Recycled Water Bottle Butterfly

I was originally inspired by this great post from Instructables, one of my favorite websites. I am throwing a garden themed party this year for my daughter’s birthday and thought that these would be perfect. They would also make cute adornments for gifts.

Here is how I made these cute Recycled Water Bottle Butterflies.

Materials:

• DASANI water bottle
• Utility knife and scissors
• Sand Paper (I used 100 grit)
• Craft paint
• Glitter
• Plastic Beads
• Twine
• Hot Glue

Make sure your DASANI water bottle is clean and dry. Using a utility knife, cut off the rounded top and bottom of the water bottle so that you have a perfect cylinder.  Next, cut that cylinder in half, lengthwise to make two pieces.

 

Next, cut each piece in half to make four pieces.  This will now be four butterflies.  Fold each piece in half as shown. Cut a “V” shape on the top and bottom, and then another on each side.  You can cut and shape the butterfly wings as you like.  Gently sand each butterfly.  This will help the paint to adhere nicely to the plastic. Make sure you clean off any debris before you start to paint.

 

I used craft paint and glitter to decorate each butterfly.  For the bodies, I hot glued black plastic beads together and then hot glued twine in a “V” shape for the antennas.  IMPORTANT: When hot gluing the body to the butterfly, place the hot glue on the bead and then glue onto the plastic.  Do not put hot glue directly onto the plastic or it will melt.

 

Here are some after photos. The tutorial is for the liter bottle; however I made some with the small 12 oz. bottles too! Check them out (bottom right photo)!  If you add a few more beads, the 12 oz. bottles make perfect dragonflies.

 

Why I chose DASANI:

DASANI has partnered with a variety of organizations to promote the importance of recycling:

• Coca-Cola Recycling: Since 2007, Coca-Cola Recycling has worked with the Coca-Cola system and community partners to increase the collection of beverage packaging for use again in North America. They currently manage 30 dedicated recycling centers, a commercial brokerage network, an online recycling bin fulfillment site and the execution of hundreds of local recycling programs around the country.

• Recyclebank: Since 2006, Coca-Cola has partnered with Recyclebank, a meaningful rewards program that motivates people to recycle by rewarding them for their efforts. Recyclebank Points are earned based on the weight of the recyclables and are redeemable for valuable discounts, free products, gift cards and movie tickets, to name just a few.

• Keep America Beautiful/Bin Grant Program: The Coca-Cola/Keep America Beautiful Bin Grant Program donates recycling bins to kick-start recycling programs for local organizations. Through your support, you’ve helped us grant bins to non-profits, government, civic organizations, schools and for profit corporations.

Check out this quick YouTube video!

DASANI’s PlantBottle® Saves Energy

Thanks to DASANI for sponsoring today’s post!