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DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Paper Chain Butterfly

This is a fun, simple craft for all ages.  It's also a good project for practicing making patterns.

Materials

  • 2 pieces of white paper or construction paper
  • paint in various colors
      
  • construction paper (2 or 3 colors)
  • scissors
  • scotch tape or glue
  • wiggly eyes (optional)
  • black marker
      

Instructions:

Wings:
  
  • Set one piece of white paper out on the table.
      
  • Squeeze splotches of different paint colors onto the white paper in a few different spots
      
  • Place the second sheet of white paper over top of the first so all the edges line up
      
  • Smoosh your hands over the paper to spread out the paint that's sandwiched between the pieces.  You might want a piece of newspaper underneath in case any paint oozes out the sides
      
  • Peel the pieces of paper apart and set aside to dry (you should have two pieces that are mirror images of each other
      
  • Once the paint is dry, put them back together face to face (paint side to paint side) again.
      
  • Cut a rough wing shape out of the pages.
      
  • Take them apart again and tape the pages together so you have wings for your butterfly
      
  • You can paint around the outside edge of the wings with glitter glue or one of the paint colors you used for the wings.
      
  • Cut about 8 strips of construction paper 2 inches wide and 10 inches long 
     
  • Decide what type of pattern you want to make.  We made a pink, purple, pink, purple... pattern for ours.
     
  • Make your first strip of construction paper into a ring and tape or glue it together
      
  • Slide your next strip of construction paper through the ring and tape or glue it into a ring
     
  • Repeat the process until you have a chain of construction paper rings just a little bit longer than your wings.
      
  • Lay your chain onto your wings
      
  • Every spot the chain lies flat on the wings, use tape or glue to attach them.
       
  • Antennas:
    • Cut two 1/4 inch by 5 inch pieces of construction paper. 
    • Wrap each around a pencil to make it curly
    • Fold a tab at the bottom of each piece
    • Glue the tabs onto the top of the head to make two antennas
       
  • Eyes:
    • glue wiggly eyes onto the front of the head
      OR
    • draw two eyes onto the front of the head with a marker
       
  • Mouth:
    • draw a mouth onto the front of the head with a marker

 

Printable version of these instructions