Tag: coffee filters

Springtime Coffee Filter Art

1 Comment

 

With some leftover coffee filters in our craft bin, Veronika was able to make two lovely crafts today, both of which felt just right for springtime!

The first was a riff on classic butterfly art. Big brother Travis recently made a version involving lots of fine motor skills… All well and good for big kids, but I kept this toddler version simpler. First, Veronika covered the white filters with dot markers. Dot dot dot!

Once they were mostly covered, I handed over a spritz bottle for her favorite part. Veronika loved spritzing and watching the colors run together. Make sure to saturate completely, then set aside to dry.

Meanwhile, we painted old-fashioned clothespins for the butterfly bodies. I thought purple and yellow would be nice springtime colors, but hadn’t bargained on her mixing them together. The color ended up a bit muddied, as a result, but they were still pretty. Set those aside to dry as well.

To assemble, carefully slide a coffee filter onto each clothespin, scrunching as you go, then fan out the wings. What a pretty flutter of butterflies!

The second project was a bit more involved: coffee filter flowers! This time, we started with spin art, an old favorite. Place one filter in the bottom of a salad spinner and dribble a little paint on with a plastic spoon. We used a mix of purple, pink, and red paints.

Close the lid and let the spinner spin! Veronika loved being charge of making the spinner go and then stop with the brake button.

Lift up for the lovely reveal! We repeated to make four flowers, then set these aside to dry.

To help mold them into the shape of flower petals, we used this neat trick from Hands on as We Grow: press each filter over an empty soda can, then spray with liquid starch. Although not an item I’d normally use for a craft, it worked quite nicely.

Let dry, then glue down onto a construction paper background. We painted craft sticks green for flower stems and added a few green button leaves and a pom pom in the center of each.

April showers brought May flowers!

Coffee Filter Bunny

Leave a comment

Coffee Filter Bunny (6)

Easter comes early this year (April 4), which means Veronika and I are turning our attention to all things Easter crafts even though it’s still March. This adorable bunny craft was a great one to make as we talked about the Easter bunny.

Coffee Filter Bunny (1)

To start, set out white coffee filters and let your toddler decorate with dot markers. These are perfect for toddlers because the bright bold colors appear with just a little tap.

Coffee Filter Bunny (3)

While she was dotting, I traced bunny shapes onto brown cardstock. You’ll need a circle with two long ears for the bunny’s head, as well as four ovals for paws.

Coffee Filter Bunny (4)

Veronika loved seeing the design once it was laid out against white paper. “He has paws!” she said with delight. She helped use a glue stick to secure the little bunny down.

Coffee Filter Bunny (5)

Draw on a few final features and your Easter bunny is ready to hop! I did this part for Veronika, but preschoolers can use markers to make color on the faces and ears by themselves.

Apple Core Craft

Leave a comment

Apple Core Craft (6)

We’ve been reading books about apples for fall, so this cute apple core craft was a fun hands-on extension. Bonus points if you share a real apple snack afterwards!

To start, paint two coffee filters red and leave them to dry on paper plates. If you have a standard brown toilet paper tube, paint it white and let dry. I had one that was already white, which saved that step.

Apple Core Craft (2)

Once the paint dries, apply glue to both rims of the toilet paper tube and attach the red coffee filters. To make a stem, glue two green construction paper leaves to a craft stick and insert into the top of the apple.

Apple Core Craft (3)

Don’t forget to add a few seeds with black marker! If you have a preschooler, you might consider cutting the seeds from black construction paper instead and gluing on. This will be great for honing fine motor skills.

Apple Core Craft (4)

This craft was so great for talking about all the different parts of the apple, whether stem, leaves, flesh, core, or seeds. Veronika loved pointing to each portion as we talked about the name for each!

Apple Core Craft (5)

Coffee Filter Fish

Leave a comment

Coffee Fish (9).JPG

Pretty rainbow fish are lighting up our doors and windows these days! This is an easy activity you can do with your child almost any time, requiring only coffee filters and markers.

First, be sure to cover your work surface (things will get wet!) and prep your materials. You’ll need permanent marker for this craft, not the washable kind, which made Travis feel very grown up.

Before he even started coloring our white coffee filters, he grew impish… Who doesn’t just want to spray water?

Coffee Fish (1)

He slowed down once I demonstrated how to color in a filter as completely as possible for the best results, so the colors will bleed together. Then he got to soak my marker-covered filter.

Coffee FIsh (4)

Now he had the idea!

Coffee Fish (5)

He scribbled in various color combos, declaring this one was a library fish, that one was a doctor fish, etc.

Coffee Fish (6)

We left our filters to dry completely.

To complete the fish, cut a triangle from one part of each circle as the mouth.

Coffee Fish (7)

Glue the triangle onto the opposite side of the circle – voila, a tail!

Coffee Fish (8)

Finish by drawing in eyes, and hanging the fish some place where they will catch the sunlight.

Coffee Fish (10)

 

Zipline Butterflies

1 Comment

Zipline Butterfly (5)

We’ve been on a butterfly kick lately, and as a final cute project, we put together these coffee filter ones.

The toddler appeal here is that you need to use dot paints to decorate them – and you need to press down HARD. Travis didn’t need to be told twice – he loved pressing the paints and then lifting up to see if the color had bled through.

Zipline Butterfly (1)

Once he’d made as many dots as he could ever wish to, I opened up the filters to show him that we now had… symmetrical butterflies!

Zipline Butterfly (2)

When the paint dried, I twisted a pipe cleaner around the middle of each, twisting at the top to form two antennae. Tape the antennae to a small piece of plastic straw, and now your butterfly is ready to zip along!

Zipline Butterfly (3)

We attached a string in our kitchen and living room for the butterflies to fly. As an alternative, thread your string from tree branch to tree branch in warm weather, or have two adults hold the ends of the string so the butterflies can zip back and forth as you raise or lower your arms.

Zipline Butterfly (6)

One way or another, your toddler will be delighted.

Zipline Butterfly (4)