10 FUN Butterfly Crafts for Toddlers (2023)
Looking for butterfly crafts for toddlers?
I have 10+ beautiful and fun butterfly crafts that your kids will LOVE!
Let’s get started!
Craft #1: Paper Plate Butterfly Craft
I love using tissue paper for crafts. It’s an easy supply for the kids to use and it always turns out so pretty.
This butterfly craft is perfect for toddlers!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper plates
- tissue paper squares
- popsicle sticks
- Mod Podge
- pipe cleaners
- tape
- hot glue
B. Set-up
Create a paper plate in half. Then, use a pencil to draw lines on the plate for the butterfly. Cut on those lines you created to make the wings.
C. Activity
The kids will spread Mod Podge on the paper plates using a popsicle stick. They should spread it all around the plate.
Then, they will stick tissue paper squares on! We tried to cover as much as we could with the colored squares.
The adult will do this next part! You could use school glue, it’ll just take longer to dry.
Lastly, hot glue a popsicle stick in the middle of the two plates to make your butterfly. You can have the kids use tape to tape on the pipe cleaners for the antenna on the back of the popsicle stick.
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Craft #2: Coffee Filter Butterfly
Have you ever tried coffee filter art activities? It’s one of my favorite things to do because you literally can’t mess it up!
This is the perfect butterfly craft for toddlers because they just have to scribble on it and it comes out beautiful!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- coffee filters
- markers
- squirt bottles/ droppers
- water
- art trays
- clothespins
- Sharpie
- pipe cleaners
B. Set-up
Flatten out a coffee filter on an art tray. Create a design using a marker on the filter. You can even scribble on it! Once done, spray it with water and let dry.
On a clothespin, draw on a face with Sharpie or even put googly eyes on them!
C. Activity
Fold front and back like an accordion. Then, place the clothespin in the middle and stretch out the sides to look like a butterfly!
Each one is unique!
Craft #3: Pasta Butterfly Craft
Making sensory crafts is fun and the kids love exploring different objects to make art with!
Isn’t it so cool that bow-tie pasta looks exactly like butterflies? It’s a must-try butterfly craft for toddlers.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- bow tie pasta
- acrylic paint
- rice
- paintbrush
- ziplock bag
- parchment paper
- art tray
- poms
- markers
- glue
- hot glue (optional)
B. Set-up
Use a paintbrush to paint the bow tie pasta individually. This is a fun process and doesn’t take long since there are a few noodles for this project.
But, since there are more grains of rice, you’ll do this process differently.
Add 1/4 cup of rice into a plastic bag. Then, add acrylic paint inside and shake it up. Dump it out on an art tray that’s covered with parchment paper to dry. It’ll take about 20 minutes to completely dry.
C. Activity
While you are waiting for the sensory items to dry, have the kids paint the background of the paper blue using pom-poms!
We used hot glue to glue on the bow-tie pasta. This is optional, but it dries faster so we could do the rest of the project quicker.
You can use school glue to add a thin layer at the bottom of the paper and sprinkle the rice on that.
Draw in antenna for the butterflies using markers! Check out and feel your awesome sensory butterfly craft.
RELATED: Sensory Activities for Kids
Craft #4: Symmetrical Butterfly Craft
Kids will love the process of this simple craft. They will love seeing their creations show up on both sides of the paper!
This butterfly craft for toddlers is fun and easy.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardstock paper
- washable paint
- popsicle sticks
- glue
- pipe cleaners
B. Set-up
On white cardstock paper, have the kids paint their designs on the paper. Then, fold it in half and press it down to it’ll show up completely on the other side.
Take a look to make sure it is on the entire paper, then fold it back up.
C. Activity
Draw a butterfly shape on the blank side of the paper. Use scissors to cut it ou to see your butterfly!
Then, you can either use hot glue or school glue to attach a popsicle stick to the middle of the butterfly. Lastly, cut a pipe cleaner and curl them up to make two antenna. Glue those to the top!
Craft #6: Toilet Paper Roll Butterflies
Have you ever used toilet paper rolls to craft? I love using them because we always have them on hand and they are FREE!
This butterfly craft for toddlers is such a fun way for your kids to show their creativity.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- toilet paper rolls
- acrylic paint
- googly eyes
- glue
- hot glue
- cardstock paper
- Q-tips
- pipe cleaners
- scissors
- foam paint brushes
B. Set-up
The kids will paint the toilet paper rolls the colors they want their butterflies to be! Then, wait for it to dry; takes only about 10-15 minutes.
While you are waiting for it to dry, create the wings using cardstock paper.
C. Activity
The kids can design their wings for the butterfly! Have them use Q-tips and paint to make dots, lines, or designs. This is a great fine motor activity for kids too!
Cut pipe cleaners and curl them at the top to make the antenna.
The adult will do this next step.
Use a hot glue gun to glue the wings on the sides of the toilet paper roll, and the antenna on the inside of the roll.
The kids can use school glue to attach the eyes and they can make a cute smile.
The kids can play with their butterfly crafts when they are all done! I love crafts that can be played with after.
RELATED: Spring Crafts for Kids
Craft #7: Salt Painted Butterflies
Salt painting is one of our favorite ways to craft! The end result turns out amazing. The way the colors look when they blend together is amazing!
This butterfly craft for toddlers is a must-try activity for the spring!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardboard/cardstock paper
- pencil
- glue
- salt
- watercolors
- paintbrush
B. Set-up
Draw your butterfly shape onto cardstock paper! We did some different wing shapes and made a few designs in the center as well.
Then, outline them in glue. Finally, shake a bunch of salt all over the glue, then dump the access in the trash. This activity can be done right away, or you can wait. If you are waiting, I suggest you use cardboard!
Have the kids use watercolors to paint on the salt! They can use one color or choose to use several.
They should try to paint on the salt and not get the paint on the paper as much as possible. This butterfly craft for kids turns out SO pretty!
Craft #8: Sponge Butterfly Craft
This sponge butterfly craft for toddlers turned out so cool and it’s such an easy and fun process.
I use a hair tye to get the sponges to look like butterflies! It’s that simple.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardstock paper
- sponges
- hair tyes
- paint
- paintbrush
B. Set-up
Take the sponge and wrap a hair tye around it two times to squeeze together like a butterfly.
C. Activity
Have the kids paint their designs on the sponges! You can use one color or multiple colors.
They can even make some fun designs like dots or stripes.
Once they are done creating, have them flip the sponge upside down and make a print on paper. Make sure to press the sponge down completely so it shows up.
Lastly, paint a line for the body and create an antenna for each butterfly!
Craft #9: Snack Butterfly Craft
These butterflies couldn’t be easier to do, and the kids loved putting them together! I’ve never used snack bags for an activity, but let me tell you, there couldn’t be an easier setup.
I love the different supplies that we were putting the bags too. It’s cool to see how each of them looks different with their textures.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- plastic sandwich bags
- clothespins
- paintbrush
- googly eyes
- marker
- snacks (goldfish, Cheerios, grapes, jellybeans, etc.)
B. Set-up
Stuff a plastic snack bag with items like Fruit Loops, poms, jellybeans, and shredded paper.
C. Activity
On a clothespin, hot glue googly eyes and 2 pipe cleaners on for the antenna. Draw in a mouth! Have the kids clip on the clothespin in the middle of the snack bag. You may have to move the objects around in the bag a little for it to stay!
You can also glue some colored gems on the clothespin for some extra color!
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Craft #10: Q-tip Butterflies
Here’s another fun Q-tip activity for you! You can actually create crafts using Q-tips!
This is a great butterfly craft for toddlers to improve those fine motor skills!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Paint the entire Q-tip using paint, wait for it to dry then glue the ends down to a piece of paper. Then, draw butterfly wings using markers on each of the butterflies for the kids to trace.
Dump some paint into a paint tray and grab some more Q-tips.
C. Activity
The kids will trace the butterfly wings using the Q-tips and the paint! They will try their best to stay on the lines, which works on fine motor skills!
After they are done with each butterfly, they can create some dots in each of the wings!
RELATED: Fine Motor Activities for Kids
Craft #11: Butterfly Card
So this is Valentine’s Day craft that we created, but it really can be created as a card for someone anytime!
I seem to have plenty of coffee filters around the house, because well I just love coffee :).
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- coffee filters
- dot markers
- clothespins
- paper
B. Set-up
Flatten a coffee filter on an art tray. Use dot markers to create spots for each of the butterflies!
C. Activity
Scrunch up the coffee filters, especially in the middle so they can fit in a clothespin. Put the clothespin in the middle of the coffee filter and spread it out on both sides, to make it look like butterfly wings.
Glue the clothespins down to a piece of paper and write a cute Valentine’s Day message!
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Craft #12: Spring Color by Code
This color-by-code butterfly craft for toddlers is a fun way for kids to work on numbers.
My son LOVES these the most out of all the printables I make. They are so fun for the kids to do.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Spring Color by Code
- crayons
- markers
Spring Color by Code Printables-There are 8 Spring themed color by code printables available in this product
B. Set-up
Print off the sheets that you want to use!
C. Activity
Make sure your child understands how to read the key at the top of the page. Then, they will color each number in the picture based on what the key says.
These are my kid’s favorite out of all the printables I create. They love revealing the picture at the end!
RELATED: Holiday Printables
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Butterfly crafts for toddlers are so much fun to do, especially for a springtime craft.
I hope you could find some butterfly crafts for kids that you’ll try! I’d love to hear about what craft you tried with your kids at home or in the classroom.
Happy Crafting!
Deena
