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These pasta butterflies are such a fun activity to complete with your kids this spring and summer as you learn about life cycles.
Butterflies are such a fun spring and summer object to create while making crafts. I have come across tons of ideas for making them out of paper, scrap materials, and even pasta. I loved these sweet butterfly pasta crafts so much that I had to share them. Your kids will enjoy making colorful pasta butterflies to hang around the room.
Supplies to Make Pasta Butterflies
You should be able to find all of these supplies at your local craft store, Walmart supercenters, or Dollar Tree. Any extra materials can be used for a future pasta craft or a tasty pasta salad!
- Bow tie Pasta (also known as farfalle pasta)
- Craft Paint – These will be the colors of your butterflies
- Pipe cleaners – I picked colors to match the paint
- Cardstock – I used light blue for the sky and green for the grass
- Fine Tip Sharpie Markers
- Liquid Glue or Hot Glue
Putting the Pasta Butterflies Together
Before starting your craft, decide which colors you want to use for your butterflies. I did pink, orange, yellow, blue, and purple, but use any colors you wish! Always prepare your work surface if you are working with paint. You don’t want to ruin your table or floors. These butterfly crafts are super simple to create and fun to display when they are finished.
- Start by painting the bowtie pasta in your desired colors. You don’t have to paint the entire package of pasta, just the pieces you want to use. Let them dry completely.
- Next, draw a sun on a light blue piece of cardstock paper.
- Add green grass using a slip of green construction paper with slits cut on it.
- Then, cut your pipe cleaners short enough to wrap them around the thin part of the bowtie pasta noodle. Leave the end of the pipe cleaner sticking up like antennae.
- Glue the painted pasta down on the cardstock.
- Using a fine tip marker, draw dots in loops behind the butterflies to make it look like they are flying around.
Get creative with how to form the antennae, cut the grass, and make the butterflies look like they are flying. These little butterflies are super cute to use as a card, thank you note, or a pretty craft hanging up on the fridge or window.
What Do I Do With My Extra Pasta?
I save the extra pasta for future craft projects. Sometimes we paint all of the pieces and the kids play with them in a sensory bin when they are done. This simple butterfly craft doesn’t require many pieces of pasta so the leftovers can also be used to make a yummy summer pasta salad or meal. If you don’t want to use them for eating, store them in a container for a later time. Dry pasta keeps for a long time for crafts or eating.
Do I Have to Use Pipe Cleaners?
If you don’t want to use pipe cleaners as their antennae, use your fine tip marker to draw antennae above their head. This simple craft is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, or elementary-aged kids. Decide whether to use pipe cleaners or draw the antennae based on what you know they can do on their own.
Dye Your Pasta Instead of Painting
If you wish, you can dye your pasta instead of painting the pieces. Both are pretty simple! Check out how I dye rice to see how you can dye your pasta noodles.You just need a few of the same ingredients mentioned above and some time. Basically you just water down some paint and put the pasta and paint into a baggy to coat them. Then let them dry! Be sure to read the post for full instructions though. You can also do this with food coloring. Mix food coloring with about 1 tsp of white vinegar. Add pasta and colored vinegar to a bag and mix until covered. Place on parchment paper and let dry.
If your kids enjoyed painting these bow tie pasta noodles and turning them into butterflies, they will love making their own DIY Pasta Necklaces using a similar strategy!
Here are some more butterfly crafts you may enjoy!
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