Hi there! The birds above have been made with rice paper – beautiful, durable, translucent paper with rice fibre in – most rice paper is made in Japan. I like these birds because the light shines through them. You could use tissue paper – also beautiful and translucent, but not quite so durable. Tissue paper fades fast. Oh well, then you can just make some more. Or you can make birds with any kind of paper. Follow along, and see how!!
Some of you received a packet of scrap papers wrapped up in wax paper. A paper play parcel. If you didn’t receive one and you would like to receive one, send me your name and your mailing address, including how many people in your family would like to participate. (Don’t forget the adults!) I will mail you an envelope with some lovely paper scraps. There is no charge for this.(You can pay it forward if you like, perhaps donating to your local food bank or some other offering.)
Maybe you will just collect papers around your house – check for magazines, tin can labels, other labels, wrapping paper, magazines, advertisements.
When you have your collection of papers, it is fun to take a close look at them.To me, scraps of paper are just like treasures!! Spread them out on a table…you could sort them according to favourites: most favourite of all, sort of favourites, and ones you don’t like. You could sort them according to colour. You could notice their edges – some are torn and some are cut with scissors. You could notice their textures – smooth or bumpy, shiny or scratchy…You can hold them up to the light and see if the light shines through them or not. In some cases, you can imagine their previous life (gum wrapper – what kind of gum? who chewed it? when?)
You could make almost anything in the world with this small collection of scrap paper. But, I’ll tell you what. Let’s start simple. Let’s start with a bird. (it just so happens that I am wild about birds!!)
1.The Simplest Bird (aka the organic bird)
Supplies needed: paper, fingers to tear, scissors, a glue stick, cardboard (like from a cereal carton) and a pen or a pencil. Optional: wax paper is nice to do your glueing on and then you table or floor doesn’t get all sticky. Ribbons, feathers, odd bits can make your bird feel very loved.
- Make a template of a bird. It is best if you draw a template of a bird on cardboard, outlining your bird in marker and then cutting it out. Make sure your bird is not too small – a good size is
Pick your favorite pieces of paper and tear them into small scraps – about the size of one or two loonies, or maybe even three loonies. They don’t need to be round like a loonie, and they do not need to be torn neatly.