How to Craft a Butterfly out of Clothing Shoulder Pads

Children like to make crafts, whether as a hobby, to alleviate boredom, or as part of a party or get together. You can craft a butterfly using clothing shoulder pads with little to no mess or cost.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Two shoulder pads from the inside of clothing
• Colored pipe cleaners
• Moving eyes
• Non-toxic Decorative squeeze paints or markers
• Fabric glue
• Old t-shirt, or craft smock
• Newspaper or butcher paper

How to Craft a Shoulder Pad Butterfly

1. Carefully remove two shoulder pads from old clothing or from clothing you no longer want shoulder pads in. Some clothing manufacturers velcro the shoulder pads in, making removal easy. Make sure each pad is closed all around so that there is not any foam or internal content showing. The pads will act as the butterfly wings.
2. Wear old clothing or a craft smock while using markers or paints, so that any spills do not stain your own clothing. Be sure to lay down newspaper or butcher paper before beginning this project to avoid any mess onto your working surface. On a hard surface, using markers or fabric safe paint, decorate the top side of each shoulder pad. Set these aside and let them dry for ten to twenty minutes. Encourage light applications of paint; paint that is applied too thick will take a long time to dry and may become tacky.
3. Chose one colored pipe cleaner. This will be used for the body of the butterfly along with it's antennae. Next, bend the pipe cleaner in two, and twist the folded bend. Wrap each side of the pipe cleaner around one another for approximately three to four inches. You have now created the body of the butterfly, and should have the antennae able to move freely but still be attached to the body.
4. Make sure the paint or marker decorations on the shoulder pads are dry. Once dry, the butterfly is ready for construction. If the shoulder pads you are using have velcro on each side, place the body in between the velcro tabs and press the velcro pads together. If the shoulder pads do not have velcro to attach them together, apply fabric safe glue to a one to two inch area on both shoulder pads and place the butterfly pipe cleaner body onto the glued area. Take the other shoulder pad and place its glued area onto the exposed portion of the pipe cleaner butterfly body. Carefully press the three parts together, and let dry for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Gently check that the adhesive has dried after this time period. If not, let it sit a little while longer.
5. Gently bend the tops of the exposed antennae either in a downward bent fashion, or wind each in a downward spiral for an inch. Get funky with your antennae placement. Select two moving eyes and either glue them individually to each antennae, three inches from the top of the antennae. Hold them in place on the pipe cleaner for several minutes to make sure they are secure to the fuzzy surface of the cleaner.
6. The butterfly is complete and may now be displayed and enjoyed on top of a dresser, or hung from a string with a drapery hook on a curtain rod, or anywhere your crafts are displayed. Not including drying time, it only takes about 10 minutes to enjoy this craft. Even with drying time considered, total completion time should be approximately 45 minutes from start to finish.

Tips & Warnings

• Collecting several shoulder pads prior to constructing this project allows more than one child to participate at a time. Children like to share their accomplishments with their peers, and this is a great activity to help develop motor and social skills as well.
• Non-toxic markers could also be used.
• Old clothing or a craft smock should be worn, especially if the markers or paints are permanent.
• Non-toxic and non-super glue should be used for this project.
• Children under 3 should not construct this project unless supervised by an adult because the moving eyes could be a choking hazard.