Do your kids love butterflies? My kids love doing butterfly crafts and had so much fun making this nature butterfly craft earlier this week.
I had seen some crafts similar to this on Instagram and wanted to do it with my kids. But since I’m lacking in artistic ability to freehand draw a butterfly I needed to change it a bit.
I decided there were probably some other moms who would like an easy way to do this butterfly nature craft with their kids. So I’m sharing how we made did this craft without needing much artistic ability.
Nature Butterfly Craft
This nature butterfly craft is perfect for a backyard activity or to do on a walk. It’s also simple enough that you can do it with a class or group of kids.
Supplies
- Cardboard box (a cereal type box works great)
- Butterfly template (bottom of the post)
- Pen
- Scissors
- Self-adhesive clear vinyl or packing tape
- Nature
After gathering all your supplies other than nature (haha) you’re going to make a sticky butterfly for your kids to use as they collect fun nature treasures.
Making the Butterfly
First, print out the butterfly template and cut it out then get your cardboard box.
Trace the template onto the box. You should be able to get 2 butterflies out of a cereal size box.
After tracing the butterfly on the box cut it out. To cut out the inside of the butterfly wings you can use an Exacto knife and cut around the wing shapes about a half-inch from the outside.
If you don’t have an Exacto knife you can poke a hole in the wing with a pen and then use scissors to carefully cut out the interior of the butterfly wings.
After you cut out the butterfly it’s time to add the stuff to make it sticky. I used clear self-adhesive vinyl but you can also use packing tape.
If you use the vinyl you can trace the butterfly shape cut it out and stick it to the cardboard butterfly or stick the cardboard butterfly to the vinyl then cut it out. Both options work.
To use packing tape cut strips of tape that are long enough to go across the whole open wing area. Layer the tape over each other and trim around the edges as needed.
Once your butterfly is ready it’s time to give it to the kids and head outside.
Nature Walk with Your Butterfly
My kids just ran around the backyard finding flowers, grass, weeds, etc. to put on their butterflies. You could easily take these butterflies on a walk or hike and find things to decorate your butterfly wings as you explore.
We did find that taking apart flowers and using their petals instead of the whole flower worked better for later flowers, especially dandelions. For small flowers like pansies, you can just pull off the whole stem and flatten the flower fairly easily.
After your kids make their nature butterfly craft be sure to take pictures. You can hang up the butterfly to enjoy for a few days but since it’s made from natural items they will start to die. Then it will be time for another nature craft or outdoor activity!
Free Printable Butterfly Template
Get the free printable butterfly template below. Please keep this template for personal and class use.
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