The golden snitch was done for a Harry Potter themed night, at the St. Louis Science Center.  To resemble the snitch from the movies, I did some research and found out that they were originally live creatures that were hunted to extinction, for the Quid-ditch game.  So, the wizards created a magical version of the creature, so they could continue their games.

My version, looks so real in person, that at that event, filled with die-hard Harry Potter fans, I had many people ask me if it was a real prop from the movie.  My version took over 60 hours to do and it is the only one I have done.  I purchased a 3d printed base, made of plastic, from an artist on Etsy.  I then hand painted it in metallic gold paint.  I went over the ridges using a darker colored gold paint.  The wings were made using giant Cicada wings, which I had ordered previously online.  The wings have several coats of resin over them and then were attached to the sides of the snitch body.  This has a pin through the back of the base and through the back of the board, just like how insects are mounted.  This is in a frame that can be hung or be set to stand up on a shelf or desk.