This easy paper plate butterfly craft for kids uses our favorite shaving cream marbling technique. Simply cut the marbled paper plate into wings and then decorate your butterfly!
Updated May 2025
We are big fans of butterflies here at the Artful Parent, both the real deal and the hand-crafted.
We love to raise butterflies from chrysalis to ready-to-fly with this butterfly kit. It’s so exciting to watch the transformation up close! And we are in butterfly sighting mode all summer long (and keep butterflies in mind when choosing what to plant in our garden). But most of all, we adore drawing and painting all kinds of butterflies!
So, while we are not new to butterfly arts and crafts, we did especially like this marbled paper plate butterfly craft!
Paper Plate Butterfly Craft
MATERIALS
- Small, thin paper plates
- Shaving cream (the foam kind)
- Liquid watercolors
- Scissors
- Black cardstock
- Glue stick
- Markers
- Pipe cleaners (optional)
- Small googly eyes (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut your butterfly wings
First, cut your paper plate in half, then each half into a butterfly wing shape. We did this by cutting sort of a curved “V” shape along each of the straight edges.
- Marble your paper plates
Then, marble the backs of your paper plate wings, following the instructions for shaving cream marbling.
Let dry.
- Put butterfly together
Cut the shape of a butterfly body out of black cardstock, or use a large craft stick as a body. Glue the wings to either side of the body and let dry.
Glue two short pipe cleaner sections at the top of the body for antennae.
If you’d like, you can decorate your butterfly with googly eyes, marker faces and designs on the body and wings. You can also glue on scrap pieces of the marbled paper plates for extra decoration.
You’ve got to give this paper plate butterfly craft a try! It’s easy and fun and the kids can use the finished butterflies as puppets, wall decorations, as part of a mobile, or as extra special gift cards.
More Butterfly Craft Ideas for Kids
- How to Make Coffee Filter Butterflies
- Painting Butterfly Mobiles with Watercolors
- How to Paint Watercolor Butterflies
- Raising Butterflies with Kids
- How to Paint Butterflies for Kids
- How to Paint Stained Glass Butterflies
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