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About our Airtight Acrylic Wall Frames 7x6 9x12 9x12 12x9 11x18 12x9 normal closeup super closeup normal closeup super closeup 18x28 normal      closeup Real butterflies preserved in acrylic frames are available for purchase on gallery pages 1-8 (see gallery guide on left and bottom of page), click here to learn how purchasing from us helps save the rainforest & butterfly species. Acrylic frames are sealed, clear, wall mounted, three dimensional display cases and are the recommended display option for real butterflies. Butterflies are three dimensional so they shouldn't be mounted in one dimensional frames. These clear cases allow you to easily view both sides of the butterfly simply by flipping over the case (the undersides of the wings are often beautiful and different than the uppersides). We glue a small clear acrylic hanging device to the back of the cases (hidden behind a butterfly) and include perfectly sized nails to fit the hanging device so all you need is a hammer, a wall, and a few seconds to easily hang your display. Also note that the smaller cases (9x12 and smaller) can be displayed on a display stand (on a desk, display case) if you desire. We currently don't sell stands though but you can find one at a local store. Acrylic frames are sealed airtight, providing the absolute best butterfly preservation environment. All butterflies are mounted on thin, clear rods of varying lengths, enhancing the perception that the butterflies are in mid-flight. Although very time consuming, placing all the butterflies on rods truly creates a three dimensional display, something that could never be done with a traditional frame. The rods also allow us to angle and tilt select butterflies. For example, if a butterfly is flying towards the right side of the case we'll make the right wings closer to the base and the left wings closer to the top of the case (think how an airplane turns). This is where acrylic rods play the biggest role in creating a realistic display. Deeper cases will use longer and more varied size rods. The more we vary the size of the rods, the more three dimensional the display is. This is why our large cases are 2 1/4 inches deep. Mounting on rods allow the butterfly wings to float freely, they are not flattened like they are in some frames. Iridescent butterflies look much better in acrylic cases, when they are flattened by glass the glare somewhat obscures the iridescence. Very often when you put a flat poster, painting etc. on your wall it kind of becomes part of the wall. After a while, you barely notice it. When these butterflies are "floating" inches off your wall at all different angles and directions they will always catch your eye. Also note that if you bring your case to a custom framing company they can frame it in a wood, metal frame etc. but that's certainly not necessary, one of the great things about the acrylic case is that the focus is on the butterflies, not the frame. Our acrylic cases have rounded sides and smooth corners, very elegant. Custom orders / substitution requests are welcome. For example, if you want to buy 2 different displays and both have some of the same butterflies you can request that different butterflies be used to insure that you get entirely unique butterflies. Simply email us with your custom order / substitutions idea and we'll respond promptly. Note that for some large displays (like the Rainbow Flight or Paradise) some butterflies are "interchangable" so the display you receive may vary slightly from the picture on our site. We can't update our multiple butterfly display pictures everytime we get a cool new butterfly, however we can guarantee that the large multiple butterfly displays will only use magnificent butterflies. We are always trying to "upgrade" our displays with the best butterflies available. If we are sold out of a butterfly or product that you want, email us and we'll contact you when it comes back in stock. If you need to place an order totaling $1,000 dollars or more, please contact us first. Some displays have several options so you'll want to click on the picture to view the product page detailing the additional options. How we spread our butterflies: When we receive our dried butterflies they all arrive with their wings closed. The butterflies must be carefully hydrated to allow us to spread the wings as we desire. We try to spread our butterflies so that the wings are symmetrical as possible. However, we also try to leave a small even gap between the upper and lower wings (see our pictures). There's basically 2 other faster "styles" of butterfly spreading that we believe are not as aesthetically pleasing. Some people spread the butterflies so that the upper wings are extremely high while the lower wings are very low, creating a huge unnatural gap between the upper & lower wings. Others spread the upperwings very low so that there is no gap between the upper & lower wings, making it look almost look like the butterfly only has 2 wings instead of four. Some artists don't even spread the wings symmetrically, creating a very sloppy look. Also of note is that we carefully reinforce (with a thin clear-drying glue), the wings (underside where they touch the body), head (underside) and body (underside) of every butterfly we use (in all our displays) to insure that our displays are as durable as possible. About our U-bend acrylic frames: Our acrylic cases are "U-bend" style which we believe are the highest quality type of acrylic frames. While traditional acrylic frames have 6 pieces of acrylic glued together (4 sides, top & bottom), our cases have 4 pieces of acrylic glued together. The longer top piece of acrylic is heated and bent to create 2 sides. Therefore on 2 sides of the case there is no seam, it's just curved to meet the bottom piece of acrylic. While it's difficult to see the difference on the internet, in person it really looks great and the corners are all rounded as well. U-bend cases are more a lot more time consuming to work with but we believe they're the best, some other artists simply use standard cases with 90 degree sides and corners and they're not as aesthetically pleasing in our opinion. About the butterfly & product images: All closeup butterfly pictures (gallery pages 1-4) are real pictures taken by ButterflyUtopia.com with a digital camera. The backgrounds and shadows have been whitened out. Pictures of the acrylic frames are often taken at an angle to avoid glare. Many of the pictures on this site do not do these butterflies justice. Some of the butterflies actually change color depending on the angle of the light. The pictures have also been optimized to speed download times, slightly reducing clarity. All butterfly pictures and complex designs are copyrighted by ButterflyUtopia.com and may not be reproduced without permission. Also, please keep in mind that besides being difficult to photograph, some butterflies vary slightly in color, brightness, size & wing shape. They're not made in a factory, they're made by nature. This is what makes them so special! Gallery Guide: Single Framed Real Butterflies Pages 1 2 3 4 Multiple Framed Real Butterflies Pages 5 6 7 8 Bargain Framed Real Butterflies Page 9 Butterfly Wing Art Page 10 Butterfly Jewelry Page 11 Misc. Butterfly Items Page 12 Join Our Mailing List! 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