How to Create an Easy Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft 🦋

LOOK! A butterfly!! Whenever my family is outside, my kids are always spotting butterflies and pointing them out. There is something so amazing and captivating about the beauty of a butterfly! The brightly colored wings, the graceful way they fly, the incredible way they transform from a caterpillar into a butterfly – I could go on and on! My kids love all insects, but butterflies are definitely at the top of their list of favorites. Whether you are a teacher or a parent, like me, you will love learning How to Create an Easy Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft to go along with your next butterfly lesson!

two photos of a butterfly craft using pipe cleaners, beads, and clothespins.

overhead image of supplies for a beaded butterfly craft.

three painted clothespins are drying on a paper plate next to a foam paint brush.

two pipe cleaners have pink and purple beads strung on them.

a beaded pipe cleaner is bent into a circle shape.

two beaded pipe cleaners have been bent into a figure eight shape to look like butterfly wings.

someone is attaching antennae made out of pipe cleaners to a butterfly craft.

someone is attaching magnet tape to the back of a clothespin to finish a butterfly craft.

four finished butterfly pipe cleaner crafts.

Recommended Grade Level:

Preschool

Supply List
Coordinating Activities

Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft Supplies:

Clothespins
Paint
Pipe Cleaners
Pony Beads
Magnetic Tape
Scissors
Paintbrush

Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft

This Butterfly Pipe Cleaner Craft is the perfect spring or summer activity because it combines fine motor skills and insects! Every season brings a new type of insect interest in my house, and if your kids love bugs as much as mine do, you’ll want to be sure to check out our super cute Bug Sensory Bin Activity that is also great for fine motor skills.

Springtime is the perfect time to learn about new life, and it is also a great time to try some new craft ideas! Whether you are working on your spring lesson plans, or planning out activities to do at home with your children, let us help you do some of the work and be sure to check out some of our amazing Craft Activities for Kids!

Materials You Will Need for Pipe Cleaner Butterflies:

Clothespins
Paint
Pipe Cleaners
Pony Beads
Magnetic Tape
Scissors
Paintbrush

Step-by-Step Instructions for this Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft

Step One:

Gather all of your materials so they are close by and easily accessible, then you are ready to start! Grab a clothespin and paint it with a color of your choice. Set it to the side to dry while you continue to work on the other parts of the butterfly.

Tip: Let your child get creative with their painting and add spots or stripes to their butterfly body!

Step Two:

Thread pony beads onto the two pipe cleaners. You can create a pattern, use all of the same colored beads, or make your own design!

Teacher Tip: When you are putting on the beads, be sure to leave about 1 inch of empty space on each side of each of the pipe cleaner. This will make it easier to connect the pipe cleaner ends together!

Step Three:

Next, you are going to form a circle with one of the pipe cleaners. To do this, bring together the two empty ends of the pipe cleaner to make a circle shape. Twist the ends together and wrap them around the circle to get them out of the way.

Step Four:

Next, it is time to create the shape of the butterfly wings. First, spread the beads out on the top and bottom of the circle. Then, pinch the top and bottom together and twist around.

Grab your second beaded pipe cleaner and repeat the same steps from above, forming the circle first and then twisting to make the shape of the butterfly wings.

Step Five:

Once the paint on your clothespin is dry, open the clothespin and slide the pipe cleaner wings in. The clothespin will hold them in place, but if you want to secure it more, feel free to add some glue.

To create the antennas of your butterfly, take another pipe cleaner and cut it to the desired antenna length. Fold the pipe cleaner in half and curl it around the ends. Pinch the antenna pipe cleaner on the end of the clothespin to stay in place.

Step Six:

Cut a small piece of magnetic tape and stick it to the back of the clothespin. Your beautiful Pipe Cleaner Butterfly is ready!

Yay! You made a Pipe Cleaner Butterfly! What Now?

Here are some fun ideas for displaying and using your Pipe Cleaner Butterfly!

Make an adorable butterfly bulletin board display.
Add your finished butterflies to this Butterfly Themed Sensory Bin.
Use the butterflies you created as game pieces for this Free Printable Butterfly Life Cycle Game.
Use this as a craft for a butterfly themed party! Don’t forget to make some Butterfly Snack Bags as a yummy treat!
Build fine motor skills with a fun caterpillar sensory bag sorting activity.

Butterfly Life Cycle Books for Kids

Ways to Differentiate Learning with this Butterfly Craft:

Create each life cycle of a butterfly with a pipe cleaner. Use these Life Cycle of a Butterfly Play Dough Mats to help with the shapes to be formed.
Work with your child to write a story about their butterfly. Need to start more simple with writing? Try these Spring Flower CVC Word Building Mats.
Practice counting as you place the beads on the butterfly. This Spring Counting Book is great for more counting practice!
Create more pipe cleaner butterflies to use as the manipulative for this Butterfly Themed Counting Game! Then, grab some butterfly mini erasers and check out these adorable Butterfly Mini Eraser Math Activities!
Can you create a pattern butterfly? Give a pattern to create, or let your child create their own pattern with the beads on the wings.
Use leftover pipe cleaners for some Rainbow Fine Motor Play.

Need more fun craft ideas? Check out our favorites here:

Why Are Crafts Important For Kids?

This butterfly craft will have kids painting, threading beads, and twisting pipe cleaners. All of these seem like simple tasks, but they have so many wonderful benefits for kids! As kids are working on the craft, their fingers and hands are working and their muscles are strengthening, which is really good for their fine motor skills! If you’re looking for more fine motor skill practice, this Bee Sensory Bin is another amazing insect themed activity that is great for sensory play and fine motor skills.

Choosing the color of paint and the beads that are put onto the butterfly allows for kids to make the butterfly their own and express their own creativity when putting together the craft. My kids always beam with pride as they select their favorite color beads and pipe cleaners to create a butterfly as unique as they are! If you’re looking for more art activities, Butterfly Salt Paintings are another easy and fun way to let your child’s artistic creativity shine!

For more examples of how crafting can benefit kids of all ages, check out this informative article from Scholastic!

Why Should Kids Learn About Butterflies?

Although a butterfly theme is usually taught in spring or summer, there is really never a bad time to learn about butterflies! There are so many things that kids can learn from and about butterflies.

I love using butterflies to teach about life cycles. One of my family’s favorite things to do together is get caterpillars and watch them transform into butterflies. We use this awesome Life Cycle of a Butterfly Printable Diagram to help document what we see! We also have these Frog Themed Life Cycle Diagrams and Plant Themed Life Cycle Diagrams if you are learning about either one of those in your home or classroom.

Learning about butterflies and other insects can help children start to develop an appreciation for our earth and motivate them to help to care for it too! One of our favorite ways to learn about butterflies is by observing them in our backyard. You can attract more butterflies to your yard by creating a butterfly garden. To learn how to build a butterfly garden at your house, check out this National Geographic for Kids Article!

More Ways to Explore a Butterfly Theme:

Free Printable Life Cycle of a Butterfly Diagram for Kids

Frequently Asked Questions

These are frequently asked questions about this Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft:

Does it matter what kind of beads I use for my butterflies?

You can use any kind of beads as long as they fit on the pipe cleaners! I have found that pony beads tend to be the best size for little fingers to hold (and the ones we normally have the most of in our craft box!) but feel free to use a different kind of bead if it fits onto the pipe cleaner. If you have left over beads after this activity, try this fun Bead Color Sorting Activity!

What size clothespins should I use to make Pipe Cleaner Butterflies?

It really is totally up to you and depends on how big you’d like your pipe cleaner butterflies to end up being! You can use large, regular size, or mini, you will just have to adjust the size of your pipe cleaners to match the body size.

Can I add glitter to my Pipe Cleaner Butterflies?

I personally think that glitter makes everything better! Which is why we have done total glitter art projects…lol! So yes, feel free to add glitter to your butterflies if it will make you or your child happy! The best times to add glitter would probably be before the paint has dried on the clothespin, or after the butterfly is completely assembled using clear glue.

Where can I find more butterfly and insect themed activities?

We have an entire Bug and Butterfly Themed Lesson Plan at Life Over Cs! We also have other super fun insect activities like our Insect Sensory Slime, Bug Themed Gross Motor Dice, and Bug Theme I Spy Board Game that I’m sure you will love.

Thanks for checking out our Butterfly Craft!

Please leave us a comment and let us know how much you love these Pipe Cleaner Butterflies! We can’t wait hear about all of your amazing creations! And don’t forget to check out more super fun Spring Activities at Life Over Cs!