How to Make Paper Butterfly Craft

Simple paper crafts can make you happy right away, especially when you’re making them with kids.

Or when you just need a small creative break, you can try something easy like this. I tried this butterfly paper craft on a quiet afternoon.

And honestly, it turned out way cuter than you might expect! The best part? You don’t need anything special, you just need some paper, a few basic supplies, and a little time.

If you’re a beginner, you can still make this butterfly craft easily, and you can personalize it however you want.

You can make it for a school project, a fun activity with your kids, or even when you just want to decorate your room with something cute.

How Do I Make Neat And Clean Folds Without Messing Up The Paper?

I thought you might feel that folding paper nicely is the easiest part, until you actually try it with kids around you.

If you rush, you might mess it up, so you should slow down a little when you do it. You should place your paper on a flat surface so you can control it better.

And you can carefully line up the edges before you fold it, because you’ll notice it makes a big difference when you do it right.

You can lightly press the fold first, and then you can use your finger or even a ruler so you can make the crease sharp and neat.

If your paper keeps slipping, you can hold it down from both ends while you fold it, so you can keep it steady and clean.

Materials Needed:

• Colored paper (pink, red , yellow small pieces for face)
• Glue
• Lollipop
• Paper strip
• Scissors
• Black marker

Step By Step Guide

1. Get Your Paper And Craft Supplies Ready

You should put a clean, flat piece of pink paper on a clean, flat surface to start, because you’ll find it much easier to work that way.

Before you begin, you should keep everything close by so you don’t lose focus.

It can feel a little frustrating for you if you have to stop in the middle to search for glue or scissors while you’re cutting and folding.

You’ll need pink paper, yellow paper for the dots on the wings, a pencil, scissors, glue, a lollipop stick, and small pieces of paper for the butterfly face for this craft.

If you feel like adding more details later, you can also keep markers near you so you can easily reach them.

When you set everything up like this, you’ll notice the whole process becomes more fun, smooth, and easy for you.

2. Fold The Paper And Draw The Butterfly Shape

Now you should carefully fold your pink paper sheet in half, because this fold will help you get both sides of your butterfly even when you work on it.

You should try to match the borders as closely as you can so you get a clean shape.

Then you should draw only one side of the butterfly shape along the folded edge with your pencil after you’ve folded the paper.

You can make the wings circular, wide, or slightly curved depending on how you want your butterfly to look.

If it doesn’t look perfect at first, you don’t need to panic, because you might notice that paper butterflies are very forgiving and small mistakes can still make it look cute and handmade.

If you want a pro tip, you should draw lightly with your pencil so you can erase or adjust the shape easily before you start cutting.

3. Cut And Open The Butterfly Shape

After you’ve designed the outline of your butterfly, you should carefully cut along the pencil line while keeping the paper folded.

You might feel this step is the most exciting because you can’t really see the butterfly until you open it.

When you’re done cutting, you should slowly unfold the paper, and you’ll see a full butterfly shape with wings that match on both sides.

If the edges look a little rough, you can gently trim them bit by bit to make them look cleaner.

But you should be careful not to trim too much, because you might keep fixing it and then you could end up making the wings smaller than you actually wanted.

4. Cut The Small Decoration Pieces

Next, you should get ready all the small pieces that will make your butterfly look cute and complete.

You should cut out small yellow circles for decorating the wings, and you should also prepare the eyes, cheeks, smile, two antennae, and the small paper strip that will help hold the stick in place.

If you want things to go smoothly, you should complete this step before you start gluing anything, because it will help you stay organized.

You can place all the pieces around your butterfly first so you can see how they look before you stick them down.

This way, you can also decide if you want more circles, bigger eyes. Or even a funny little face for your butterfly, depending on how you want you butterfly to look.

5. Attach The Lollipop Stick In The Center

You should place the lollipop stick right in the middle of the butterfly shape, exactly where you want the butterfly’s body to be.

Then you can take a small piece of paper, wrap it around the stick, and you should glue it onto the butterfly so the stick stays firmly in place.

This works like a small holder for you, so the stick doesn’t move around too much while you’re working.

You should be careful not to glue the stick too high or too low. Because you want it to look like the lollipop is actually the butterfly’s body sitting neatly in the center.

If you follow a pro tip, you should let the glue dry for at least a minute before you move your butterfly. Because if you don’t, the stick might slide out of place.

6. Adjust The Stick And Lollipop Position

After you attach the stick, you should carefully adjust it so that the lollipop sits right in the middle of the butterfly’s top.

This is the step where you’ll notice your project starts to look really cute. Because you can see the lollipop becoming the butterfly’s body.

If it feels a little loose, you should add a bit more glue under the paper strip and press it down again so it holds better.

You can hold the butterfly up for a second to check if everything is staying in place properly. If something looks slightly off, you can make a small adjustment here.

And you’ll see how it can make your finished craft look much cleaner and more balanced.

7. Decorate The Butterfly Wings

Now you should start adding decorations to the wings, and you can carefully glue the small yellow circles that you already cut out.

You should stick them on both sides of the butterfly wings, and you might want to keep them in a straight line if you like a clean and simple effect.

If you prefer something more playful, you can spread them out randomly so you get a fun and lively look.

You can add a few circles near the top wings and a few near the bottom wings so your butterfly doesn’t look empty or plain.

After you glue everything, you’ll notice this small decorative step makes your butterfly look more polished, more vibrant, and more cheerful.

8. Add The Face And Antennas

The last step is to place the cute little face on the top of the wings, right where the butterfly’s face should be, and you should carefully add the eyes, cheeks, and smile.

You should also place the two small antennae on top so your butterfly starts to look complete and alive.

This is the moment where your craft really gets its personality, so you should have fun with it while you’re designing it.

If you want, you can make the face smiley, drowsy, goofy, or even extra cute depending on your style.

After you glue everything together, you should let it sit for a few minutes so it can fully dry and set properly.

And that’s it, you’ve made your own cute butterfly paper craft, and now you can enjoy the final result you created.

Why Does My Paper Butterfly Keep Losing Its Shape?

This happened to you the first time you tried this craft: it might look great at first, but then you might notice it slowly starts getting flat or a little floppy.

You’ll usually see this happen if your paper is too thin, or if you didn’t press the folds down firmly enough.

Your butterfly can keep its shape much better if you use craft paper that is slightly thicker, so you can feel more structure when you handle it.

When you fold or shape the wings, you should lightly press along the edges so you can “set” them properly in place.

If you want it to feel stronger, you can also add a small extra layer of paper in the middle, close to the body, so your butterfly holds its shape more nicely.

Why Is My Butterfly Craft Looking Flat Instead Of 3D?

Don’t worry if your butterfly looks a little flat, because you might notice mine did too the first time I made it.

You should remember that the way you shape the wings is the key if you want to create that nice 3D look.

Instead of leaving the wings flat, you can gently bend them up from the center so they feel slightly raised and more alive.

You can also use your fingertips, or even the side of a pencil, so you can curl the corners just a little bit.

If you want a more natural look, you can fold the wings slightly near the body so they automatically pop up and give your butterfly more shape.

FAQs

Can I Make This Butterfly Craft Without A Lollipop Stick?

Yes, for sure, you can simply replace the lollipop stick with a paper straw, or you can use a wooden skewer if you have supervision.

Or you can even keep it super simple and just make a basic paper butterfly without any stick at all. You might find that it still looks really cute either way.

If you’ve tried both versions, you’ll notice it still turns out nice and decorative.

You should remember that the stick is only for fun, so you don’t actually need it for gripping or for making the craft look good, it’s just an optional decoration.

What Age Group Is This Butterfly Craft Suitable For?

This craft is great for you if you’re 4 or older, especially if you’re getting a little help with the cutting.

If you’re younger, you can still enjoy it by sticking and decorating the pieces, and you might find that part really fun and easy.

If you’re older, you can probably do the whole thing by yourself and feel more independent while making it.

It’s one of those simple crafts that you can easily adjust depending on how old you are and how skilled you are, so you can always make it work for you.

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