the killing of these beautiful wild creatures.
They are so beautiful. I remember having to do something like this for a school project many years ago.
You know, my mom had one when I was little– it creeped me out. What I wouldn't give to have it now!
Precious, I really like the idea and have been wanting to get some for a while now. Great inspiration
Oh wow those butterflies are gorgeous!
I can't see your pics anymore. I've tried with Safari and Chrome, using a Macbook Pro.
Any clue why?
Etsy is also a great place to find mounted butterflies. Great post Jenny! Thanks for reminding me that this is a great way to add color and texture to a room.
They ARE beautiful, but I also think it's creepy to frame something that was once alive…A photo or illustration works better for me!
Love these! I have some acrylic butterflies that I have framed in our living room. I will be posting a DIY in the next few weeks. This may be the one time when fake is much better than the real thing!
They are beautiful! …and I'm so jealous of the flea markets you have access to!!
I'm sorry but I am completly drawn to the screen in the first shot with the bird print – it is so goreous
sooo pretty! but i also couldn't have one in my house, they just creep me out!
There's also this company in Puerto Rico that has some gorgeous pieces: http://bit.ly/mn4RBC.
I saw one of them in an Apartment Therapy house tour. Here's a link to that: http://bit.ly/mN5sP7.
I had one of these when I was little! Beautiful!
xo,
Kate
http://www.cinnamonink.blogspot.com
So pretty! I bought this year's butterfly calendar by Cavallini to frame each one individually and I love how it's turned out!
I saw these faux butterflies made of maps on some design blog a while back. I much prefer these to the real ones: http://www.imagesurgery.com/news
I frame and mount real butterflies in frames and jewelry. I get all my butterflies from reputable butterfly farms that raise them and gather them after they have lived out their full lives. By purchasing real butterfly art from reputable sources you are supporting people who would otherwise sell their land for clear-cutting.
I love and appreciate the beauty of the butterfly. Thanks for posting this! I love your blog
~Brittany
Trinketjewelry.Etsy.com
Hi guys! Thanks for your comments! Most of the butterflies you can get online these days have been collected after the insects have laid their eggs and past away from natural causes. I realize it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think it's cool to get to examine and appreciate the butterfly's seriously extraordinary beauty for long after their lifetime.
Plus, any opportunity to bring a little nature here to our city apartment is welcome for me and my kids!
xx
These are just gorgeous! And your wall placement of them is so balanced. Your home must be beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
gorgeous! i recently bought some of these for my sister from BugUnderGlass, an etsy shop. he does amazing work and does some neat styling with the insects!
Jenny, you have such a great eye. The options you found on Ebay look modern and fresh!
Now that you're in New York, have you checked out the Evolution Store in Soho? They have an extensive variety of minerals, corals, and framed insects, too. The store was the closest thing I got to nature while living in the city!
Love it! Great way to add color to a room.
Im having a GIVEAWAY for a cute monogram french damask necklace on my blog…
http://cassylately.blogspot.com/
I've noticed that this is a growing trend in the blog world, and I also think they are beautiful! I love bringing the outdoors in, however, I have heard some debate over the ethics of framing dead butterflies, but am not sure how valid those arguments are. But for that reason, I think maybe I would frame a beautiful poster of watercolored butterfly species!
just saw your comment, and the comment of bgerson- helps clear up the debate for me! I relate it to wearing fur; as long as it is humane and reasonable, then it can be okay…
The butterflies are so pretty! They add a special touch of whimsy to a room : )
I love the dimensionality of these kinds of pieces. There is an awesome store in Old San Juan Puerto Rico that sells some beautiful pieces like these.
Check out this gallery in San Juan Puerto Rico. The scale of these pieces blew my mind when I walked into the shop!
http://www.butterflypeople.com/
Butterflies are so beautiful… For the moment, I'm going to content myself with framing a few butterfly-printed silk scarves, though– the whole dead-creature-in-my-house thing gives me the heebie-jeebies! Definitely beautiful inspiration, though.
(totally unsubtle segue: I'm having a giveaway for a gift certificate to my etsy store here: http://julierosesews.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/etsy-shop-giveaway-yay/ )
have a lovely evening!
I love them, so beautiful!
And if they give you the creeps don't comment {anonymously?}… just look at a different post right? Weird.
Jenny I love coming here to find inspiration. You are one of a kind:) I and, I am sure, all of your readers appreciate you trying to appease those of us opinionated and outspoken lovers of design with your incredibly creative and vast variety of decor ideas! My absolute favorite interior design blog. Thx
In some installations I completely love, and in some I find them a little morbid. I think when they're done well they can be quite beautiful.
Love your taste!
I also especially love the framed butterflies that looked a little more natural, and had some movement to them!
NEW FOLLOWER!!!
-moo
I've had a fondness for butterfly art ever since I saw pieces in the house of one of my Grandmother's friends. It was the early 80s in Palm Springs – so the pieces (which looked very much like large versions of those on the Ebay seller link you included) were probably the height of old lady decor at the time. But everything old is new again – right?
Interesting comments by the way. I've always felt guilty about finding "dead butterflies" so appealing. But knowing more about the source material now (thank you Trinketjewelry.Etsy.com!) I may actually look into buying some.
I have some that I purchased while on my mission in the jungles of Ecuador 15+ years ago. (And, I might add, they're really the only mission memento that has stayed displayed.) Everyone that comes into my home comments on them. And I always enjoy the sentiment and memories that go along with them.
I hope this trend ends soon. I think dead things under glass are extremely creepy and wrong.
I LOVE using framed insects. Two tips for ya though:
1) Before purchasing, do a simple search online to make sure that the insects you're purchasing are not on an endangered watch list. There's actually a huge problem of butterfly and beetle poaching.
2) When you have your lovely framed prize, keep it out of direct sunshine, and it will keep its color and quality.
I don't think this is creepy, but I do think it's a generally undesirable practice. Perhaps there are some people who raise butterflies just for this purpose, and perhaps many are vintage pieces. But I do know I saw a number of blue morpho butterflies among the displays, and they are a tropical species to which "Humans provide a direct threat…because their beauty attracts artists and collectors from all over the globe who wish to capture and display them" (quote from rainforest-alliance.org). I did fieldwork in Ecuador myself and can confirm seeing whole pictures made out of severed butterfly wings including morphos. Please think twice about whether your desire to decorate your house in a particular manner is worth the possible extirpation of a species.
These are gorgeous and my daughter's kindergarten class raised a ton of butterflies that they released into a butterfly garden. Sadly, butterflies only live an average of two weeks after they leave their cocoon so I actually think this is a beautiful way of preserving them!
i am looking for a yellow or orange butterfy either framed for a special young lady that has aspers and works with be at walmart.i need to stay around 25-30 dollars.