The butterflies are coming!

For some reason, the media (magazine articles, books and so on) about mixed media art seems to be half techniques, tools and materials, and half self help (egging the reader to have, for example, "the courage to create"). I am interested in the former, being already brave in the face of art supplies. I welcome recommendations for books, tutorials, blogs (yours?) or whatnot related to mixed media.

My own next mixed media undertaking is underway. I began by drawing butterflies and cutting them out on my Silhouette cutter.

I cut black butterflies a tiny bit larger, to matte these. I glued four black ones together to make a thicker more sturdy element. They are exactly the same shape, thanks to the cutter, and layered easily. My plan is to hang these from their holes.

Next I decorated four white ones, and glued them to the front and back of two of my thick black butterflies. Here's one side:

I stamped the flowers using Distress Paint, and then used Distress Stain to add the color. The Distress paint is thin, and dries flat, leaving no texture to speak of at all. It is waterproof, so it resists the stains beautifully. I used my blending tool to add Distress Ink, as well, to finish the edges. Tea Dye Distress is my new favorite color. I coated them both in Microglaze, to protect the finished pieces.  Here's the other side:

I've only made two so far, but I think there will be a full ramble once I've finished. The top stamp is a Cover-A-Card background from IO, and the bottom stamp is a background from Local King, a favorite of mine.

This weekend, I purchased brass dowels at Lowes. My husband cut them for me, and I found a brass polish (called Brasso of all things) that spruced them right up. I can still smell it, though.

I spent an hour making and unmaking attachments to hook my butterflies to these rods. Here's one I can now make reliably:

And here's my plan:

The chord is temporary. Here's what I'm thinking for connecting butterflies, and maybe for the hanger. Appropriate that it looks like a caterpillar? or not?

Now, I need more butterflies! Thanks for looking.