Monarch Butterfly Papel Picado Template
A monarch butterfly with spotted wings sits inside a round window. Its body is a strip of paper that holds both wings and connects them to the rest of the sheet.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Fold
- Folded in half
- Cutting time
- About 35 minutes
- Paper
- Letter-size (8.5 × 11 in) tissue paper
About this design
Monarch butterflies reach central Mexico for the winter around the beginning of November. In parts of Michoacán and the State of Mexico, people say they carry the souls of loved ones returning to visit.
How to cut this template
- Download the PDF and print it at 100% on letter-size paper.
- Stack two to four sheets of tissue paper behind the template.
- Fold everything in half along the dashed line, template on the outside.
- Clip the layers and cut away the gray areas, starting with the bottom edge.
- Unfold slowly, fold the top band over a string and glue it.
Tips
- Do not cut the narrow strip in the middle: it is the butterfly’s body and it holds both wings.
- Cut the wing spots before the big round window.
- Orange tissue on top of a black sheet makes a striking two-layer monarch.
