How to Craft Delicate Tissue Paper Butterflies

Girls will love to have these delicate tissue paper butterflies flitting about their rooms. Easy to craft with simple materials, these butterflies can be hung on strings from the ceiling, attached to furniture, or sat on tabletops for a great, delicate decoration. Simply follow the directions below for one delicate tissue paper butterfly. Then, make they in different sizes and colors to bring a rainbow of color to your room.

Materials Needed for the Butterflies

Crafting these delicate tissue paper butterflies does not require many materials. You will need heavy gauge wire, such as that used for wire jewelry piece. You will also need your choice of colored tissue paper, white glue that dries clear, and small beads or crystal cabochons for the butterfly’s eyes.

Making the Body of the Butterfly

The body of the butterfly is crafted from a continuous piece of the wire listed in the materials section. You will start with a straight piece of the wire approximately 3 inches long. Then, wind the wire around this piece to make the body thicker. You can do this tightly or looser for a funky spiral style butterfly body.

After the butterfly body is wrapped once, you will be wrapping back over the butterfly body again. But this time, as you go, you will be twisting small sections out from the body to form the legs. You want three legs on each side. The head can be formed by simply making a slightly larger section of body.

Next come the wings. Working with the same piece of wire, you should bend it out from the body and make a large framework for the wings. You will be making the outline of the butterfly wings. These should be twisted onto the butterfly body securely.

Crafting the Tissue Paper Wings

After the butterfly body and wings’ framework is complete, you will be ready to color the wings with the tissue paper. First, select your colors. Making solid color butterfly wings is the easiest method, of course. However, if you want multi-color or patterned butterfly wings, you should arrange the tissue paper in advance. You can cut out shapes of the tissue paper and use small amounts of craft glue to attach them together.

Take the plain piece of tissue paper, or the multi-colored arrangement you have made, and cut it out to the same shape as the wire butterfly wings frame. Make sure to leave at least one half inch extra on all sides of the tissue paper.

To attach the tissue paper to the butterfly’s wing frames, you will use the clear-drying craft glue to paint over the edges of the tissue paper. Then, carefully fold the tissue paper around the wire frames and secure at the bottom. The tissue paper will separate at the large bends in the wings. This is okay as long as the wire frames are covered. You can easily patch a section with a tiny piece of tissue paper and some more craft glue. Allow this to dry thoroughly.

These delicate tissue paper butterflies will make beautiful, though delicate, decorator additions to any room. Whether you hang them from the ceiling, attach them to furniture, or just let them rest on the tabletop, you will delight in their whimsy.