Tissue Paper Butterflies
Supplies List
Tissue Paper or Coffee Filters
Clothespin
School Glue (Elmers)
Paint / Paintbrush
Glitter
Affiliate links are included within this post for your convenience. There is also a video tutorial below for more detailed information and to follow along when you create this project at home!
Step One
Cut out a piece of tissue paper (several layers) into a 10” tall x 12” wide piece. The more layers it is, the thicker the butterfly wings will be. Once these pieces are cut out, round the ends and cut them into the shape of a butterfly wing, with the middle coming in closer to the center and then back out. I kept the top round of the wing just slightly larger than the bottom round of the wing. If you want to practice with the shape, cut out a single layer of tissue paper first and experiment with the shape until you like, then repeat that shape on a the final pieces of tissue paper.
After it is cut out, gather the tissue paper together in the middle and hold it in place with a clothespin.
Step Two
Fluff the butterfly. Spread out the layers, open them up, and get the fullness of the butterfly that you like before painting.
Next, mix an acrylic paint with water. Use less water to get a darker, more opaque finish and use more water to make it look more like watercolor paint and fade into the tissue paper. Mix the paint on a paper plate to spread it out and then you can use all the options to create varying colors across the butterfly.
Also, feel free to skip the painting step and just use brightly colored tissue paper!! Mix it up and make it colorful!
We also painted the clothespin to match the butterfly.
Step Three
Next, you can paint school glue onto the tissue paper and then add glitter to make it sparkle. Here we added it just around the edges and on the clothespin but you can add as much or as little glitter as you like.
Step Four
Add the antenna. Here we used a 22 gauge copper wire for the antenna. Cut a piece to length (appx. 5”) and then wrap it around a paintbrush handle or another cylinder shape to make the curls on the antenna. Then bend the wire in half with a pliers and hot glue it to the inside top of the clothespin to hold it securely in place.
Lastly, you can hot glue a magnet or another hanger to the back to make it easier to hang OR you can add a string to hang a grouping of butterflies on a wall or window. Get creative, make it your own, and most of all: HAVE FUN!!!
We would love to see your finished pieces! Please feel free to share photos with us on our social media platforms below.