Try out these fun different crafts using just coffee filters and supplies you likely have at home. Haley will lead you through the steps to creating your own tie-dye art, a water-color sun catcher, a 3-D flower, or all three!

Diffusion Art:

You’ll need a tray, a coffee filter, washable markers, and water.

Optionally, you can also use card stock to create a fun painting.

  1. Color the coffee filter with markers. White spaces are fine, as the color with spread out once we add water.
  2. Take the coffee filter and lay it on the tray. (If you want to use the card stock go create a colorful painting, place that under the coffee filter now.)
  3. Spray or gently pour water onto the coffee filter and let it sit until the colors have stopped spreading (about 10 to 20 seconds).
  4. You can let this dry on the tray, on a flat surface, or on the card stock. Do not dry these on top of paper towels, as they will soak up most of the color.

Watercolor Sun Catcher:

You will need a tray, a coffee filter, watercolor paint, a paint brush, and a cup filled with water to rinse the brush .

You can use the marker method for this craft if you do not have paint at home.

Optionally, you can add a paper cutout to your sun catcher that will look like a shadow once light shines through it. For this, you will need a piece of dark blue or black construction paper, a writing utensil, scissors, and glue.

  1. Place the coffee filter on the tray.
  2. Use the watercolor paint and paintbrush to color the coffee filter, leaving little to no white space.
  3. Let this dry on the tray or another flat surface.
  4. Your sun catcher is ready to be taped or otherwise secured to a window! If you want to add the shadow design, continue through the next steps.
  5. Trace a design on your construction paper.
  6. Cut out the design.
  7. Glue the cut-out to the sun catcher.

Flowers:

For every flower you make, you will need 1 to 4 coffee filters depending on the thickness you want and 1 pipe cleaner. If you don’t have pipe cleaners at home, a staples or scotch tape will work.

You can leave the coffee filters white or follow either the marker or watercolor methods used in our first two crafts to color your coffee filters.

  1. If you’re using colored coffee filters, make sure they are dry before you begin.
  2. Decide how many filters you want to use for your flower (1 to 4).
  3. Stack the filters on top of each other.
  4. Fold the filters in half.
  5. Fold them in half a second time.
  6. Grab one side and fold over as if you will be folding the entire stack a third time, but then fold the piece you are holding back on itself.
  7. Flip the stack over and repeat the previous step. You should have a triangular piece with two long, straight sides and one short, curved side.
  8. Hold the stack vertically with the thickest side facing upward. About 1.5 to 2 inches above the skinny end, secure your pipe cleaner to the flower by wrapping it tightly around the filters until you have a stem.
  9. If you don’t have pipe cleaners, use a stapler or piece of scotch tape to secure your filters together in the same place so the flower stays together.
  10. Gently peel apart the layers of the flower and spread them out until the flower looks as full as want it to. You’re all finished!

– Haley, Youth Services Assistant