Make a paper roll firefly craft that lights up in the dark, just like a real one! There is a shape template available for download.
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Last week I shared a light-up firefly art project, picturing fireflies dotting the twilight sky like stars.
You know how it goes, one idea sparks another, so today I’m sharing a second light-up firefly craft. This one is based on a single insect.
We don’t see many fireflies around here (none at all, to be exact), so I designed this one from a picture. During the crafting process, I was getting comments like ‘is that going to be a cockroach Mum?’, and ‘Don’t fireflies have red on them?’
No, it’s not a cockroach, and maybe some fireflies do have red on them, but in MY version he’s silhouetted against the night sky with his bright, luminescent butt lit up. Just like the one in the picture below.
Here is the paper roll version with the lights switched off.
To make the firefly craft light up I’ve used a battery-operated LED candle (affiliate link). We have a stash of them leftover from our egg carton reef project.
Once you’ve had enough of your firefly decoration, you can reuse the LED lights into other light-up craft projects.
Let’s get crafting!
How to make a paper roll firefly craft
You will need:
- an empty paper towel roll (toilet rolls will be too short)
- Black, yellow, and white acrylic paint
- glue stick
- yellow tissue paper
- Black card stock
- double-sided tape
- An LED candle
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
- Stapler
- The printable template, available from our Digital Downloads library
Get the Firefly template
The firefly template is free to download when you subscribe to our email newsletter via the form below
How to:
Print the template out onto white paper.
Cut around the outline on the bug body shape.
Flatten your paper roll by squashing it with your hands. Trace the bug body shape onto the paper roll and cut it out while squashed.
Pop the bug body shape back into a rounded cylinder, and paint it. The top half needs to be painted black and the bottom yellow. You can omit painting the bottom half if you like because it’s going to be covered up by tissue paper. However, since tissue paper is not completely opaque, I painted the cardboard underneath it yellow to avoid dark colours being visible through it.
Cut the eyes away from the second template, and staple the rest of it to a sheet of black cardstock. Place a staple in each corner and cut the shapes out, so that you get a black version of each shape. You can discard the white version.
Glue the eyes on.
Place a piece of double-sided tape around the top and bottom of the abdomen, and carefully roll it up in a sheet of tissue paper. Use a glue stick to stick on a second sheet of tissue paper. Trim any overhanging tissue paper away with scissors.
Bend the legs so they are poking out at 90º angles and glue them on. Stick the wings on (either glue or double-sided tape works).
Paint a smile on with a thin white paintbrush.
To light your firefly up, place him over an LED candle.
These guys make a cute DIY nightlight idea.
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