Inside: A collection of butterfly DIY and craft ideas for adult crafters. All include step-by-step tutorials.
One of the first things I painted at school was a butterfly. I remember painting the wings on one side and then folding the paper over so an identical wing would print on the other—a bit like an ink block. I was an easily pleased four-year-old and thought it was magic!
I’ve never grown out of my love of butterflies, and I still get a buzz whenever I spot one in the wild. They are the most beautiful insects. People seem to associate them with spring and Easter, but I think butterfly crafts can be done all year round.
Check out these free vintage butterfly illustrations to use with your crafts.
Best Butterfly Crafts Ideas For Adults & Teens
A collection of butterfly crafts for adults and teens to enjoy and try. There is a mixture of ideas from small craft projects, such as jewellery and ornaments. To home decor crafts from wall art to clocks and mobiles. The ideas cover many types of crafts using materials such as paper, yarn, fabric and repurposed plastics. You are bound to find ideas to inspire.
Denim and Scrap Fabric Moth/Butterfly Taxidermy
Make a fun piece of wall art inspired by vintage insect displays of the past. Use your denim and fabric scraps to make cute faux moths/butterflies, and then frame them in an insect display box.
Vintage DIY Christmas Butterfly Ornament
Original vintage butterfly illustrations are used to make these upcycled Christmas ornaments. There are lots of free printable butterflies to choose from on the site.
Butterfly Silhouette Clock
It might not be the most practical clock for telling the time, but it will look amazing on the wall.
An Easy DIY Butterfly Wall Decoration
No butterflies were harmed in making this stunning Victorian-style butterfly wall art. All the butterflies were made using shrink plastic.
DIY Butterfly Cloche
A beautiful butterfly decoration to make for the mantle, complete with free printable butterflies. There is a paper parrot version here.
Butterfly Embroidery Hoop on Mesh
The see-through mesh makes it look like the butterflies are fluttering around—a fun butterfly embroidery project.
Map Paper Moths/butterfly Art
This is a map version of the denim butterflies above. They add a bit of interest to any gallery wall.
DIY Double Dip Flip: Maple Seed Butterfly Art
Wow, what a breathtaking butterfly, made with maple seeds.
Spring Butterfly Wreath
A lovely wreath to make for a child's bedroom door.
Beautiful DIY Butterfly Wreath in 3 Easy Steps -
This is a very easy wreath; add paper butterflies to a grapevine wreath.
How To: Paper Butterfly Garland
This pretty paper butterfly garland is easy to make, and you likely already have all the required materials sitting in your craft cupboard.
Butterfly easter eggs
I've seen hundreds of decorated egg ideas, but this is the first butterfly one I've seen.
Butterfly pendant
Turn a fabric-style paper into a stunning butterfly pendant with embossing powder and wires.
Butterfly wreath tutorial
The butterflies for this beautiful wreath are handpainted on old book pages.
Gorgeous DIY Butterfly Tree Centerpiece
A DIY butterfly tree makes a gorgeous party decoration or centrepiece for dining tables, entry tables, nature tables, and weddings.
Butterfly rings
This is a unique Shrinky Dink craft idea, making fun butterfly rings.
Wooden Moths and Dragonflies
These are adorable as indoor plant décor, but they could also be glued onto wooden boxes, picture frames, or anything else that needs a little pizzazz!
Resin Butterfly Trays
Dollar store tin trays are transformed into art with paper butterflies and resin.
Make a Butterfly Lantern
A Butterfly Lantern to decorate your room or workspace with just the humblest of craft materials – paper! Use floral or patterned scrapbook paper to customise the design to match your home decor.
Embroidered Butterfly Hanging Decoration
They are easy to make and use just a couple of simple embroidery stitches, making them ideal for beginners and more experienced embroiderers who want a quick and pretty project.
Easy Origami Butterfly
I'd love to make lots of these in pretty patterned paper.
Crochet Mini Heart Butterfly
The wings of these cute tiny crochet butterflies are made in the shape of little hearts. You can use them for embellishment, scrapbooking, hairpins, and keychains.
DIY Window Clings: Make Stained Glass Inspired Butterflies!
Learn how to make DIY window clings to create beautiful, stained glass-inspired decorations for your windows.
Spring Butterfly Pillow Crochet Pattern
Brighten up your spring decor with this colourful crochet butterfly pillow.
Temporary Tattoo Easter Eggs
What a beautiful way to decorate eggs for Easter with butterflies. You could use them to make an Easter egg wreath.
DIY Butterfly Shadow Box
This is a great DIY home décor project for spring. I love the moss background; it makes the colourful butterflies pop. Find more shadow box ideas here.
DIY Scrap Fabric Butterfly
Learn how to make pretty scrap fabric butterflies. They would make beautiful hair clips or decorative elements on pillows and bags.
Resin Art Piece DIY
Make a fun piece of butterfly wall art; since you can see the wall colour, this piece will match any room!
DIY Butterfly wall decor
This is a fun way to decorate a wall with these easy toilet roll butterflies.
2-Minute Butterfly & Flower Candle Holders
You need two minutes to make this set of 4 lovely butterfly and flower candle holders!
Butterfly needle book
This cute needlebook would make a lovely handmade gift for any crafter.
Make Your Own Lace Butterfly Jewelry
Cut the lace butterflies out of old cloth doilies and stiffen them for necklace pendants.
Silk Screened Butterfly Glasses
Decorate some plain glass tumblers with silk-screened butterflies.
Quilled Monarch Butterfly
Make pretty Monarch butterflies with quilled paper.
Upcycled Butterfly Mobile
These butterflies started as plastic milk jugs. Then they became a beautiful mobile.
Polymer Clay Butterfly
Make pretty butterfly broaches with polymer clay.
Scrap Paper Butterflies
These are super easy to make and a great way to use up old scraps of paper. You could even use wallpaper samples to make these beautiful butterflies.
Drink Can Butterflies
Upcycle old soda cans into adorable butterflies. These will be a bit more robust than the paper ones.
Faux Stained Glass Butterfly Craft
Painted using bright watercolours, these faux stained glass butterflies would look great hanging on the wall.
How to make a Butterfly Mirror
Make a knock-off gold butterfly mirror for a fraction of the cost of ones found in high-end interior shops.
Butterfly Inspiration Charm Bracelet
Make a beautiful charm bracelet with tiny paper butterflies. This would make a lovely handmade gift.
Butterfly Magnets
Add beauty and colour to your pinboards or fridge with these fluttery magnets.
Dollar Store Butterfly Door Hanger DIY
What better way to welcome spring and summer than with a gorgeous butterfly door or wall hanger?
DIY Butterfly push pins with a free printable
These beautiful push pins would brighten up any corkboard.
Plastic Bottle Butterflies Recycled Art
Explore the art of plastic bottle crafts by creating delicate butterflies from recycled bottles, a project that's as environmentally friendly as beautiful.
Easy Vintage Butterfly Decoupage Art
Making your own art is super easy with DIY decoupage. This Butterfly Art project is very simple to do and looks amazing in your home.
DIY Butterfly Wreath
Create a colourful summer wreath for your front door with a DIY butterfly wreath.
Mosaic Butterfly Garden Chair
Typically found as stepping stones, this mosaic has taken a delightful turn, beautifully adorning a metal garden chair with a butterfly design.
DIY Origami-Butterflies
With this simple tutorial, you can make gorgeous origami butterflies out of pretty patterned paper. You can use them to decorate cards and gift wrap or as corner bookmarks.
Milk Jug Butterflies and a Butterfly Life Cycle Recycling Craft!
Plastic milk jugs are another eco-friendly way to make butterfly decorations.
Pin for later!
Some other themed spring craft ideas you might want to check out on Pillarboxblue are the cactus crafts, mushroom DIYs and pineapple crafts.
Michelle
Monday 26th of December 2022
In my humble opinion, a girl can never have too many butterflies floating around the house ;-). Thanks for sharing so many new ideas. Pinning for later
Claire Armstrong
Monday 26th of December 2022
Thank you so much. Butterflies are just so beautiful.