Coffee Filter Butterfly

Hi. My name is Karla. I help parents come up with creative ideas to keep their children busy. I can teach you how to use everyday objects in your home and transform them into a fun activity for your child. Today I am going to show you how to make a coffee filter butterfly in 5 steps. Research has shown children doing creative activities helps them to express themselves and improve their coordination and fine motor skills.

To start the craft, find two coffee filters, a pipe cleaner, markers, and water. Any brand of these materials will work. These materials can be found at Walmart/Target. The water will work the best at room temperature. Now that all of the materials have been gathered, let’s get started!

The first step of the craft is to grab the two coffee filters and as many markers and colors as wanted. Decorate the coffee filters with the markers as desired to add color to the butterfly. For example, they can be decorated with a rainbow or a mix of colors. 

After the coffee filters are decorated, fill a bowl of water. About an inch of water in the bottom of a plastic bowl will be fine. Dip them in the water until the color starts to spread all over the coffee filters. Then, set them aside and let dry.

Once they are completely dry, take the coffee filters and fold them each like a fan. This will help to create the wings of the butterfly. 

After they are both folded like fans, put them together and wrap a pipe cleaner around them. Take the ends of the pipe cleaner and shape them in antennas for the butterfly. Shape the wings, the coffee filters, to look like a butterfly wing. This activity will help children get creative with coloring and drawing as they choose. This activity will show children what will happen to the coffee filter when colors are mixed with water. The children will also experience the feel for pipe cleaners and how to use them in a unique way. In the end, the children will use the skills to create a colorful butterfly they can play with and admire.