Butterfly Creations, A Fun and Easy Art Activity for Creative Kids

Butterflies are colorful creations, that we like to draw or paint in our own pictures. But it’s hard to make their wings exactly the same on each side of their body. In this project you’ll have fun making a butterfly that’s colorful and also exactly the same on each side!

In this post you’ll find:

• A supply list
• Directions to make the butterflies
• Clean up hints
• Variations and extensions
• How this activity helps children develop mentally, physically, and socially
• A related and kid-friendly devotion

Supplies

• Sturdy paper
• Paint in different colors
• Markers or crayons

Directions

1. Fold the paper in half and then reopen it.
2. On one side of the paper only, squeeze out drops of paint where an upper wing and a lower wing would be. You may use more than one color, but don’t mix them yet.
3. Refold your paper to cover the drops of paint.
4. Use your fingers on top of the paper to move the paint around, swirling colors together and creating an upper and lower wing. You may need to help children move the paint outward to make wings.
5. Open up your paper to see your colorful butterfly with identical wings on each side.
6. Notice that this process creates veins like on a real butterfly’s wings.
7. When dry, use crayons or markers to draw the butterfly’s body.

Variations and Extensions

• Make smaller butterflies and use them as cards for friends and family
• Make smaller butterflies all over large sheets of paper and use as book covers or wrapping paper
• Cut out some smaller butterflies and use as gift tags

How this activity helps children develop mentally, physically, and socially

• Mixing colors is fun and relaxing and teaches children to be better observers
• Choosing colors aids problem solving skills
• Making cards or other things to send to friends and family fosters kindness and thoughtfulness for others

Clean up hints

Use a large sheet of wax paper under your painting, because the paint often squishes out as you move it around.

Devotion

Bible Verse:  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).

Butterfly caterpillars aren’t very pretty. They crawl along plants chomping leaves, and they can’t see well at all. But when it’s time, they form a chrysalis, and God creates a beautiful new creature. He gives them new eyes to see all around, new straw-like mouths to sip nectar from flowers, and beautiful wings to soar through the sky!

Sometimes we do things we shouldn’t. We may say unkind things to friends or disobey our parents. The Bible call those things sins, and they aren’t very pretty. But God loves us so much He gave us His Son Jesus, who died so we can be forgiven for our sins. When we believe that Jesus died for us, and that God loves and watches over us, we don’t get new eyes or wings, we get something much better. God gives us a new heart that loves and wants to please Him.

If you would like to become God’s child, you just have to ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive your sins. When you do that, you receive a new heart to follow Jesus. Like a butterfly you become a new creation, and God helps you soar to be all He has planned for you.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Son to die for our sins, so we can become part of Your family. How wonderful that You make us a new creation to love You and live with You forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Before You Go

If you’d like more activity ideas for art, history, and nature, curriculum connections, and links to more resources, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Just click the sign-up  button above on the right. You’ll receive a free guide to making art museum visits a fun masterpiece for your whole family. Even if your family isn’t into museums, the quarterly issues have lots of fun stuff for kiddos!

Visit my website where you’ll find free downloadable puzzles, how-to-draw pages, and coloring pages. There’s also an updated list of my hands-on workshops, chapels, and presentations for all ages.

Molly and I hope you enjoy making colorful butterflies! Our August posts will be favorite summer paintings and funny vacation photos.

 

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Fight Summer Boredom with Fun Art Activities from Nature for Children

Have you heard the dreaded words, “I’m bored!” yet this summer?  These two links will take you to more of my summer activities to fight summer boredom!

Guest Post

I guest posted on a great parenting blog this week called In the Quiver. Click here to read Turn Treasures from God’s Creation into Art Masterpieces for art projects made from all those things like rocks and shells and sticks, that children love to collect.

My Newsletter

And If you haven’t yet signed up for my newsletter, I hope you will, because not only will you receive a fun guide to visiting museums with children (and living through it!!)  but each newsletter has loads of free fun ideas to enjoy art, history, and nature with your children. And I’ll make sure you get the most recent newsletter about making a nature pyramid for weaving. Don’t wait, sign up here.

Molly says, “Come visit us next week for another fun and easy art activity for creative kids,

A Fun and Easy Art Activity for Creative Kids: Design a Roller Coaster

Roller coasters are designed for thrills, and now you can design and make your very own 3-D roller coaster in this Fun and Easy art activity. You can even put you and your friends or family in the very first car! In this post you’ll find:

• Supply list
• Step-by-step directions
• Clean-up tips
• Variations and Adaptations to Include and Challenge Various Ages
• 2 Ways this Activity Aids Mental, Physical, and Social Development
• A Kid-friendly Devotion

Let’s get started!

Supply List

• Cardboard for a base
• Paper in all colors (use colorful papers left from other projects)
• White glue (glue sticks may not hold)
• Scissors
• Markers or crayons

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Glue a plain colored paper on top of the cardboard base
2. Cut other papers into strips of various colors and sizes (these can have straight, wavy, or even spiky edges)
3. On plain strips you may wish to make designs with markers or crayons
4. Put glue on ends of strips and start arranging these in loops all over the cardboard base (see photos)
5. Make a small rectangular box or boxes for roller coaster cars (see photos)
6. Cut small strips of paper the width of the car and draw people on these (give them different facial expressions and hair dos)
7. Fold the bottom end of these strips under, add glue, and glue into the car (see photo)
8. Glue the car to the top of a loop or on the way down a loop

Clean-up Tips

• Wax paper under the strips as you add glue keeps the strips from sticking, AND makes clean up quick and easy.
• A plastic dish tub for scraps also aids quick clean up

Variations and Adaptations to Include and Challenge Various Ages

• Younger children may need strips cut for them and a short demo of how to make the loops.
• Young children will need more help with the box car and people, but be sure to let them draw the people!
• All children may need a reminder to hold each piece in place for a moment until the glue sets a little
• For more challenge, use a larger base and make your roller coaster much larger
• Use cardstock for stiffer loops
• Connect the loops as if a roller coaster car could really travel on it
• Make multiple cars
• Use actual photographs of you and family or friends in the cars

2 Ways this Activity Aids Mental, Physical, and Social Development

1. Learning to use scissors is an important skill for young children
2. Making color and design choices helps enhance creativity and encourages children of all ages to learn to problem solve

A Kid-friendly Devotion

Higher and higher the roller coaster climbs. As it teeters on the top, people hold their breath. Then wooosh, down it rushes, and everyone raises their arms and screams!  

Have you ever been on a roller coaster?

How did you feel?  Excited? Scared?

Sometimes life is like a roller coaster ride. Everything is going along smoothly, and then woosh, your family moves, a new baby arrives, or your best friend gets angry with you.

Was there a time you felt as if you were on a roller coaster?

Were those rushing changes scary?  Did you feel sad or lonely?

Sometimes Jesus felt sad and rushed. In Mark 6:29-46 we learn that when His cousin, John the Baptist, was killed, Jesus and the disciples were sad and tired. But people still crowded around. Jesus and the disciples didn’t even have time to eat!

When they tried to get away, crowds followed them. Finally, that night Jesus sent the crowd away. He even told His disciples to leave in the boat.

Wow, Jesus was all alone. But was He?

No, He knew His Father was there. So Jesus climbed up the mountainside to talk to Him. He trusted His Father to give Him comfort and strength to continue the rush of His earthly ministry.

When changes rush at you and you’re scared, Jesus promises you can talk to Him just like that. Jesus is with you and will never leave you (Deuteronomy 31:8), and He will comfort and strengthen you.

And when you are sad or lonely, remember Jesus will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we know you sometimes felt sad and tired, so you understand just how we feel. Thank you that we can come and talk to You about these things, and You will comfort and strengthen us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Before You Go

If you’d like more activity ideas for art, history, and nature, curriculum connections, and links to more resources, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Just click the sign-up  button above on the right. You’ll receive a free guide to making art museum visits a fun masterpiece for your whole family. Even if your family isn’t into museums, the quarterly issues have lots of fun stuff for kiddos!

Visit my website where you’ll find free downloadable puzzles, how-to-draw pages, and coloring pages. There’s also an updated list of my hands-on workshops, chapels, and presentations for all ages.

Our last post used zigzag and curved lines for ocean waves, and so does the roller coaster, so on  a recent walk, Molly posed with zigzag shadows! Molly and I hope you enjoyed making a roller coaster. Sign up to receive our posts by email, and don’t miss a fun and easy, AND  squishy paint activity!