It is officially SPRING and these mixed media birds are perfect to add to your lessons this season.

I also love a good upcycle project that uses what you have on hand. In this case we used old denim and vintage maps. Dig around and see what materials you could reuse!

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Coordinate this activity with the lovely children’s book, Bird Watch, by Christie Matheson. This interactive book is perfect to study the various birds and encourage children to get outside and observe nature.

Materials to make your birds:

• Denim or fabric scraps (old, ripped jeans are perfect!)
• Paper in various colors or patterns (we used old maps, scrapbook paper, and colored cardstock)
• Buttons
• Twigs
• Glue

Step 1: Create a simple shape template for your bird body out of cardstock. This could be an oval, circle, tear drop, or leaf shape. Anything can resemble a bird!

Step 2: We used our bird template to trace it onto our denim, colored paper, and maps. This vintage atlas was from a second hand store and has been used many times for collage and mixed media projects.

We also cut out wings and beaks from our papers.

Step 3: Assemble your birds by gluing the wings, buttons for eyes, twigs for legs, and a beak. Let your bird dry before handling!

Pin for Later!

Looking for more bird or spring ideas? Try our Giant Cardboard Feathers, Upcycled Owls, or Paper Plate Nature Collages