DIY Butterfly Sun Catcher (Made With Recycled CDs)

(Nature + fantasy + rainbows = the perfect combo!)

My room is one of my favorite places in the whole world. Every day, it feels closer to what I picture when I close my eyes: a cozy, magical corner with that enchanted forest vibe I love so much. However, there’s still a loooot I want to add - and of course, I’ll be sharing everything with you step by step!

Today I’m bringing you one more decoration I added: a butterfly sun catcher made from recycled CDs. I’ve always wanted something that would catch sunlight and sprinkle little rainbows all over the walls and ceiling. After getting lost in a sea of Pinterest inspiration, I decided to make my own - with a nature-meets-fantasy twist, obviously. Here’s the full tutorial!

Watch the video tutorial here!

What You’ll Need:

• CDs
• A butterfly template (I used this one you can download here!)
• Scissors
• Sandpaper
• Thick tape
• White glue
• Silver or gold marker (optional)
• Green crochet thread
• Beads or crystal charms
• Hot glue gun
• A base (I used a wooden disc)
• Artificial moss
• Sisal rope

Step-by-step

1. Cut out the butterflies from the CDs

Let’s start with the most magical part: cutting your butterflies!

If you’re using DVDs, the process might be a bit different - they have two layers you can separate. CDs, on the other hand, you cut just as they are. I began by tracing the butterfly on the sticker side of the CD (the matte side) using a permanent marker. If you want to use the same template I did, you can download it here:

Download the butterfly template

Note: Blogger might show a redirect warning — but it’s totally safe, I promise!

Then, very carefully, I cut the shape out with sharp scissors. Just be gentle when handling the butterflies - the shiny sticker might start to peel off, and that’s what gives the magical rainbow shine!

Safety tip:

Wear safety glasses when cutting CDs! Even when you're being super careful, little pieces can fly off. I used my lab goggles - the ones I bought for my degree and never used... until now. Who knew their first use would be for a DIY project?

After cutting, I sanded the edges and gently bent the wings to give them a more butterflyish mood (very carefully, so they wouldn’t snap!). 

Now, the back of a CD (where we normally write its name) isn’t shiny, so I used thick tape to peel the sticker layer off another CD and glued that holographic sticker onto the back of the butterfly with UHU glue (but you can use white glue too). Then I trimmed the excess with small scissors. 

And because why not — I used a silver marker to outline the wings. It looked sooo cute!

Confession #1:

Over time, the UHU glue stained the holographic paper of the little butterflies... they're still cute, but now they have a few stains here and there. I don't think white glue would cause that, so I would advise you to use it instead. 

Confession #2:

I was super nervous about this step. I thought cutting CDs would be a nightmare… but it was actually really relaxing! Yes, my hands started to hurt a little after a while, but I swear I would have made dozens of them if I could. Each butterfly turned out adorable.

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2. Assemble the hanging “vines”

Since the theme is nature + fantasy, I used green crochet thread to look like floating vines.

I cut 10 threads in different lengths to create a gradient effect:

50 cm, 45 cm, 40 cm, 2x 35 cm, 2 x 30 cm, 2x 25 cm, 20 cm

Then I laid them out on the table in order of size, spaced out the butterflies, and filled the gaps with crystal beads. I snapped a photo of the final layout so I wouldn’t forget the order, and started assembling: I tied little knots to secure the beads and hot glued the butterflies in place, adding another dab of glue on top of the string for extra hold.

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3. Glue the vines to the base

The base of my sun catcher is a slice of tree trunk, and I’m obsessed!

I gave it two coats of glossy varnish to protect the wood. Then I sketched a spiral with 10 dots and used that as a guide to glue the vines: the longest one in the center (50 cm) and the shorter ones spiraling out toward the edge. I glued each one with hot glue, pressing them down really well.

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4. Decorate the base & hang it up

To cover the glue spots and add an enchanted forest vibe, I glued on some artificial moss with white glue. Except… plot twist: turns out it was real moss! It felt spongy and left green stains, so I painted over it with glossy varnish to seal everything in and keep it from shedding.

To hang it, I used sisal rope. I found the center (kinda — my disc wasn’t perfectly round), folded the rope in half, tied a chunky knot at the end, and glued it to the back with hot glue. Then I added a thick layer of hot glue over the knot and pressed in some crystals while it was still warm.

Confession #3:

I’ll be honest, for a while it seemed super sturdy and actually held on for a few weeks. But one day, I got a huge scare when I saw that my sun catcher had fallen -  the glue had given way. So, I recommend using epoxy glue (which is what I used to fix it). It never fell off again (it's been a few months)! You can still use hot glue to attach the crystals on top like I did.

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And your magical sun catcher is ready!

I’m SO happy with how this turned out! It has the exact mystical vibe I was going for. The CD butterflies + crystals reflect the most beautiful light patterns when the sun hits — like magic dancing on the walls.

I absolutely loved making this DIY. It was relaxing, satisfying, and totally worth it. If you decide to try it too, let me know in the comments and tag me on socials - I’d love to see your version!

See you next time! Ladybug out!