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Coffee Filter Butterflies

📝 This post, Coffee Filter Butterflies, was originally published in 2012 and has been updated with new information and resources.

When we were living in Australia, there were a few things from home that I couldn’t always find at the store. One of them was large white coffee filters! I know that probably sounds funny, but if you’ve ever made coffee filter butterflies with kids, you know why I was so excited when I finally found some.

As soon as I brought them home, my boys and I gathered our paints and got to work. I mixed liquid watercolors with a little water and poured them into small dropper bottles that I had. We spread a sheet on the floor, grabbed a few box tops to use as work stations, and the painting began.

My oldest carefully added one drop of color at a time, creating beautiful patterns. My youngest had a completely different approach! He happily squeezed bottle after bottle onto his coffee filters until they were soaked with color. Both methods worked perfectly, and watching their different personalities shine through was half the fun.

After the coffee filters dried, the colors were even more beautiful than we expected. In fact, my oldest decided he loved his painted coffee filter so much that he didn’t want to turn it into a butterfly at all. Instead, he hung it in his bedroom window where the sunlight could shine through the colors like a stained-glass window.

The rest of us turned our colorful coffee filters into butterflies, and each one came out completely different. That’s one of my favorite things about this craft—there’s no right or wrong way to make them!

Materials for Coffee Filter Butterflies

✔️ Large white coffee filters

✔️ Liquid watercolors (or washable liquid paint thinned with water)

✔️ Small droppers or pipettes

✔️ Black pipe cleaners

✔️ Googly eyes (optional)

✔️ Popsicle sticks (optional)

✔️ Glue

How to Make Coffee Filter Butterflies

Add Color to the Coffee Filters

Lay a coffee filter on a tray, plastic lid, or shallow box. Use droppers or pipettes to drip liquid watercolors onto the coffee filter, watching the colors spread and blend together. Encourage kids to experiment with different color combinations before setting the filters aside to dry completely.

Set the coffee filters aside to dry completely.

Create the Butterfly

Once dry, pinch the center of the coffee filter together like an accordion. Wrap a black pipe cleaner around the middle to hold the wings in place, leaving the ends sticking up to create antennae.

Decorate your butterfly however you’d like! We all made ours differently. I added googly eyes, while both of my boys chose to use popsicle sticks for the butterfly bodies.

Pair It with a Butterfly Book

Turn this colorful craft into an even more memorable learning experience by sharing a butterfly-themed picture book before you begin. Whether you’re learning about butterfly life cycles or simply celebrating spring, these books pair perfectly with this activity.

📚 Why Butterflies Go By on Silent Wings by Marguerite Davol

This beautifully illustrated folktale tells the story of a time when butterflies were noisy creatures. After a great storm changes them forever, they discover the beauty of silent flight and the world around them. It’s a wonderful story that encourages children to appreciate the beauty of nature.

📚 A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston

This gorgeous nonfiction picture book introduces children to the fascinating world of butterflies. Filled with stunning watercolor illustrations, it explores butterfly life cycles, habitats, camouflage, migration, and the incredible variety of butterflies found around the world.

Display Ideas

Hang your finished coffee filter butterflies from the ceiling, display them on a spring bulletin board, or tape them to classroom windows to brighten the room. They also make beautiful spring decorations at home!

Why You’ll Love Making Coffee Filter Butterflies

This easy coffee filter butterfly craft is perfect for spring, an insect unit, or simply a rainy afternoon at home. Along the way, children practice fine motor skills, explore color mixing, and express their creativity while making a butterfly that’s uniquely their own.

Whether you hang them from the ceiling, display them on a bulletin board, or decorate your windows, these colorful coffee filter butterflies are sure to brighten any room.