Paper Bird Ornaments – tutorial including free pattern

Each year when we pull out the box of Christmas ornaments to decorate the tree there are a few that I especially look forward to.  For as long as I can remember, one of my favorites was finding a small box which contained the paper birds. These birds were printed on heavy cardstock and consisted of five parts which slotted together to create a three-dimensional bird.  I loved matching up all the pieces and assembling these paper birds.

Several years ago, I decided to recreate these birds myself.  I found these patterns designed for woodcrafting, and adapted them to create bird ornaments similar to those from my childhood.  At the time I made several bird ornaments and gave them as holiday gifts to my family. As I was cleaning the craftroom recently, I came across the templates and several more bird ornaments I had traced onto watercolor paper but had never completed.

Here is the start to painting with the first color applied to each piece and waiting to dry.

Although I originally associated these with Christmas, once I rediscovered the patterns, I thought it was perfect timing to bring the cheerful birds heralding the return of spring inside.  The process to put these together is easy and you can use any medium you like to decorate them. I love the look of watercolor, but feel free to use markers, crayons, colored pencils, or other paints.

Materials to make your paper bird ornaments

You will want to gather your materials for this project before you get started.  

Paper Bird Ornament Materials:

• Download and printout the Paper Birds Template
• Heavy cardstock or watercolor paper
• Watercolors (or coloring medium of your choice)
• Sharp scissors
• Ornament hook, fishing line, or thread/ribbon of your choice to hang the ornaments
• Large darning needle or small hole punch

Making your paper bird ornaments

All pieces painted on one side and cut out, waiting to be flipped and painted on the opposite side.

Cut out the shapes from the template sheet and trace them onto your cardstock or watercolor paper.  If you are making several birds, you may want to create templates out of thin cardboard for durability over multiple tracings.  For each bird, you will need: one body, two wings, one tail, one wing/body/hanger connector. Note that the tail and connector are the same for all birds, but wings and body shapes are different based on the species of bird.

Once you have all your shapes traced on your cardstock/watercolor paper, decorate using your chosen medium.  Wait until all decorations are dry and cut out your pieces. Now flip them over, paying attention to which pieces go to which birds and decorate the other side, approximately matching what you did on the first side.

Using an upholstery needle to punch the hanging hole in the connector.

After both sides are decorated and dry, refer to the template sheet pieces for the notches.  Depending on the thickness of your paper, you may need only one single snip with the scissors on the notch to fit your paper together.  If however, you are using a thicker paper and the pieces are skewing when assembled, make a second snip right next to the first to create a very thin gap.  

Use either your darning needle or small hole punch to put a hole in the center of the top of the connector to hang your bird from.  I would suggest waiting until your bird is fully assembled before adding your hanging ribbon/thread/hook as it will be harder to work around while assembling the bird.

Assembling your paper bird ornaments

To assemble your birds, start with the connector, match notches at right angles between the base of the connector and the top of the body.  Add the wings onto the connector with the wing tips facing backward and curve of the wings facing down. Finally, add the tail to the body at right angles using the notches. I promise, this is much easier to do than to write!

What to do with all your birds?

If you enjoy this project as much as I do, you might have several paper birds looking for a home!  I love the idea of picking up a few pretty twigs outside (make sure they are clean, dry and insect free before bringing them inside), and then using those and some fishing line to create a mobile.  

Since these disassemble to be flat, you could also tuck one into a card and mail it off to a friend who needs a little pick-me-up.  Or maybe just hang a few in front of your windows to bring the spirit of spring inside.

Hoping you enjoy creating these birds as much as I do!