Paper roll birdhouse for little egg carton birds

There have been so many of these sweet little egg carton birds popping up here over the years, and I thought it was about time they had a home! The birdhouse is made from one toilet paper roll (or part of a kitchen roll) and really doesn't take long to do.

You will need:

Toilet paper roll

Scissors

Craft glue

Paper clips or similar (laundry pegs work too!)

Paint or pens to decorate

Egg carton (for the bird)

Black pen

1. If you want to paint your birdhouse, do that first, and when the paint's dry, flatten the tube with your hand, pressing firmly along the two creases.

If you're keen to decorate your bird house with felt-tips or marker pens, it's best to do that now, when the tube is flat. That's how we did the flowery and the striped one above. (I used a thick marker pen for the stripes)

2. Draw a pencil line across the tube that's below the halfway mark. Our tube was roughly 10cm high, so we drew the line across about 4cm from the bottom edge.

3. Line up the two creases in the middle, and press down on the tube again on a flat surface. Press firmly along the sides, to make another two creases.

You've now made four evenly spaced corners and turned the circular tube into a square shape, but keep it flat for now.

4. Continue the pencil line across the tube.

5. Squeeze into shape, and cut down all four corner creases to the pencil line on the longer part of the tube. (see pic below)

6. Bend one of the flaps forward, folding it firmly on the pencil line.

7. You then need to fold it back on itself, leaving a little shelf or ledge jutting out. Press firmly along this crease too.

8. Pull the flap back, brush a little glue in the crease and press into place again. Use something like paper clips or a laundry peg to hold it while the glue dries.

9. Now fold the flaps either side. You need to fold them out, so they're just below the little shelf you've just made. (see pic below). And even. Press firmly along the creases.

10. To make the roof of the birdhouse, bend these two side pieces inwards now, pressing the ceases the other way. So you're bringing the two flaps towards each other.

Brush some glue along the very top edge of one side (don't use too much glue or brush it too far down the card).

Use paper clips or something similar to hold the top of the roof together while it dries.

11. When it's dry, take the clip off and press the top of the roof down with your finger, to get it back into shape.

13. Cut the card away at the back, roughly following the contours of the roof.

14. I've already written a few tutorials for the little birds, but here's a quick reminder.

Roughly cut out an egg carton cone from the carton, and cut around the cone, just above the bumpy cardboard joins.

To make this easier you could draw a rough line around the cone, just above the cardboard join. Cut up to the line at an angle, then cut along the line.

15. Once your cone is cut out, draw a pencil line around the cone, about halfway up. Don't worry if the line is a bit wobbly, it's just a guide.

16. Cut up the four corners to the pencil line, and bend three of the flaps out, folding on the line. Cut these three flaps off.

17. The remaining one is the tail feathers. Shorten this if you want.

18. You can either cut out wings (teardrop shape) from the little bits of left over card, or simply draw on wings with a black pen after you've painted your bird.

19. Set your bird on top of a spare cone, this makes the painting a lot easier.

20. Dot on eyes with a black pen near the very top of your bird's head. Paint or draw on a beak just below the eyes. Or cut out a little orange/yellow triangle and glue it on with a glue stick.

Birds of a feather - easy egg carton craft

I'm really fond of these little birds, and they're easy to make.

You'll need:
1 egg box
Small feathers
PVA/craft glue
Nail scissors (to make holes)
paint
fine black felt tip pen

1. First, roughly cut a cone from the egg box - this makes it easier to work with. We measured 3cm from the top and marked each side (make it any size you want though). Join the marks and cut along the line. Measuring helps keep the cone base nice and even.

2.  Paint the cone any colour you like.
Putting it on your finger is a handy way to paint the bottom edges.

3. When dry, choose the side you want for the front and with a fine black felt-tip or gel pen draw eyes close to the top.

4. Use the nail scissors to make a small hole in the top and one at the back (about 1cm from the bottom). Keep the scissors closed, press down and twist carefully from side to side. If you're making the birds with kids, always supervise this part, or make the holes yourself.

5. Dab some glue behind the holes and push a suitable feather in each one - small and fluffy for the head plume and a little longer and showy for the tail feathers. We got these lovely colourful speckled ones from The Works, but you can buy them online too.

6. For the wings, you'll need 2 little fluffy feathers or if none are small enough, cut pieces from the top of a larger one. Brush a very thin layer of glue on the sides (so it doesn't stick through the features) and stick them down.

7. Just below the eyes dot a small but thick blob of yellow paint with a fine paintbrush, and leave to dry.

OR, if you'd like a sticky-out beak, cut a thin strip of cereal box card, colour it with a yellow felt tip, snip a V at one end and cut off about a cm.
Make a horizontal slot below the eyes with the nails scissors (keep closed, press and twist gently). Dab a little glue behind the slot and push the beak into place.

Easter egg carton birds in a tree

This cardboard Easter Tree is simple to make, looks sweet, holds sweets, and can be played with too, so, hopefully the kids will like it!

Flying birds made from an egg carton

It's been a long time since I shared any new Make Your Own Zoo projects here, but now the book's out, I really wanted to show you these - simple, colourful flying parrots. 

When you spend a silly amount of time looking at egg boxes, you start seeing things....  these birds are made from the piece between the egg cups - have a look: 

...there’s the moulded part in the middle for the body, and the curve of the egg cups either side for the wings.

And the best part is, if you turn it upside down, you have another flying bird shape - this time with wings down.

So, all you need is:

egg boxes

PVA craft glue

paint

general purpose scissors

straight-edged nail scissors

(all cutting should be supervised)

paper clip

needle

thread (about 50cm)

black felt tip pen

1. Start by drawing the bird shape in the box (see above), so you get the wings looking even, and make them as full as you can - draw right to the bottom of the egg cups. I’ve used a black marker to make the shape nice and clear - better though to use a pencil.

2. Cut out roughly first, then neaten up around the edges. Small scissors are great for this. 

wings up

wings down

Decide whether you want wings up or down.

wings up

wings down

3. We made two different tail feather shapes and cut them out of the egg box lid. 

The top of the tail feather piece needs to fill the groove, right up to the head, giving your bird a better body shape.

4. Before gluing in place, you might want to snip out some long zigzags, to make it look more feathery. You can do the same to the wings too.

5. Glue the tail feathers on top, if your bird has wings down, and underneath for wings up.

wings down

wings up

With the 'wings up' bird, push the tail feather piece into the groove where it joins the wings. If you need to, use a paper clip to hold in place while it dries. We couldn’t find a paper clip, so used a clothes peg... 

wings up

6. Painting time! Have fun with lots of bright colours.

Don’t forget to paint underneath too.

Paint the face a light colour so you will be able to see the eyes and beak.

7.  While the paint’s drying, make beaks. Cut a thin strip of cereal box card (about 5mm wide) and colour both sides black (a sharpie or something similar is good for this).

8. Round off one corner like so, for a hooked beak shape, and snip no more than 1cm from the strip. Make as many as you need.

9. When your parrots are dry, use the nail scissors to make a vertical slot for the beak (keep the scissors closed, press down and twist slightly from side to side - don’t push too hard!) 

Snip the slot to make it the right size for the beak. Brush a little glue on the end of the tab (or behind the head if there’s room) and push the beak into place. Dot on eyes with the black pen.

TIP: For a quicker, easier option, just draw on a beak with the black pen and dot eyes either side. 

10. Thread a needle, tie a good knot in the end and push it up through the middle of your bird, from underneath (probably best done by an adult). Don’t worry if it tilts up or down (it most likely will) as this adds to the flying effect! 
Put a dab of glue on the knot, to help it hold.

One tip to get a 'wings up' bird flying straight, is to find a mid-point where it balances on the end of the needle - easier than it sounds, honest! Press the needle in, just a little, underneath - try different spots until the bird balances. 

EXTRA STEP FOR WINGS DOWN BIRD

You may notice some of our wings down parrots have their claws showing, as if they’re coming into land. To do this, keep an extra bit of the join with the middle cone when you’re cutting out the basic shape, like so. Trim and paint.

In the book there’s an Aviary you can make for your flying birds, but they also look good as hanging decorations - or what about a string of flying parrots? 

Or maybe a mobile?

Many more projects like this in my craft books, 'Make Your Own Zoo' and 'Make Your Own Farm Animals'