HOW TO MAKE - A COFFEE FILTER BUTTERFLY

 

MATERIALS NEEDED: Coffee filters, paper plates, spray bottle filled with water, plastic tray or plastic 8 inch plates, hot glue gun with glue sticks, hairdryer, Acrylic paints in Neon colors, Small & Medium size brushes, Mini Woodsie spring clothespins 1 3/4 inch, Mini Flower Foamies in assorted colors & sizes, Mini Rhinestones in assorted colors, white 12 inch pipecleaners, scissors, Twine for clothesline to air dry fiters, Crayola super sparkle washable Glitter Glue sticks or White Elmer's Glue & small shaker bottles filled with assorted glitter in colors matching your paints, Plastic cups. 
 

The only part of the activity the

seniors will be working on, is  

painting and glittering the filters,

and painting the clothespins.

You will be assembling

and glueing together the butterfly's

face and antennae, and also

assembling the butterfly and the

filter together.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

1. Gather all your supplies together

and fill 4 or more plastic cups with  

different Neon colored acyrlic paints.

Always use colors that will blend well

together. Then fill a cup with water for

rinsing your brushes.

 

2. Place a coffee filter in the center of a

paper plate and spray your filter with

enough water to make it stick to the plate.

Next, paint decorative designs

across the filter. When you finish painting your

filter, remove it from the paper plate and

place it onto a plastic tray or plastic plate

to dry. You can also air dry your filters

by hanging them over a make-shift clothesline,

or you can dry your filters with a hairdryer.

 

3. To dry your coffee filters using a

hairdryer, set your hairdyer on a low

power setting using medium to high heat.

Start drying your filter in the center

by holding the hairdryer about

one 1/2 inches above the

filter, evenly rotating it around the filter

until your coffee filter is dry.

 

4. Next, have your seniors paint the

mini clothespins in matching colors and 

then set them aside to dry.

 

5. Once the filters are completely dry,

the seniors can begin to glitter their

filters. The seniors will either use the

Glitter glue sticks or white Elmer's glue

combined with shaker bottles filled with

colored glitter.  

If the seniors are unable

to use the glitter glue sticks, have them

use the Elmer's glue to make

decorative lines, circles and dots

across their painted coffee filters. 

Then have the seniors sprinkle 2 or 3

different colors of glitter

over their designs made

with Elmer's glue.

After the seniors have finished glittering

their filters, shake off the excess glitter

and let the filters dry overnight.

 

6. Next, you will be attaching the

butterflies face and antennae to

the clothespin. Once the clothespin

is completely dry, take the smallest flower

foamie and hot-glue it onto the top

opening of the clothespin. Then hot-glue

a mini rhinestone into the center of the

flower foamie. Cut you 12" pipecleaner

in half, and then bend it in half. Twist

the ends of the pipecleaner to form

an antennae shape. Hot-glue a mini

rhinestone to the ends of each antennae.

 

7. Take the antennae and hotglue it onto

the back of the top opening behind the

butterflies face.

 

8. Now take your Butterfly filter and

scrunch it in the center forming two wings.

Open the clothespin

and grab the filter in the

center, locking the filter tightly

inside the clothespin. 

Now you can open up the butterflies wings

and your Coffee Filter Butterfly

is complete.