Thumbprint Butterfly Cards

Spring is here, and the butterflies are coming back to my yard. I love butterflies and the grace and beauty they bring to the outside. I won’t let my husband pull out certain bushes because they attract so many butterflies. Here is an easy and fun craft little ones can do to capture this beauty – thumbprint butterfly cards.

The craft is very simple, but kids have a lot of fun making their butterflies.

Materials:
Cardstock or other heavy paper, folded to make a card
Water colors
Black Poster paint
Chalk paint
1 in. foam brush

Process:
Start by pouring a bit of the chalk paint into a tin or tray for each child. A little will go a long way.

Help the children place their thumb in the paint, then press the thumb on the paper.

Repeat dipping and pressing the thumbprints so that they form a wing pattern—two on each side angled away from each other.

I used the chalk paint to create more of a textured look to the butterflies. The more paint on the thumbprint, the less of the texture of the print is visible. My butterfly wings don’t have any fingerprint textures on them because I used too much paint to print them.

After completing one butterfly with each child, just let the children loose to create their own flock of butterflies. Part of the fun is seeing how the children will create the butterflies and how many they will make.

Now, set the papers aside to dry. Chalk paint dries quickly, so they should be dried by the time everyone has washed their hands.

Now, it’s time to add the butterflies’ bodies.

This is done by simply dabbing the tip of the brush into the black paint and then onto the center of the butterfly wings. Then add the antenna. The butterfly is done. Now it’s time to put the background in for the butterflies.

This part can be completely child driven. They can create any type of background they want. I suggest using water color because it won’t affect the butterflies. The chalk paint will repel the water color, so the butterflies won’t be covered up by the decorating process.

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Then set the card aside to dry and it’s finished. Any type of inscription can be added, but I thought this would make a great card to add to the felt flowers as a Mother’s Day gift.