Butterfly Suncatcher Craft (with Free Template!)

Looking for an easy craft to celebrate the arrival of summer? This colourful butterfly suncatcher is sure to brighten up any window—and it includes a free template for you to download and print at home!

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Ever since we started making window clings and paper plate suncatchers, our kids have been hooked. There’s just something about having colourful designs on all our windows that feels so cheerful!

So with the (almost) summer sun brightening our windows, of course we had to make another one. And what better way to celebrate summer than with a butterfly craft?

The kids were really excited about this one, and we just LOVE how it turned out. The design is so pretty, and the colours are so bright!

And to make your life a little easier, I even created a template for you to download and print at home—which means you should have no difficulty making your own!

Required Materials

Here’s what you’ll need to make these cheerful DIY butterfly suncatchers at home:

• My free butterfly suncatcher printable, which you can download using the form at the bottom of this article
• Clear plastic sheet protector
• Mod Podge
• Paintbrush
• Colourful tissue paper in the colours of your choosing (we went with yellow, orange, red and pink)
• Scissors
• Black cardstock
• Pencil (optional)
• School glue (not pictured)
• Adhesive tape (to place the suncatcher on your window)

How to Make a Butterfly Suncatcher (Step-by-Step)

1. Print Template

Start by downloading the template and printing it on Letter-sized paper. You’ll need to print the first page (with the butterfly wings) on regular printer paper, and the second page (with the butterfly’s body) on black cardstock.

Make sure to check your printer settings before you print the document. Some printers print pages in reverse order, so if that’s the case with yours, be sure to place the cardstock on top of your regular paper.

If you’re not sure and want to avoid a mishap, you can always print the pages separately.

2. Cut Tissue Paper Squares

Choose a few colours of tissue paper, then use scissors to cut the tissue paper into small squares.

3. Place Template in Sheet Protector

Place the first page of the template (with the butterfly wings) inside the sheet protector.

4. Spread Mod Podge on Sheet Protector

Use a paintbrush to cover one side of the sheet protector with Mod Podge. You don’t need to cover absolutely everything, but do make sure to cover everything around the butterfly wings, using the template inside the sheet protector as a guide.

5. Place Tissue Paper on Mod Podge

Gently press the squares of tissue paper onto the Mod Podge. Continue until the entire surface of the butterfly wings (plus a little extra) is covered in tissue paper squares.

As you cover up the template, keep your Mod Podge handy and add some as needed to help the tissue paper stick.

6. Cover with Mod Podge

As mentioned above, you should expect to add Mod Podge throughout the whole process of adding the tissue paper squares.

Once you’re done, add an additional layer of Mod Podge to make sure all the tissue paper is covered with it.

7. Let Mod Podge Dry

Let your handiwork rest until all the Mod Podge has finished drying.

8. Cut Template

While you’re waiting for the Mod Podge to dry, grab the black cardstock with the butterfly’s body and cut along the lines. They may be a little hard to see on the black cardstock, but they should still be visible enough to allow you to cut out the butterfly’s body.

Be careful when you get to the antennae—they’re thinner than the rest of the design and may be a little tricky to cut!

9. Cut Butterfly Wings

Once the Mod Podge is completely dry, grab firm hold of the sheet protector to prevent the template from moving, and use scissors to cut along the lines of the butterfly wings.

As you cut, it may get a little harder to hold the template in place. If you’re concerned about that, feel free to trace along the lines with a pencil before you start cutting. That way, if the template moves, you can simply keep cutting along the pencil-drawn lines.

10. Glue Butterfly Body

Cover one butterfly body with glue and press the wings on top of it. Then, cover the other butterfly body with glue and press it on top so that the two bodies are facing each other and the wings are pressed in between them.

11. Let Glue Dry

Let your suncatcher rest for a bit to give the school glue a chance to dry. 

12. Hang on Window

Once the glue is dry, use adhesive tape to stick the suncatcher to your window.

If you have it (I didn’t), you can use double-sided tape.

If not, use regular tape and fold it onto itself so that it forms a loop. (The sticky side of the tape should be on the outside of the loop.) Then, press the loop onto as many parts of the butterfly wings and body as needed, and press the butterfly against a window.

Isn’t it just gorgeous? We may have to pick out some more tissue paper colours and create some friends for our butterfly!

Related Butterfly Crafts

Looking for some more fun butterfly crafts to do at home this summer? Check out this article:

• Bubble Wrap Butterflies (with Free Template!)

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