Ciao! Today I'm almost proud to show you this little project I've finalized... A TROMPE L'OEIL butterfly under glass. What do you think?

Here's my inspiration story:

A couple of months ago I got smitten with a shop featured by Holly Becker on a Decor8 "Etsy Take Five Tuesday", Bug Under Glass and by the beauty of a photo by Petra Bindel that Holly included alongside.

Now, you have to know I have a problem with insects. Nothing pathological, but still... I don't like them. Dead or alive. Ugly or even beautiful such as ladybugs or butterflies are. As long as they fly around it can be fine, but I can't stand the close up and any close encounter, let's say. So, no way I could bring a bug like these in my home...

BUT then I recalled few shots I took in the incredible "Collodi Butterfly House" (Collodi, Tuscany). I wandered there for hours, in this magic zoo of butterflies, with all these colorful giant creatures flying around me, caressing them and singing... Ehm... no this would be the edited fantasy version... :D Truth is I resisted 5 minutes and then I panicked and forced also my boyfriend to the exit, but - man! Those things were HUGE, some of their bodies were the size of a small rat and HAIRY and there were also all that camouflage stick insects! *Shivering*

Anyway, my photos were terrible as you can imagine, but this bright blue morpho one you can see in the collage here above was not bad. So I digitally cut out the morpho and worked on it a little bit, added a background and a shadow and here it is my butterfly photo trompe l'oeil! I've found a frame deep enough for the illusion (a simple black Ikea Ribba) and I'm quite happy of the result seen in a room...

Some other shots... (Part of them set in my parents' home)

I'm still not fully satisfied of the shadow effect and of course it can never be like "the real thing", but I like it!

Hope you enjoyed this little creative story, friends. And you? Are you working on any interesting project this spring?