Easy Butterfly Craft for Kids: Simple and Fun!

Is there anything more magical than a butterfly to a child?

My kids have seen tons of them, but they still gasp, point, yell “Butterfly!” and the chase is on – every time!

Now that spring is upon us and the sun is out, I just had to pull out one of my favorite crafts.

It is an easy, simple butterfly craft that kids of all ages can do!

We don’t normally repeat crafts, but we have done this one 3-4 times and all my kids still love it.

It is perfect for springtime crafting, letter of the week crafts, or just for fun!

Why I Love This Easy Butterfly Craft for Kids

My first reason is that it is actually for kids! So many crafts I see are way too intricate and complicated for a kid to actually do. Mom or teacher ends up doing a good amount of it – and the kid knows it.

It’s hard to be proud of something if your mom is really the one that made it.

The second reason is that it is really difficult to screw this craft up. Until you unfold the butterfly, you really don’t know what you’re going to get. My preschooler actually made one of the most beautiful butterflies!

The third and most important reason is that I almost always have all the supplies on hand. No weird things I need to run out and get.

It is such a pain to have an idea to do a craft and realize that you need a special color of pipe cleaner or some other random thing.

A note on symmetry…

Art, science, and math often go hand in hand.

This butterfly craft is a wonderful way to introduce and explain the c0ncept of symmetry to kids!

Don’t miss the chance to explain this c0ncept as they are painting and unfolding their butterflies!

Supplies for Easy Butterfly Craft for Kids

• Colorful Paint (We bought this paint recently and love it for all things crafting with kids!)

• White Paper (We love Melissa and Doug Finger Paint Paper because it is huge, rarely rips, and can stand up to a lot of paint. If you only have basic white computer paper, that is fine too.)

• Paint Brushes

• Pencil

• Scissors

• Pictures of butterflies for inspiration

• Ruler (optional)

Instructions for Easy Butterfly Craft for Kids

1. Show your kids some pictures of butterflies and talk to them about all of the different colors, patterns, and most importantly – the symmetry of their wings!

Have them pick out their favorite butterfly for inspiration!

2. Fold the white paper in half and draw an outline of a butterfly on it. If your kid is trying to match a picture of a butterfly, encourage them to look carefully at the outline of the wings before drawing on their paper.

3. Cut out the butterfly shape, unfold it, and lay it flat on your work surface.

4. Paint only ONE HALF of the butterfly. Use more paint than you normally would so that there is enough paint to go onto the other wing.

***Don’t rush your children, but tell them that the longer they take to paint, the more the paint has time to dry, and it won’t transfer over to the other side of the wings well.

5. When you are all done painting one side of the butterfly, carefully fold the butterfly in half and press the two sides together. Now is the time to use the ruler or a straight edge to run over the folded butterfly – ensuring paint transfers over as well as possible.

****There is a huge chance that paint will ooze out from the butterfly during this step. Be sure to do this on a durable surface or put a trash bag/scrap paper underneath your butterfly.

6. Unfold and behold your butterfly masterpiece!

****If the paint did not perfectly transfer over, maybe encourage your child to use a small paintbrush to fill in the gaps of their butterfly craft.

Here are a few pictures of the butterflies we made:

My preschooler made the butterfly below! She was so proud of her colorful creation!

More Easy Butterfly Craft Tips!

1. You want to use enough paint to transfer over to the other wing – but not so much paint that the paper is saturated and starts to tear. Explain the balance to your kid and maybe make your own butterfly with them to explain the concept.

2. There is really not much that can go wrong with this butterfly craft, so try to not step in to help your child. Show them an example, and let them draw, cut, and paint their own. They will be so much more proud of what they made!

3. If the paint doesn’t completely transfer over to the other wing, have your child use a paintbrush and fill in the gaps if he wants to.

4. If the ruler is too difficult to use or it rips your paper, have your kids use a clean dish towel to push down on the paper and transfer the paint.

5. This is kinda like opening up a snowflake for kids – they are amazed by the finished product! While they are painting their first butterflies, start preparing more butterflies because they will definitely say to you, “Mom, I want to make another one!”

6. I love to show my kids how proud I am of their artwork – and since these usually turn out pretty awesome, it’s a great craft to display on walls and fridges. My kids have actually hung theirs on their bedroom walls and even on their bedroom door!

Recap Easy Butterfly Craft for Kids!

Well, there you have it! An easy butterfly craft that your kids can actually do!

There is no doubt it will turn out beautifully.

There is a convenient tie-in with math – hello symmetry!

All your kids will want to make it.

And you likely have all the supplies already!

It’s a homeschool mom’s dream:)

Want to save this for later? Good Idea.

Just pin it to your favorite Pinterest Board and share it with your friends and followers!

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