I began by sketching out the types of butterflies I wanted displayed and then painted them using watercolors

I also transformed an old frame I had into a shadow box using matte board. This gave the butterflies a stronger illusion of depth and realism

Using an x-acto knife, each butterfly was carefully cut out

Once I carefully cut out all the butterflies, I arranged them to how I wanted them displayed and gave their wings a slight bend. I also made parchment for the butterflies to rest on by ripping the edges of some multimedia paper and staining it with tea