Coffee Filter Butterflies

Do you remember making these back in Pre-School?! I came across a pack of coffee filters in our cupboards while I was cleaning, and thought what am I supposed to do with these! We used to have a real coffee maker but now we have a Keurig. I decided that they could just go in our craft bin for now, so they would be out of the way. Then I remembered how we used to make them into butterflies with clothes pins and by painting the filters for the wings! Well we had filters, watercolor paints, and pipe cleaners to work with, and I think they turned out pretty cute!

What you need (for one butterfly, so double or triple if you’re making more!):

• 2 Coffee Filters
• Watercolor Paint
• Paint Brush
• 1 Pipe Cleaner

Directions:

1. Peel apart the coffee filters and press them on a flat surface. They don’t need to be perfectly flat, just enough so you can start decorating them. We made ours at the kitchen table with a table cloth down for less mess!
2. Paint the filters however you’d like! The more colors the better! Once the filter is completely covered. Take your paintbrush and paint plain water over the filters so they are pretty wet. The paint should start to spread around the filter more.
3. Let the filters dry completely! This may take a little time.
4. Once both filters are completely dry, start folding them accordion style! They should look like skinny rectangle strips when you’re finished folding.
5. Place the strips on top of each other. Grab your pipe cleaner and wrap around the strips twice. Make sure you have the ends both facing up on the same side.
6. Fan out your filters on each side, and watch your butterfly come alive! Feel free to roll the pipe cleaner antennas into spirals for fun too.
7. Hang them up by the window, so you can really see the colors shine through!