This butterfly chalk art is such a fun and colourful way for kids to create bold, glowing artwork using simple supplies. The soft pastels blend beautifully against the black paper, making the butterfly designs really pop, and the finished effect looks so vibrant and eye-catching. It’s an easy technique that reveals a beautiful butterfly silhouette when the paper pattern is removed.
To make your crafting even easier we have free printable templates available for you. The butterflies come in many different designs and sizes, and they make the project perfect for kids of all ages! So whether you want to make a simple outline or create your own wing pattern, this butterfly craft is a great spring or summer art project that you’ll want to put on display.
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How to Make Butterfly Chalk Art
Equipment:
- Q-tips (optional)
See the craft in action:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Design your butterfly
- Print one or more of our butterfly templates! There’s a link in the materials list above with more links and details below the tutorial.
- Cut out the butterfly shape. Leave a bit of white space around the antennae.
- Draw a design on one wing of the butterfly. You can try to create realistic details, or have fun drawing little flowers, hearts, and/or stars.
- Fold the butterfly in half.
- Add a few loops of painter’s tape inside, making sure you’re placing the tape outside of the drawn lines.
- Fold the butterfly in half again, so the tape stops it from moving. Make gentle folds in each of the drawn areas, allowing you to make little snips inside.
- Then cut out each of the pattern sections.
- Open the butterfly to reveal the pretty matching pattern!
Step 3: Add the butterfly template to paper
- Add more loops of painter’s tape to the back of the butterfly, covering both sides.(Making all of the tape loops is tedious and does take awhile, but you definitely want to make sure the butterfly will stick well in all areas.)
- Set the butterfly on a piece of black paper or cardstock. Press down to make sure it’s nicely set in place.
Step 4: Colour the butterfly
- Use white soft pastel to colour from the edge of the antennae onto the black paper, pressing firmly and extending the colour out about 1/2 inch. Do the same for the bottom of the butterfly body.
- Repeat, adding a colour (we chose pink) around the butterfly’s wings. Blow off the excess chalk dust.
- Now add different colours inside the butterfly. Try to make the wings matching, so if you put blue in one particular spot on the one wing, do the same on the other.
Step 5: Spread the chalk
- Begin by lightly brushing your finger on the coloured areas of the wing. Go to the edges of each section to ensure that the full shape is coloured nicely.Be sure to wipe your finger between the different colours.
- Then use your finger to smudge the white chalk outwards, away from the template.
- Do the same thing with the coloured chalk around the outside of the wings. Use a gentle touch and add more chalk if you think you’ve removed too much.
- You might also want to lightly trace around the edge of the butterfly with your finger. This ensures that the perfect shape of the butterfly template has been made.
Step 6: Remove the template
- Blow off any chalk dust again and then remove the template.You can rip it off in smaller pieces or try to get the whole butterfly at once, whatever is easiest.
- Optional: Use a Q-tip to remove any smudges inside the butterfly silhouette.
- Your butterfly chalk art is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Keep a damp paper towel nearby: Chalk pastel dust loves to move around and stick where you don’t want it. You should also wipe your fingers between colours so the shades don’t mix.
- Have fun with colour! Butterflies come in all different colour palettes, so you can have fun using different shades of orange or blue, or even make them multi-coloured like we have for some of ours!
Where can I get templates to make this butterfly chalk art?
We have butterfly templates available in a number of different sizes and patterns. There are also 13 different butterfly coloring pages that you can use.
If you don’t see the exact size of butterfly you’re looking for, simply use your printer settings to scale the template before printing!
What type of chalk do I need for this butterfly art project?
We recommend using soft pastels, which are also called chalk pastels. They’re very pigmented, so your pictures will have lots of bold colour!
You can also use regular school chalk or sidewalk chalk. They work the same way, but the colours aren’t as vibrant. You can see an example with our chalk stenciled pumpkins.
Do I have to draw a butterfly design on the wings?
No, you can also just cut around the butterfly template and add chalk colour(s) around the outside. We did that for some of our art pieces, and it still looks really good! It also makes for a simpler craft, perfect for younger kids.
Do I have to use my finger to spread the chalk across the page?
No, you don’t have to use your finger to spread the chalk. If you’re sensitive to the texture/feeling of chalk, that’s totally understandable. You can definitely also use a Q-tip, cotton ball, or foam paintbrush to create the picture.
Just keep in mind that these techniques tend to remove more colour, so use a gentle touch. But if you remove too much chalk the first time, you can always add more and try again!
This butterfly chalk art is such a fun way to experiment with colour and create something really eye-catching. The blending technique is simple to learn, but it gives such a bold, glowing effect that kids will be excited to see their artwork come to life.
You can follow the template or get creative and design your own butterfly wings with different patterns, shapes, and colours. Even a simple colourful outline looks beautiful against the dark background. It’s an easy project to make your own, and every butterfly turns out a little bit different in the best way!
Here’s even more butterfly craft ideas:
Beaded Pipe Cleaner Butterflies
Now available
Low-Mess Crafts for Kids Book
72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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