How to Make this Silly Aged Butterfly

I did this butterfly just out of silly thinking and dreaming of what I thought an aged butterfly should look like. There was no patters used for this just some free hand drawing
First I used muslin for the body of the butterfly and stained it with a washed out black and browns and a touch of red. I baked it in my oven at 200 degrees until it was dry.

Next with a sewing pencil or washable marker I drew out a bit of a bone shape making one end of the bone shape larger because this will be the head of the butterfly. I cut out 2 pieces and sewed the eyes on and painted the nose on with acrylic paints and let that dry for a day. Then I sewed all around the body making a small slit in the back for adding the fiber fill.

I found some wonderful fabric that was a mixture of cotton and acrylic fabric, and I just drew out the shape of the wings onto the fabric using a white sewing pencil and then I cut out the wings and stained them with a brown walnut stain and once again baked the fabric at 200 degrees. I better mention I cut out 2 sets of wings and sewed them together being sure to leave an opening to turn the fabric.
I then gathered the wings in the center with a running stitch and sewed them to the back of the butterfly covering up the slit in the back.
Finally I used a bit of fishing line for the top of the butterfly by just sewing the line through the fabric and knotting.

Life is always Full of Change

Life can be so interesting sometimes, full of changes; well its another big change for me and my husband. I think this year was the most we have ever struggled due to the tough economy. So it was time for a change....
What a big change my husband gave up the mule train log truck and is now training to be a tanker truck driver, it is huge change because it means him having to be away from home for while until we can sell our home and move closer to the new work.
It has been tough to make this choice but I know Heavenly Father has been guiding us along the way and for me it means lots more prayers to keep my husband safe because if I thought driving the log truck was dangerous now he will be driving around in a large gas can as we joke about this, so we still have a sense of humor.
Leaving the log truck behind was hard because he enjoyed it, seeing some beautiful country side and he has done it for more than 12 years.
So this is the last picture of the mule train fully loaded and our home at this time.
Next year the home will have to be sold the job location is to far away and we need to be closer.