A child once answered the question, “What is a skeleton?” this way: “A skeleton is a person with the inside outside and the outside off.” So maybe we can describe a bug like this: “It’s an animal with the inside outside and the inside in.” Bugs are all characterized as “exoskeletons” – their skeletons are on the outside. This exoskeleton is made of a hard substance called “chitin” which provides protection for the bug’s inside and prevents the bug from drying out. This exoskeleton is divided into jointed segments, each of which has pairs of appendages like legs, wings, antennae, etc. In fact, bugs tend to be pretty flexible because they are full of joints. Scientists call the whole bunch of them “arthropods”, because their legs, “pods”, are jointed, “arthro”. Bugs are pretty small so it’s hard to get a refined picture just by looking at them, but you can get a better idea about their joints by looking at some of their cousins like crabs and lobsters. A lobster is jointed all over, not just the legs, but the whole body, as well as their antennae.

Most bugs are jointed in their bodies too. And their bodies are divided into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. The majority of them have their thoraxes divided into three parts as well, each having a pair of legs and a pair of wings on the second and third parts of the thorax.

Their heads sport a pair of antennae, jointed, of course, and two sets of eyes (at least), one set being a pair of bubbles made up of many eyes. And naturally a mouth, which has jaws moving sideways, not up and down.

Complicated! Yet so small! And so old! Way more than six thousand years old. More like 350 million years! Man has been walking the earth only a small fraction of that time.

And many! God must certainly love bugs because He made so many of them. There are about 900,000 species of them that are known and probably three or four times as many yet unknown. They make up about 80% of all living animals. But they aren’t everywhere. Not in the deep oceans and hardly any in polar regions or in hot springs. But I think we all agree: there are enough.

But where they are, they are everywhere! Being so small, they can exploit and often take over many nooks and crannies (“niches”) in the forest, the jungle, the basement, the garage, the pantry, the bed, etc.

That’s the bug, overall. But there’s a lot, lot more. And then many different kinds. And oh yes! The Butterfly!

This excerpt was written by my dear father, who ceaselessly amazes me with his endless knowledge of everything!

A butterfly wedding theme is simple to create. There are many ways to weave the romantic butterfly theme throughout your wedding. First, decide on the color scheme. Some prefer white butterflies to accentuate their main motif while others choose the color of the butterflies based on the wedding’s color scheme.

A theme could created by decorating the wedding with nylon butterflies suspended in the air. Large hanging butterflies would be perfect for hanging from the ceilings. The pews could be decorated with chiffon gathered together with a butterfly tieback.

Butterflies can be incorporated into wedding attire as well. Create a beautiful butterfly veil by fastening a butterfly to the headpiece. Attach mini ones to the bridesmaids gown. Tuck 3″ nylon butterflies into the bouquet or wrap the bouquet with a ribbon with a butterfly fastened to it. Sew one onto the garter, add them to the flower girl’s basket, add a butterfly to the boutonniere.

Butterfly reception ideas are endless. Use mini butterflies around the wedding cake. Tuck 5″ nylon ones into the floral centerpiece. Tie the napkins with a ribbon with a butterfly attached for napkin rings. Attach butterflies to the table place card holder. If you are having an outdoor wedding, you can create a seating chart along a line with butterfly pins holding up the charts. Attach mini butterflies with ribbons to your champagne glasses.

Nylon butterflies can be attached to just about any favor. Organza bags with nylon butterflies are quite charming. Butterflies attached to bags, boxes, and even seeds would be unforgettable.

There are hundreds of ways to decorate with butterflies at your wedding. They are a symbol for new beginning of life. Why not start your important day with romantic butterflies?

 

You could spend a fortune on Butterfly Tiebacks that cost an average of $45, or you can create your own for about $7 a piece! These tie backs have a beautiful trail of ribbon to add some elegance to the curtain. These tie backs use organza ribbon to tie around your curtain. We do not recommend using wire to wrap around the curtain as this may damage the curtain itself with tears or eventual rust.

Materials needed:
o Nylon butterfly
o Organza ribbon (minimum 24″ per tieback)
o Scissors
o Glue gun and glue stick
o newspaper

Time required: 15 min.

Age: 10 years old with assistance of an adult when using glue gun.

Start with a nylon butterfly of your choosing. If you want it to be an accent piece, use a contrasting color. For example, if you have a pink room, you can use blue or green. If you want to have a subtle look, use a purple or yellow for a pink room. We recommend a 5″ butterfly for tiebacks.

For butterfly decorations that come with a line, remove the line carefully. Pull on the short loose end of the string. This will open up the loop tie around the butterfly so that you are not in danger of cutting the delicate nylon. Once the knot is a safe distance away from the butterfly, snip the nylon line with scissors.

Take your organza ribbon. We recommend a ribbon that is at least 1 1/2 inches wide. Choose a color that goes well with your curtain and butterfly decoration. The minimum length we recommend is 24″. If you want a ribbon trail, use a longer ribbon. For families with young children, we suggest a short trail so that it cannot be pulled down by toddlers.

Take your ribbon and tie a simple knot in the center of your ribbon. Place the newspaper down on the table to protect it from accidental glue spills. Turn your butterfly decoration over and add a dab of hot melted glue from your glue gun to the center of the butterfly. Caution: please supervise our child when using the glue gun as it can lead to burns.

Place your knot of the ribbon over the glue. Place your fingers on either side of the knot and hold for thirty seconds. Do not place finger on the knot as hot glue may seep through the organza and cause burns.

Once the glue has dried, gather your curtain to where you would like it placed. Wrap the ribbon of the tieback that you just created and around the back, cross them over and bring them to the front again. Tie a knot under the butterfly tieback.

Voila! Now you have beautiful tiebacks at a reasonable price. This method can be used to create tie backs with dragonfly, flower, ladybugs and bumble bee! Inspire wonder in your child!

Decorating your little girl’s room to create her dream butterfly fairy garden is simple and affordable. With nylon butterflies, you can be very creative. These butterfly decorations have become very popular for decorating little girl’s rooms and nurseries.

One simple creation that does not cost much to make is a butterfly lampshade. This article will discuss how to decorate a butterfly lampshade in minutes with nylon butterflies.

Materials required:

Plain lampshade, about $10

Ribbon, about $3

3″ nylon butterflies, set of 3 for $5

Handheld hole puncher

Glue gun

Time required: 20 min

Suggested age: age 8 with help from an adult

1. Take your lampshade and draw marks evenly around the lampshade about 1″ up form the base. You would want about 8-10 segments, roughly about an inch apart.

2. Use a hand held hole punch and put a hole on either side of each marking so they are about a quarter inch apart.

3. Weave your ribbon through the holes, going around the entire lampshade so that the ribbon dips under the shade where the small gaps are and runs over the outer side of the lampshade where the larger gaps are.

4. Glue the ribbon in place where they meet back. Create a bow and glue in place over your ribbon seam.

5. Take your 3″ nylon butterflies and glue them onto your lampshade in any arrangement you desire. The glue should be placed on the underside of the wings where they meet. Arrange the wings so they are fluttering.

That’s it! You’re done. You can glue a mini ladybug onto the lamp base for extra accent. This neat trick can save you lots of money and can add charm to your little girl’s room or nursery.

There are a lot of decorations you can make for your butterfly theme bedroom for your little girl with nylon butterflies!