Kids can make watercolor painting butterfly mobiles using wax resist techniques with crayons. Hang around your house for a colorful display.
Updated March 2024
We are big into butterflies right now. We’ve painted them using the blot art technique, and we’ve painted watercolor butterflies using the rubbing alcohol technique. And we’ve raised butterflies from caterpillars!
For a recent art project, we created a butterfly mobile that now flutters in the cross-breeze of our windows. We used watercolors over a white oil pastel-resist design for the wings, with clothespins as an optional addition for the bodies.
Watercolor Painting Butterfly Mobiles
MATERIALS
- Watercolor paints or liquid watercolors
- Watercolor paper
- Scissors
- White or light-colored oil pastels or crayons
- Old fashioned wooden clothespins
- Glue
- Thread
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut out shapes
Cut the watercolor paper into butterfly shapes.
- Design the wings
Draw designs on the wings of your butterfly, using the white oil pastels.
- Paint the butterfly
Paint over the entire butterfly with the watercolor paints.
- Add the butterfly body (optional)
If you’d like, you can slip an old-fashioned wooden clothespin over the center and glue it in place (a hot glue gun works well) for the butterfly body.
You can also hang the butterflies as is. - Hang your butterfly!
For the mobile, tie thread around the body or head of the butterfly and attach the other end to a stick, an embroidery hoop, or just to the ceiling.
This is a sweet way to paint butterflies and add a little bit of spring decor to your home!
More Butterfly Art Activities for Kids
- How to Paint Butterflies for Kids
- How to Paint Butterflies with Watercolors
- How to Make DIY Wings for Kids
- A Marbled Paper Plate Butterfly Craft
- String Print Butterfly Art Project
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