Looking for a fun craft for kids to do at home? We love making clothespin crafts to create coffee filter butterflies. It’s a simple and easy kids craft with coffee filters, markers, and clothespins or pipe cleaners.
Your kids will love doing this activity indoors and outdoors to keep them busy this summer. Toddlers, preschool, and elementary age kids can use their imagination to create their own beautiful butterflies.
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Easy Coffee Filter Butterflies Kids Craft
What You Need
- Coffee Filters
- Markers
- Spray Bottle, Water Dropper
- Pipe Cleaner or Clothespin Clips
Substitutions
As many of us are stuck at home with limited resources I wanted to give you some alternatives.
- If you don’t have a spray bottle or water dropper you can use a cleaned out old medicine dropper or a meat baster.
- If you don’t have clothespins or pipe cleaners use a popsicle stick for the middle of the butterfly. You can just glue it into the middle.
How to Make a Coffee Filter Butterfly
This cute kids craft can be made in only a few steps as an inside or outside activity. Follow along to find out how to create your butterfly.
To keep the table clean I threw down a plastic table cloth I picked up at the dollar store for crafts. This way the marker doesn’t bleed through to your table. You could also decorate the filter in a throw away pie tin.
Step #1 – Stack 2 coffee filters together and smooth them out so their flat.
Step # 2 – Use your markers to draw a pattern on each coffee filter. The colors will eventually blend with the water so don’t draw a picture just use dots and lines.
Tip: If your makers are new then you can color just the top filter and let it bleed the color into the filter below.
Step # 3 – Now it’s time to wet your coffee filters. Stack them back together and either gently spray them with water or use your dropper to add water. You don’t want your filter soaked just wet enough to let the marks bleed.
Related Article – Painting with Bubbles – Fun Bubble Art for Kids
Step #4 – Let your filters dry while stacked together.
Step #5 – Fold your filters like an accordion
Related Article – Fun Outdoor Chalk Games for Kids
Step #6 – Wrap the middle of your accordion with a pipe cleaner or a clothespin. Then gently open the sides so it looks like the wings of a butterfly.
If you only have a popsicle stick fold out the wings by using your pinched fingers to hold the middle of the butterfly. Then paste the popsicle stick down the middle.
Tip: You can decorate the clothespin with paint or markers to give your butterfly more color.
Isn’t that an easy kids craft? I hope your kids will enjoy making these clothespin coffee filter butterflies as much as mine have.
If your kids like this craft they might also enjoy making easy Frozen Dinosaur Eggs, Painting with Bubbles, and creating cool Shadow Art with Chalk.
Need More Activities for Kids
At Happy Mom Hacks we have tons of Kids Activities for both indoors and outdoors to fend off hearing kids say the dreaded I’m Bored. Here are a few of our favorites:
- 20 Fun & Easy Minute to Win It Games for Kids – Quick games the kids will find hilarious.
- 31 Days of Boredom Busting Indoor Games for Kids – Free Printable Activity Calendar with 31 Days of Activity Ideas.
- How to Make a Volcano at Home in 3 Easy Steps – Kids will be in awe watching a volcano explode in their own house. It’s easy to make too!
- 5 Great Rainy Day Activities for Kids – Fun ways to keep the kids busy on rainy and snowy days at home.
- Scavenger Hunts for Kids – Free printable scavenger hunts for your local neighborhood, nature preserve, and Teen hunts
- I’m Bored Jar – Free printable activities to add to an I am Bored Jar. Kids can entertain themselves by pulling out new activities.
- Best Summer Water Toys for Kids in the Back Yard.
- Sidewalk Chalk Games for Kids – Fun games to stay busy on your driveway and sidewalk
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Bonus, you’ll get a Free Printable Daily Schedule for Kids to keep you organized and stress-free when they’re out of school.
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