Coffee Filter Butterflies

Making butterflies using coffee filters is such a simple craft activity that is so effective and includes lots of different learning opportunities.

All you need to make this craft is:

• Coffee filters
• Coloured pens
• Paint brush
• Cup of water

Begin by opening up the coffee filter to make a butterfly shape or alternatively get creative and make your own shape or just experiment with how the colours mix on a coffee filter.

Then use your coloured pens to draw dots on to the coffee filter. Some pens work better than others so experiment and see which is the most effective. I found that using felt tip pens work the best. I began by only drawing a few dots using different colours because I was unsure on how far the colours would spread however I added more dots, closer together as the craft went on to make colours mix more.

Then use your paint brush to drop a blob of water on each coloured dot and watch as the water quickly spreads carrying the colours with it. The colours mix together as they travel making new colours. Transforming the paper into a colourful butterfly.

This provides excellent learning opportunities to explore colour recognition and see if your child can name all of the different colours. You can look at how the colours mix and see if you can spot any new colours developing. Introducing the concept of how different colours are made. You could also challenge your child to count the different dots and see how many there are to promote counting and maths. Maybe even look in books or online at the different patterned butterflies which could inspire your own design and experiment trying to make your butterfly symmetrical.

I hope you enjoy making this butterfly craft using coffee filters!

For more butterfly themed crafts take a look at my previous blog post: Handprint Butterflies

I would love to see pictures of your coffee filter butterflies on Instagram

Save this idea for later on Pinterest