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You are here: Home / Kids Crafts / Printable Crafts / How to Make a Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft

How to Make a Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft

By Melissa Lennig on June 13, 2018 Leave a Comment. This content contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Inside: Looking for an easy and fun paper butterfly craft for kids? This fluttering butterfly craft includes a printable template, making it perfect for home, school, or special butterfly programs at libraries, museums, or butterfly exhibits.

Summer is the perfect season for colorful butterfly crafts! Whether kids are learning about insects, the butterfly lifecycle, colors, or simply enjoying a creative art activity at home, this fluttering butterfly craft is a fun way to extend your summer unit.

Related: Classic Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft

Blue Fluttering Butterfly Craft

How to Make a Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft

Kids of all ages will enjoy painting the flying butterfly craft template to create a graceful butterfly with fluttering wings. Pair it with:

  • A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Aston
  • A summer writing prompt
  • A visit to a butterfly garden

Blue and Red Paper Butterflies

Craft Supplies Needed to Make the Paper Butterfly Craft

  • Butterfly Craft Template
  • White card stock
  • Washable paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Wide craft sticks
  • Tacky craft glue or hot glue
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Scissors
  • Sequins or glitter (optional)

Materials Needed for Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft

Paper Butterfly Craft Directions

1. Print the template on white cardstock. There are 3 unique butterfly patterns included within the template. Each child will need to choose 1 pattern.

2. Invite your child to paint, color, and decorate their butterfly pattern. We chose to cover ours with a rainbow of washable paint, but some kids may enjoy using markers (we love this brand), crayons, Kwikstix, or stickers.

RELATED: The Most Easy and Fun Insect Crafts for Kids

Fluttering Butterfly Craft In-Process

3. When the paint is dry, invite your child to cut out their butterfly shape.

Red Fluttering Butterfly Craft In-Process

4. Glue a craft stick to the middle of the wings. We used tacky craft glue, but hot glue definitely expedites the process!

5. Next, cut a pipe cleaner in half, then bend your half into a v-shape to create antennae for the butterfly. Help your child hot glue the antennae to the back of the wide craft stick.

Red Fluttering Butterfly Craft with Sequins

6. If desired, glue sequins or glitter to the butterfly’s wings.

Rainbow Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft

I just love the look of a few sparkly sequins on the wings of these butterflies!

Purple, Pink, and Yellow Fluttering Butterfly Craft

To make the butterfly flutter its wings, grasp the bottom of the popsicle stick, then gently wave the butterfly up and down until the wings are moving.

Bonus? This butterfly craft also flutters without the craft stick! To make an easy butterfly puppet, simply pinch the template between your middle and index fingers, then move your hand up and down. This technique is perfect for large groups of kids who need a butterfly puppet for a song, story, or performance at school, daycare, library storytime, or camp.

Collage Image of Fluttering Butterfly Craft for Kids

Video Tutorial: Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft

Watch the video below to be guided through each step of this craft. You can view more easy kids craft tutorials on our Facebook Page, Teachers Pay Teachers Page, or right here on our website.

Save This Craft

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Easy and Fun Fluttering Paper Butterfly Craft for Kids

See More Related Crafts

Click the images below to view more colorful butterfly and caterpillar crafts for kids.

Clothespin and Watercolor Monarch Butterfly

Clothespin and Watercolor Monarch Butterfly

Easy Caterpillar Craft

Easy Caterpillar Craft

Be sure to also visit:

  • Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft
  • Upcycled Lid Caterpillar Suncatcher
  • Raising Monarch Butterflies
  • Butterfly Handprint Card

Filed Under: Animal Crafts, Printable Crafts, Summer Tagged With: butterfly

About Melissa Lennig

Melissa is a mom of two boys, a former Elementary School Counselor, and the author of Sticks and Stones: A Kid's Guide to Building and Exploring in the Great Outdoors. She shares easy crafts, activities, recipes, and parenting tips on her blog, Fireflies and Mud Pies. Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

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