Framing Nature

I finally bought a shadow box to make a display of the remaining quail eggs I had. I searched the local thrift stores for a shadow box, but alas, I could not find one. I did find a cool framed butterfly at one of the shops. I've always wanted one but have felt guilty about purchasing a new one, killing butterflies and all, but finding one at a thrift shop is like saving a butterfly, right? :o) I ended up buying a shadow box at Michael's that fit the bill. Here's a picture of my purchases:

Also at one of the thrift stores I found a gold frame with nice detailing at the corners:

I decided to paint the frames in my Annie Sloan chalk paint in Duck Egg blue. I was too lazy to prime then paint so I used my trusty chalk paint and got straight to the painting. I also wanted to add some interest to the frames and since chalk paint distresses really well I knew it was the perfect choice.

Here is a picture of the previously gold frame after painting and distressing:

And a closer shot of the distressed detailing. I think the distressing just makes the corners pop. I'm not sure what I'll put in the frame, we will see what I can find.

Next we have my framed butterfly. There was also a separate beveled edge inside the frame that I painted white to act as a matte around the butterfly.

At first I thought a more colorful butterfly would have looked better but with the blue frame I think the neutral color of the butterfly contrasts nicely. I LOVE it! Here it is a bit closer:

And last we have the framed quail eggs in the shadow box. I glued the remaining blown out quail eggs on a piece of paper cut to size that had a woven fabric look. Since the frame was pretty plain looking I distressed the edges a bit.