Butterfly Craft
We used drinking straws to create the moving wings of our butterflies. It’s SO COOL how the butterfly flaps its wings. It really looks like it’s flying! This butterfly craft is the perfect activity to go along with a butterfly or insect lesson at school. It’s also a great spring and summer project for a sleepover or summer camp. Print out the free template (more on that below) and design and colour your butterfly however you’d like. This craft is really simple to make, it looks impressive, and the flapping wings on the finished butterfly look super cool!
Check out our Flapping Butterfly Craft video tutorial:
*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photo tutorial.
Caterpillar Craft Flapping Bat Craft Spinner Toy
Supplies you’ll need:
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Butterfly template (we used Butterfly Design #3) Cardstock Markers Plastic drinking straws (smaller) Plastic drinking straws (larger) Scissors Tape Glue Ruler
Where can I get the printable butterfly template?
We’ve got you covered with 6 different butterfly templates over on our butterfly coloring pages post in all different sizes. And they’re free to download and print. We used butterfly design #3 from that link to make our flapping butterfly craft. We also have empty butterfly templates you can use. Then you can decorate your butterflies however you like. Butterfly Template #3 on the template link is the same shape as the one we used, but without the patterns drawn on.
Can I use printer paper instead of cardstock?
You can use printer paper for your butterfly, but the wings will be more floppy and it won’t hold its shape as well. The butterfly needs to have a bit of weight to it in order to flap its wings properly. You can try using construction paper, or even gluing together 2 pieces of paper to make it thicker. But for best results, we recommend using card stock – often crafts stores like Michaels will sell it by the individual sheet if you don’t want to buy a full pack.
How can I decorate my butterfly?
You can use markers or pencil crayons to colour your butterfly, or you can paint it. You can also glue on sequins, glitter, or rhinestones. Adding different types of stickers to your butterfly would be fun, or you can go a more natural route and glue on dried leaves and flowers.
How different in size do my straws need to be?
Our smaller inside straw has a 5 mm diameter (not quite 1/4 inch), while the larger one is 6 mm (around 1/4 inch). There is only 1 mm (roughly 1/32 of an inch) difference between the two straws, but they work perfectly for the smaller straw to fit inside the larger. You can always buy smoothie straws to go over your regular drinking straws if you’re worried about making sure one straw is larger than the other.
Kids will love playing with this butterfly craft, watching it flap its wings, just like a puppet. Butterflies are fascinating creatures, and this flapping butterfly really celebrates their beauty and movement!
You can also use this technique to make a Flapping Bat Craft!
Here’s even more butterfly craft ideas:
Handprint Butterfly Craft
Coffee Filter Butterflies
Handprint Butterfly Tree
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
