This post may contain affiliate links. Click to read our Disclosure Policy . Click to read our Privacy Policy

Disclosure: Supplies for this Toilet Paper Roll Butterfly Craft were provided by Oriental Trading Company at no cost to me. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Toilet Paper Roll Butterfly Craft

If you have a few extra toilet paper rolls around the house headed to the recycle bin, there are quite a few fun craft ideas out there you can do to repurpose them, for almost FREE!

I know a lot of parents are still looking for kids' activities, and if it's an inexpensive craft to make- that's a bonus!

As a parent I loved sitting down with the kids when they were younger and making little crafts. For one, it's something to do that doesn't involve screen time! And then of course there's the fact that it's one on one time with mom, which is a great time for conversations and just chatting. Even if they might not admit to it, kids need that one on one time as much as you do, mom and dad!

Supplies Needed:

I ordered a few supplies to make these, but keep in mind this entire list is not essential to making your butterfly craft! As with all kids crafts- my rule is use what we already have around the house!

No need to make special trips to the store- chances are by the time the whole family is done shopping we are too tired to make the craft, and it's pushed off till later.

However, if you're like me and don't have a big supply of craft items around the house, it might be needed to just add to your craft supply collection now and then! I was glad to be able to order all my craft supplies from one location. No need to make a trip to the department store, discount store and also the dollar stores.

So, here is a good shopping list you can look at and see if you need any supplies yourself!

• Chenille Stems
• Black Googly Eyes
• Acrylic Paint Set (10)
• Construction Paper
• Craft Rolls
• Acrylic Glitter Pom Poms
• Small Wood Craft Sticks
• Adhesive Buttons

The great thing about Oriental Trading Company is that not only do they offer a ton of supplies, they are also priced so low you don't have to worry about adding a lot to your list! Check it out if you're needing to order craft supplies for church VBS events, sports events, summer camps and more. 

The Fun Part- Making Your Toilet Paper Butterfly Crafts:

First, select the main colors for your butterflies. You can add to a pallet if you have messy painters 🙂

We used these yellow, purple, and blue acrylic paints and just brushed them on with a sponge painting stick.

These work great for very small craft projects, and the nice thing is that you can toss them after you're done!

Let dry in a safe spot. While your butterfly body is drying, it's time to get started on the wings! This is where the kids can get creative, so let them take the lead! We had a few different colors available so the kids could pick.

You can fold the paper in half, and just free hand draw a butterfly wing on one side. This part honestly isn't difficult. I am by no means an artist and it was pretty simple!

Older kids– mine for example– would probably request no help and want to do this on their own. 🙂

After you have your butterfly wings, just fold the centers slightly so you have a flat place to glue to the toilet paper roll (the butterfly's body).

I folded about 1/4″ here as an example but if the kids are working on this on their own and have a bit more folded, it's okay. There's really no right or wrong way.

Just add a small strip of white craft glue to the folded edge.

For smaller kids, I would recommend doing this part for them. I don't know what it is about glue, but it's always barely any, or WAY too much!

Finally, apply the wings to the dry toilet paper roll. They might need their “wings” pressed down a few seconds before they adhere to the roll, but if your paint is still slightly tacky it might actually help the wings stick.

If your paint is not dry at all, you will need to wait on this step. Wet paint and glue don't mix! The wings will fall off eventually.

Decorate your Toilet Paper Roll Butterfly Craft!

This part is the most fun! With our bags of supplies from Oriental Trading we decorated the butterflies and their wings.

I honestly think the adhesive buttons are a hit…these little sticker backings come off and kids can stick them right onto their butterfly- no gluing or help with gluing needed.

We kept them simple and did the googly eyes, and a Chenille Stem (the official term for pipe cleaners) for the antennae. The kids can add a lot more as they probably will want to, however.

I like to use googly eyes in a lot of crafts, especially for church, so having some around the house is always helpful so I don't end up running to the craft store last minute!

And, you can even find the edible ones in the grocery store to add to cookies! I think they bring so much fun to a craft!

To add some color, we like these soft acrylic glitter pom poms.

Add the poms to the ends of the pipe cleaners, and anywhere else on your butterfly you wish!

Almost done!

The Finished Product!

We had fun making these and hope you can use this easy DIY craft idea too. Get the printable below or Pin to save for later! Happy crafting, all!!

• Discount Gift Cards at Dollar General This Week!
• Toastmaster Kitchen Appliances $5 at Dollar General!
• Colgate Toothpaste + More Only 50¢ at Walgreens
• Starbucks Gift Sets 25% Off This Week at Walgreens!
• 10% off Target Gift Cards!

If your kids are fans of Frozen II, head over and get your FREE Frozen II Printable Activities!

One of our Trending Posts!! Disney Reveals the OFFICIAL Dole Whip Recipe! You are going to need this in your life!

FREE Trolls World Tour Activity Pack!

• Discount Gift Cards at Dollar General This Week!
• Toastmaster Kitchen Appliances $5 at Dollar General!
• Colgate Toothpaste + More Only 50¢ at Walgreens
• Starbucks Gift Sets 25% Off This Week at Walgreens!
• 10% off Target Gift Cards!