Facebook Email Flipboard Pinterest Reddit

Dragonflies are dazzling insects that are a sure sign of spring when they zip and zoom through the air. They are also the perfect inspiration for a spring art project!

Kids can bring the wonder of dragonflies to life with this 3D dragonfly craft! They’ll paint a beautiful sunset background and create a dragonfly that looks ready to fly right off the page.

This colorful, hands-on project combines painting, rolling, cutting, and gluing to create a unique piece of art that pops right off the paper.

Check out even more cheerful spring crafts to celebrate the season and get kids in on some hands-on springtime fun!

Colorful 3D dragonfly crafts for kids made from paper chains, with bright wings and a watercolor background. The image highlights a free template for the craft, perfect for a fun and easy DIY activity.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and a participant in other affiliate programs, I earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Read our disclosure policy.

Dragonfly Art Project

This fun activity helps little artists practice fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and creative expression.

As they roll paper for the dragonfly’s body, carefully cut out the wings, and glue everything into place, they’ll be strengthening their grip, refining scissor skills, and exploring different art techniques.

Download the free template, gather a few simple supplies, and let the creative process begin! Kids will love watching their dragonflies come to life as they build and assemble each piece.

Supplies

Colored cardstock
Watercolor paper
Bleeding tissue paper (it must be bleeding; regular tissue paper won’t work)
Scissors
Glue
Paintbrush
Dragonfly Template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)

Click here to see our favorite kids’ craft supplies.

Directions

Start by downloading and printing the dragonfly template, then cut out all the pieces together. This is a great chance to practice those scissor skills!

Printable dragonfly craft template featuring cut-out shapes for the head, body, wings, and eyes, held by hands over a white surface with a purple fabric background.

Take the wing pieces and start layering them! Glue the smaller wing piece on top of the larger wings to create a layered effect.

Hands assembling a colorful dragonfly craft with blue and yellow paper wings on a white surface, with a purple fabric background.

Now, let’s create a beautiful sunset background! Tear small pieces of colorful tissue paper and arrange them on a white sheet of paper.

Hands arranging torn pieces of colorful tissue paper on a white surface, with a brush and a cup of water nearby.

Click here to see why I recommend these craft supplies

Use a paintbrush and water to gently brush over the tissue paper. Watch as the colors bleed and blend together to create a magical effect! Let it dry before removing the tissue paper.

Hands using a paintbrush to apply water over colorful tissue paper, allowing the colors to bleed onto the white surface for a vibrant bleeding tissue paper art project.

Once your background is dry, it’s time to add the cattails! Start by gluing the brown oval paper pieces onto the background to create the cattail tops.

Hands placing brown oval paper cutouts on a vibrant, watercolor-style background.

Now, take a brown marker and draw stems beneath the cattails.

Hands drawing stems with a brown marker beneath oval paper cutouts on a colorful background.

Let’s make them even more realistic! Use the same brown marker to draw a small line on top of each cattail. This adds some detail and makes them look more natural.

Hands drawing lines on top of oval paper cutouts with a brown marker on a colorful watercolor background.

Next, glue the green paper leaves at the bottom of the cattails to complete the background.

Hands attaching green paper leaves to a cattail craft on a colorful watercolor background.

Now comes the fun part—adding the dragonfly’s wings! Glue the layered yellow and blue wings above the cattails, setting the stage for your dragonfly to take flight.

Hands placing a large yellow and blue paper dragonfly above a cattail craft on a colorful watercolor background.

To give your dragonfly a fun, 3D look, take the small paper strips and roll them into tube shapes, then glue the ends together to hold their shape. These will form the dragonfly’s body segments!

Hands rolling a piece of pink paper into a tube shape on a white surface, with a purple fabric background.

Take those rolled paper tubes and glue them down, one by one, to create your dragonfly’s body. It’s so fun watching it come to life in 3D!

Hands attaching rolled paper tubes in shades of pink and purple to form the body of a dragonfly craft on a colorful watercolor background.

Finally, glue on the eyes at the top of the dragonfly’s head! Now your dragonfly is complete and ready to “fly” on your beautiful background.

Hands attaching eyes to the top of a rolled paper tube dragonfly craft on a colorful watercolor background.

This dragonfly craft is a fun and creative way for kids to explore colors and textures while making their little masterpieces!

We hope your little ones had a blast bringing their dragonfly to life. Looking for more spring craft ideas? Check out our easy spring bug crafts to keep the creativity blooming!

A handmade 3D dragonfly craft with a purple rolled paper body, yellow and blue wings, and eyes, displayed on a colorful watercolor background featuring cattails and green paper grass. A hand is holding the artwork.

Butterfly Name Craft

Insect Books For Kids

The Very Quiet Cricket– Everyone loves Eric Carle and this book is just as good as all his others! In it, a cricket is trying to discover how to make a sound, but when he rubs his legs together nothing happens. Follow him on his journey to find his very own sound! Kids love the ending where he and your child can hear the chirping!

Bugs A to Z is a great introductory insect book for kids. It’s great for kids to browse through and look at pictures and to find a short snippet about each bug.

Ten Little Ladybugs – This cute book is not only fun to read, but also fun to touch! Kids will want to read this book day after day and it helps them learn to count.

Two completed 3D dragonfly crafts with rolled paper tube bodies and colorful wings, set against a watercolor background with cattails and green leaves.

Spring Kids Crafts

Spring Name Craft – Let’s make a splash with this rainy day activity! Kids can create their stormy scene while practicing spelling their names in a fun, hands-on way.

Their names take center stage in the raindrops falling from a thundercloud. Download the free editable template and watch their creativity pour onto the page!

collage image of 4 Spring Kids Crafts for Kid

Bee Paper Cup Craft – Get kids buzzing with creativity this spring by turning a paper cup into a cute little bee! It’s the perfect project for little ones to learn about insects like busy bees while practicing their fine motor skills. Watch kids fly into action with this fun activity making their own buzzing bee!

Fork Painted Bee Craft

Ladybug Tissue Paper Craft – This eye-catching ladybug will get kids practicing their fine motor skills by scrunching and gluing colorful tissue paper to our free template.

This fun project is a fantastic way to learn about ladybugs while working on hand-eye coordination. Download the template and watch these little bugs come to life!

Baa Baa Black Sheep – Baa baa black sheep, have you made a craft today? This adorable project is perfect for springtime or anytime you’re exploring nursery rhymes! Kids will love reciting the rhyme while working on their scissors skills, fine motor abilities, and language development.

Free Printable Spring Activities

Let’s get learning with these ladybug worksheets! They are a fantastic way for kids to learn about these spotted insects while practicing key skills. Each page is packed with engaging activities like handwriting, letter recognition, scissor practice, and fine motor development.

They’ll trace the letter ‘Ll’ and the word ‘ladybug’, label the parts of a ladybug, and tackle a letter maze! Download this set to give your little ones a buzzing good time.

collage image of 4 Printable Spring Activities for Kids

Leap into some fun with these frog cutting practice worksheets! Your young learners will complete these pages to help them strengthen h;and-eye coordination, scissor skills, and hand strength. As they cut along the lines, trace, and count, they’ll also practice matching and problem-solving.

These engaging activities are not only a great way to develop fine motor skills, but they’ll also keep kids entertained as they hop through each challenge. Download and print to get cutting!

Spring Pattern Block Mats

Spring into learning with these fun and engaging spring worksheets! They’re designed just for young learners to have some springtime fun while completing patterns with birds, flowers, and ladybugs while strengthening their critical thinking skills.

They’ll also work on letter recognition in the R letter maze and practice writing with the “R is for Rabbit” worksheet. These activities are perfect for kids to build fine motor skills and have a blast this spring! Grab the markers and scissors to get started!

A hand holding a completed 3D dragonfly craft with a rolled orange paper tube body, blue wings, and googly eyes, set against a colorful watercolor background with cattails and green leaves.

Flowers aren’t the only thing growing this spring – so are little one’s minds with these fun spring I Spy printables! These worksheets combine counting, matching, and coloring with exciting springtime images like flowers, clouds, and ladybugs.

Preschoolers and Kindergarteners will sharpen their observation skills and practice writing numbers while having a blast. Since these no-prep worksheets are quick to download and print, they’re great for rainy days, quiet time, or as part of your lessons.

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

More Spring Activities

No ratings yet