Bird Out of the Box

Since long I have been making paper birds from reused carton. A new challenge for me was maken them move. Since I posted the results of this challenge on instagram and Etsy, viewers asked me:"Do you give workshops?". So here is an online workshop on how to make "An owl flying out of the box ".

Please feel free to make variations with other birds, other mechanisms, other sizes, other materials.

a (used) cardboard box

Left over carton from groceries

Iron wire approx. 2,7 mm, 1,3 mm and 0,8 mm thick

hot glue gun

round and flat pliers

paper knife

optional: scissors

optional: a hole punch for the eyes

The box is made out of a reused cardboard box. Cut three squares 7 x 7 cm, and two rectangles 7 x 7,5 cm The 7,5 cm refers to 7 cm + 2 times thickness of the cardboard. This may vary.

Reinforce both sides with sturdy carton squares and punch a hole in the center

Cut off 18 cm of 2,5 mm wire. Bend is as the third photo shows. Do not bend the handle yet. attach two 30 cm lengths of 0,8 mm wire by twisting the end 5 times round the 2,5 mm wire. All wire parts are shown in the attached PDF

Bend a 50 cm long 1,3 mm wire in a U shape. Bend the ends outward as 2 cm feet. Place the ends inside the box and cover it with a cardboard square. Glue the square and wire firmly in place. Bend the log U shape as the picture shows. The ruler is helpful to make neat corners in the same place on both wires.

Bend the long end of the crank into a handle. Use two pliers, and secure the wire near the cardboard to not distort the hole in the cardboard

Look for pieces of packaging carton in the colour of your choice. Tip: the underside ( belly) of a bird is almost always lighter than the upper side ( back). Text or drawing on the carton does not matter. Look for an overall impression of colour. I like to tear the pieces apart, rather than cutting with scissors. It makes the bird more natural, more feathery like.

All paper parts are available in actual size on the attached PDF, but feel free to give it your own twist.

Tear/cut three strips of carton 12 cm long, 2 cm wide. glue them at the top together under an angle. Bend them and glue the other side together. The result should be like a little boat or banana peel. The ends will form a little fan shape, the start of the tail,

Fold a small rim inward at the head side

Tear or cut all necessary parts: in dark and in light colour each 2 wingtips and 2 wing base. Cut 4 0,8 mm wire parts of 14 cm and one 22 cm. Bend the short wires in "U" shape. Glue these U shapes between the dark and light wing parts, so that 1 cm is protruding. May be the wire is a bit to long. Then simply cut to the right length. Bend little hooks on the end to connect to the next piece. Close these hooks until they form a ring. In the center attach a rectangular piece of wire to the back with two paper strips and attach the wing to this body part. Coloured side of the back corresponds with the dark side of the wings.

Place the back of the bird on the U shaped wire from step 2. Glue two strips of carton over the wire to secure the back of the bird in place on the wire. It may be a good idea to work upside down like the pictures show.

The belly of the bird has a bend edge. Glue that rim to the back-part. Glue the tail part against the end of the back. The open sides are covered with two extra strips of carton. The front of the strips are folded diagonal and glued inside the body. The other end is folded oblique and glued outside.

This is a bit optional. How big do you want to make the tail? For an owl the tail will be short. I added a little piece of carton to give it the desired shape.Longer tails can be formed by adding multiple strips of carton.

Here you can go wild. Each owl- or birdface is different. Take your reference from pictures and try to reconstruct the main features in layers carton. The photo's show my choices. The white part is made concave to make the face not too flat. The top of the head is covered bij an extra piece of carton

Now is the time to make the bird fly. This may take some trial and error. Put the crank in highest position. Put the wings in high position. Bend the 0,8 mm wires against the wing tips. It is a good idea to temporarily tape them in place and try the movement. When you are satisfied with the movement, remove the tape and glue a piece of carton over the connection.

A simple step to give a neat finish to the box. Cut three small strips of cardboard to close the top. Leave a slit open of approx 3 mm for easy movement. The wire will score the cardboard sides and make some noise. That is perfect!

If you want the mechanism to remain visible simply skip this step