Making a coffee filter
butterfly is a wonderful preschool arts and crafts project.
This project can easily be set up in the classroom.
It is easy to do, and inexpensive to make. The
wings of the butterfly are made from a white coffee filter, which is
decorated with colored water. The body is a wooden
clothespin. These can be made as a Spring craft or given away
as Mother's Day presents. Want another craft to make using coffee
filters? Check out the coffee
filter angel craft too!
Things Needed for one
butterfly:
white coffee filter
food coloring
eye dropper
small container to hold
colored water
water
wooden
clothespin
black paint
paint
brush
black pipe cleaner
paper
towels and newspaper to protect work
surface
1.
Begin by setting up your work station. Protect the
work surface with newspapers, and place a paper towel under the coffee
filter because the water will seep through. Fill small
containers with a tablespoon or two of water and add at least 3 drops
of food coloring to each cup. The more food color you add,
the more vibrant the butterfly will be.
2.
Have the child draw up some colored liquid with the
eyedropper and squeeze it on the coffee filter. The water
will seep through the coffee filter, so be sure to have a paper towel
underneath it. Continue adding color until the entire coffee
filter is saturated.
3.
Allow the coffee filters to dry completely. Here's
a picture of what they look like when they dry.
4.
Have the child paint a wooden clothespin black, and allow to
dry.
5. Next, take the coffee filter and pinch it in the middle,
as shown. Then open up the clothespin and attach it to the
middle of the wings.
6. To make antennae, take a small black pipe cleaner and
twist it
once around the top of the clothespin. The coffee filter
butterflies are now ready to be hung in the classroom, be made into
magnets as a gift for Mom, or attached to a present as a decoration!