Activity Overview
Create unique and colorful paper butterflies out of cone shaped coffee filters, food coloring, pipe cleaners, and clothespins. All ages of crafters will be fluttering in to make these fun and magical insects. These splendid butterflies make great gifts, they are fun to display or use to decorate wrapped gift packages. You may want to add a magnetic piece to the back of the clothespin so that you can hang it on the refrigerator or other metal surface.
Materials
- 2 white cone shaped coffee filters
- Food coloring in a variety of colors
- A few small cups of water
- Paper Towels
- Googly eyes
- Tacky Glue
- Black Pipe cleaners
- Sharpie marker
How to Make Them
- Drop 10 droplets of food coloring into each cup of water ( about 1/4 cup of water per cup).
- Stir the mixtures until the color is evenly distributed.
- Fold each of the coffee filters over two times so that each filter has four equal segments.
- Carefully dip each edge and tip of each filter into a different cup of colored water.
- Unfold the conical coffee filters and lay them out of a paper towel to dry completely.
- Lay the two coffee filters point to point, overlapping the points about an inch or two.
- Clip the two overlapping points together with a clothespin. ( you can certainly color or paint the clothespin if you'd like).
- Use glue to adhere two googly eyes and two small black pipe cleaners for antennae onto your clothespin.
- Draw a happy smile with sharpie marker