Flutterflies

These colorful butterflies are a perfect project for kids who need a gift for Mother's or Father's Day.

Flutterflies

Celebrate the arrival of spring by helping your kids make this flying stained-glass butterfly. This would be a perfect decoration for Mom and Dad's garden or deck.

Holiday Hints

If your kids enjoyed making a flutterfly, you could try making a bird using the same technique. You could also string the stained-glass creations from a wire hanger creating a mobile for a kid's bedroom.

Level: Easy

Time involved: One to two hours

Materials:

  • Construction paper
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Tissue paper
  • White glue
  • Clear contact paper
  • Hole punch
  • String or yarn
  • Dowel

  1. Fold a piece of construction paper in half. (Choose a bright color for your butterfly.) Draw an outline of a butterfly on the paper. Be sure the body of the butterfly is in the fold. Cut out several holes in the wings with scissors for the stained-glass effect.

  2. Cut out the shape and trace it onto another piece of construction paper. You should have two identical butterfly shapes.

  3. Glue pieces of tissue paper onto one side of a butterfly cut-out, covering the holes. Glue the second butterfly on top of this. (The tissue paper should be sandwiched between the two construction-paper butterflies.)

  4. Lay the butterfly onto the sticky side of a piece of clear contact paper. Place a second piece of clear contact paper on the other side so that both sides of the butterfly are covered. Trim around the outside of the butterfly. Make a hole in the top of the butterfly with a hole punch or sharp scissors to attach the string.

  5. Bend the butterfly in half and attach it to a string. Attach the string to a wooden dowel.