Add a touch of whimsy to your DIY home decor, birthday party, wedding, shop window, or other parties and special events with a butterfly tree centerpiece! (First published June 6, 2016; this post is regularly updated and republished to improve the content.)
A DIY butterfly tree makes a gorgeous party decoration or centerpiece for dining tables, entry tables, nature tables, weddings, and special events. And I’ve also seen a few in shopping display windows that look fantastic since this post was published. Learn how to make a butterfly tree with the step-by-step instructions below, and decorate a DIY butterfly tree today!
My daughter loves decorating trees so much; we have a tree that we decorate for every season. We turn our Easter egg tree into this gorgeous butterfly tree after Easter, decorate a thankful tree in the Fall, and make our own ornaments to decorate a Christmas tree in the winter.
This butterfly tree craft makes lovely spring and summer DIY home decor. So we like to use it as a centerpiece on our dining table for special occasions in the spring and summer, but we keep it on our nature table. And a butterfly tree would also make a great decoration or centerpiece for a wedding, birthday party, or another special event in the spring or summer.
Related: DIY Monarch Butterfly Peg Dolls
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How to Make a Butterfly Tree Centerpiece
Making a butterfly tree is an easy and fun way to add spring or summer DIY decor to your home. Children love decorating them as much as Christmas trees!
When my husband and I ran a daycare out of our home several years ago, our butterfly tree was always a hit with the little ones. So if you have toddlers or preschoolers around, please make sure you put this beautiful tree far out of reach, or your children will take all of the butterflies.
Butterfly trees also make a gorgeous party decoration or DIY wedding centerpiece. Just imagine butterflies
flying everywhere! You might also enjoy making and decorating a Thankful Tree with clay gratitude leaves.
DIY Butterfly Tree Supplies
- Natural bare branches
, white branches, or a small twig tree - Vase (Not needed if you purchase a twig tree.)
- Sand, pebbles, rocks, or another vase filler (Not needed if you purchase a twig tree.)
- Floral feather butterflies, butterflies, and more butterflies (Or decorate with your favorite homemade butterfly crafts.)
- Bees and floral dragonflies or birds (optional decorations for your DIY tree.)
, 
, or a small 
, 
(optional decorations for your DIY tree.)
Related: Butterfly Sensory Bottle Calm Down Jar
DIY Butterfly Tree Centerpiece Step-by-Step Directions
Use the step-by-step instructions below to make beautiful butterfly centerpieces for your home, workplace, or special event. Invite kids, family, friends, or co-workers to help you make and decorate this butterfly craft.
1. Collect or purchase bare branches for the butterfly tree.
- Go on a nature hunt to collect some small bare branches for your DIY butterfly tree. Kids love this activity!
- If going on a nature hunt for bare branches is not your thing, you can purchase bare branches, white branches, or a small twig tree instead.
instead.2. Paint branches white (optional).
- Leave bare branches natural, or use spray paint to paint them white, as shown in the photographs.
- Allow the paint to dry if you choose this option.
- Skip this step if you purchase white branches or use a twig tree.
to paint them white, as shown in the photographs. 3. Put bare branches in a vase to create a tree for the butterflies.
- Place the branches in a vase and arrange them to your liking.
- Skip this step if you are using a twig tree.
and arrange them to your liking.4. Add filler to the vase.
- Add sand, pebbles, or another vase filler to fill in the spaces around the branches, secure the branches, and weigh the centerpiece down so the vase does not tip over from the weight of the branches or when you decorate the butterfly tree.
- Skip this step if you are using a twig tree.
, 
, or another 5. Attach pom-poms to butterfly tree branches (optional).
- Glue pom-poms in spring or summer colors onto the branches of your bare-branch tree so it looks similar to this Thankful Tree. (optional)
in spring or summer colors onto the branches of your bare-branch tree so it looks similar to this 6. Place butterflies on the tree to decorate it
- Invite children, friends, or family to decorate the butterfly tree.
- Decorating a tree with butterflies, bees, dragonflies, or birds makes lovely DIY home decor, window shop decoration, and a gorgeous centerpiece for a wedding, birthday party, or another special event!
Related: How to Make an Easter Tree
DIY Centerpiece for Homes and Weddings
A DIY Butterfly tree is a lovely DIY centerpiece for any dining table, entry table, or summer nature table. It can add a gorgeous spring or summer element to your home decor or shop window.
Butterfly trees also make a simple DIY party decoration for birthday parties and other special events and a gorgeous DIY wedding centerpiece.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
DIY Centerpiece Ideas:
- How to Make a Thankful Tree with Real Leaves
- DIY Thankful Tree with Clay Gratitude Leaves
- How to Make an Easter Tree Centerpiece
- Top 10 Thankful Trees For Thanksgiving
Butterfly Craft Ideas
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OMG this looks so nice! Just a wonderful idea and looks simple enough to do it by yourself. Thank you for sharing this.
So glad you like it, Mandy! It is super simple to make, a lot of fun, and looks gorgeous when finished. Enjoy!
COMO HAGO LAS MARIPOSAS
Great question Teresa,
These types of butterflies are sold attached to wire that you wrap around the branch to hang the butterflies. Another option is to make your own butterfly crafts and hang them with string, ribbon, fishing line, or attach them with tape. I hope that helps!