Fun fact about me time! I have a phobia of caterpillars! I know it’s odd, and as an Australian there’s plenty of things more dangerous to worry about, but for me it’s those disgusting little wrigglers. Due to this I am a little dubious about butterflies, though I do appreciate that they’re often very beautiful; I just still want them away from me.
However, having just watched Encanto with my daughter again, I was inspired to find some butterfly related activities for her and I to do. Sometimes I love coming up with fun craft activities for my household to do, but other times I don’t feel like reinventing the wheel and I find activity ideas from others online. There’s quite the array of butterfly related craft activities out there, but here’s a few that I thought particularly good, in no particular order.
Paper Plate Butterfly Kids Craft
Photo from designimprovised.com
These paper plate butterflies are super cute, and a great way to use up leftover paper plates from the holidays or parties! It’s a simple premise, very accessible for even very little crafters. I like that you can use the materials listed or branch off and use whatever you have in or around your home, like fallen leaves and so on.
Stained Glass Butterfly Craft
Photo from typicallysimple.com
Who doesn’t love a pretty pop of colour to hang in the window? These stained glass butterflies are another craft that can be tailored to the very young (you do all the cutting out, they just place the pieces of tissue paper on the contact) or can be completed by bigger kids. A great way to use up any leftover clear contact after getting school books ready.
Easy No Sew Felt Butterfly Craft
Photo from acultivatednest.com
These are a great little craft for using up odds and ends of craft felt. The cute little butterflies produced could be used as decorations, too! The instructions call for hot glue, but that could easily be swapped out for tying a piece of string or yarn around the wings instead of the little strip of felt they’ve used here, which I think is more kid-friendly than hot glue.
Chunky Rainbow Butterfly Craft
Photo from theinspirationedit.com
I love how cartoonishly cute these butterflies are! Personally, I wouldn’t use the wooden circles listed as backing, but instead use the paper technique they’ve used here of gluing coloured strips onto another piece of coloured card, but then tracing a circle on the back and cutting it out. Otherwise, a very cute and fun activity that I look forward to doing with my daughter!
Butterfly Mask Craft
Photo from messylittlemonster.com
I love the masquerade vibes of this cute craft, and that it can be tailored to fit a variety of different aesthetics. This activity would be better for older children, my 8-year-old daughter thinks they look very cool and is looking forward to making some. Again, I wouldn’t use hot glue and would use tape for the final step, as the post itself mentions. I have a hot glue gun and love to use it where appropriate, but generally only when crafting solo.
Toilet Paper Roll Butterfly Craft
Photo from thebestideasforkids.com
I love seeing crafts incorporate buttons, and googly eyes, so these are a very appealing little craft! You could do a larger version with a roll from paper towel or baking paper and cut the wings out of two pieces of card. You could also cover the paper roll with coloured paper or simply draw on them if you didn’t want to get the paints out.
Paper Plate Butterfly Kids Craft
Photo from artsymomma.com
This is a very pretty butterfly craft that I feel like I might have made when I was little and in kindergarten. Of course, that was before washi tape, which is a cute addition to this craft. I personally wouldn’t cut my pipe cleaner and instead bend it because I like my scissors, even my cheap craft ones, and the idea of cutting pipe cleaners feels wrong!
Stained Glass Butterfly Black Glue Craft
Photo from viewsfromastepstool.com
This is a surprisingly simple craft but produces such a striking effect! I have seen the black glue thing done but haven’t tried it myself and I really look forward to it. This is another of those crafts that is friendly to a wide variety of ages, though if you’re doing it with the littlest of crafters you will need to do the glue lines the day before you let them have at it with the paints!
Giant Painted Origami Butterflies
Photo from pinkstripeysocks.com
Origami is such a fun activity, and I love the spin on traditional origami here by using a heavier paper and painting it yourself! I love watercolours and dabble with them every now and then, so I’m really looking forward to doing this one myself. You could always use other mediums to draw or paint on your butterflies, too.
Clay Footprint Ring Dish
Photo from messylittlemonster.com
Oh how I wish I had seen this particular craft when my daughter was a baby! Ugh! The baby feet, look at those baby feet! One of my favourite sonogram pictures of my daughter was of her perfect little feet! I love this craft, it’s such a lovely keepsake, and a great gift for grandparents, too! Of course, there’s no reason you couldn’t make a dish with your older kid’s footprints, and I intend to do this with my daughter’s precious feeties. Just one more time; BABY FEET! Okay, I’m done. 😊
