Zip-Lock Butterfly Bags

I saw this butterfly idea ages ago, maybe on Pintrest (but I think this is the original post/photo over at Juggling with Kids (see here) however I think she got her idea from here). 

Most people have used them as a fun way to distribute snacks. As birthday parties often have way too many lollies (quite okay to go into a sugar-coma if you're 10...but not so good for toddlers) I decided to put something just as fun - play-dough!  

So, after making all the rainbow play-dough for the party, we made another large batch to put in all the butterflies to give out in the take-home party bags. 

Zip-Lock Butterfly Bags

Materials/Equipment:

• Wooden pegs
• Paint (2-3 colours) 
• Small zip-lock bags
• Pipe-cleaners
• Glue
• Something to fill them: Lollies/Snacks/Fruit/Play-dough
• Other: glitter, puff-paint, googlie eyes, blueberries, grapes, trail-mix, goldfish crackers, cereal, nuts/seeds/dried fruit (older children). 

Method: 

1. Decorate pegs (paint pegs; you could also use glitter glue). You can paint one side or two (I did two). Set aside to dry. If you want your butterflies to see, apply some googlie eyes to the pinching end (we ran out of time to source some). 
2. Cut pipe-cleaners in half to make the antennae  Bend in half and curl edges outwards. 
3. Hold your fingers in the middle of the zip-lock-bag to prevent the filling from crossing over. Half-fill with play-dough (or whatever you want). Don't overfill or you won't be able to clip the peg on. 
4. Clip the peg on from underneath and press the pipe-cleaner antennae in the top. 

A rabble of butterflies

Together with some other party-bag items