Use this step-by-step tutorial to create a paper mache (also called papier-mâché) bird. We’ve made a folk-art inspired robin but you could create any bird you like. This is a selection from the book, Art Makers: Papier-Mâché by Sarah Hand.
For more creative projects also see Crafts & Handwork ideas.
Papier-Mâché Projects for All Ages
From Art Makers: Papier-Mâché Sarah Hand, © 2021.
Used with permission from Walter Foster Publishing, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group.
This one is for all my fellow art and craft makers.
The new book Art Makers: Papier Mâché: A step-by-step guide to creating more than a dozen adorable projects! by Sarah Hand gives a fresh, quirky approach to this favorite craft.
The book features step-by-step instructions for making all sorts of folk art-inspired projects including:
- Home decor
- Gifts
- Jewelry
- Dolls
- Animal Figurines and more
Make a Papier-Mâché Robin
Whether you make a realistic-looking bird or something more fanciful, a papier-mâché bird
will look amazing perched in your home.
These sculptures are quite fun to make, so be warned: you may end up with an entire flock!
While the robin here is more of a folk-art style, you could shape the bird to look more realistic.
Other birds that would be fun to try: crows, pigeons, bluebirds, and hummingbirds.
Papier-Mâché Paste Recipes
Flour + Water | 2 cups water and 1.5 cups flour
- Gradually stir flour into water in mixing bowl until it has consistency of pancake batter.
If flour mixture is too foamy, add more flour.
Cornstarch + Water | 1 cup cornstarch and 1 cup water
- Place cornstarch in metal or ceramic mixing bowl.
- Whisk in 1 cup tap water until mixture looks like milk.
- Boil 6 cups water.
- Remove from heat and carefully but quickly whisk into dissolved cornstarch until thick, goopy, uniform consistency. Allow to cool before use.
If mixture becomes too thick, gradually whisk in hot water until desired consistency is reached.
Tools & Materials
- Packing paper or newspaper
- Masking tape
- Hot-glue dispenser
- Aluminum foil
- Scissors
- Thin cardboard
- 18- to 20-gauge floral wire
- Pliers
- Paste: you can use flour or cornstarch mixtures (see recipes above)
- Sandpaper
- Gesso
- Paint and paint pens
- Sealer
Step 1 – Make the Body
Pick a bird from nature or your imagination that you’d like to recreate. Then crumple up some paper to form the shape of the bird’s body.
Cover the bird with masking tape, ensuring that it keeps its shape.
Step 2 – Create the Head
Use the same method to create the bird’s head. As you shape the head, use the bird’s body for reference and shape the head until it looks proportionate with the body. Then tape it securely.
Hot glue the bird’s head to the body to hold them in place.
Step 3 – Join Body & Head
Use at least four vertical strips of tape to attach the bird’s head to the body. Then add tape around the neck to form a strong, smooth attachment.
Step 4 – Make Beak
Pinch and squish a small piece of foil into a beak shape. If you make it too big at first, just uncrumple the foil and tear away some of it; then redo the beak until it is the right size.
Step 5 – Attach Beak
On a hard surface, such as a table, rub the base of the beak to smooth and flatten. This creates a good surface for gluing the beak to the head in the next step.
Step 6 – Cover Beak
Hot glue the beak to the bird’s head; then add tape over the beak.
Step 7
Cut a tail feather from thin cardboard—any triangular shape works.
Step 8 – Make Tail Feathers
Hot glue the tail feather to the bird. Gluing it under the end of the body ensures that it flips upward in a sassy way!
Then tape the tail feather and the spot where it attaches to the body to smoothly join the two.
Step 9 – Cut Out Wings
Draw a wing on thin cardboard and cut it out. Then trace that wing onto another piece of cardboard and cut it out so that the wings are identical.
Step 10 – Cover Wings
Cover the wings with tape.
Step 11 – Attach Wings
Apply hot glue to the top third of each wing and place both wings on the bird’s body, as shown. This lets the wings stand away from the body a little bit, which looks adorable!
Step 12 – Create Legs
Each bird leg will consist of four pieces of wire. Tape the wires in a little bundle, leaving about 3/4 inch free on one end for the toes. Make two legs. How long should they be? It’s your choice, but keep in mind that you’ll need 3/4 inch for the bird toes at one end and 1 inch at the top to glue to the body.
Step 13 – Add Toes
Use pliers to bend the wire out for the toes—three in front and one in back. Set the legs aside. You will papier mâché the legs and body separately and attach the legs to the bird when everything is dry.
Step 14 – Start Papering
Make paste and tear up paper. Using a long strip of paper dipped in paste, wrap each bird leg starting just above the toes, all the way to the top of the leg. Then papier-mâché the beak and the unattached parts of the wings.
Wrap the paper around the wing, all the way up to where it is glued down. It’s helpful to get these parts done first, as they are the most complex. Then papier-mâché the rest of the bird.
Step 15 – Sand & Dry
Let the papier-mâché dry; then sand the bird.
Step 16 – Attach Legs
To attach the legs, use pointy scissors to make two holes in the underbelly of the bird. Don’t worry—he can’t feel it!
Make the holes toward the middle back, leaving about 1 inch or so between them. Add a little hot glue in the holes and stick the legs in, feet forward!
Step 17 – Apply Gesso
Gesso the whole bird. Make sure to get under the wings!
Step 18 – Paint Your Bird
Painting birds is so much fun! The multiple steps and layers take a bit of time, but the results are worth it. First, paint the base colors. Let them dry.
Then paint the beak and add feathers. Light dabs and lines with a small brush make lovely feather textures. Layer until you’re happy.
Step 19 – Adjust Toes
Check that your bird is balanced and has a solid stance. Adjust the toe wires if necessary.
Step 20 – Paint Face Details
Add the eyes using paint markers for better control. I also added red cheeks because I love the way they look. Let dry completely.
Step 21 – Paint Toes
Seal and let dry.
Tip: I like to use a paint marker to paint the toe wires.
Display Your Bird
Display your bird and never give it away because you love it too much.
About the Author
Sarah Hand is a Virginia-based illustrator, painter, and papier-mâché artist. She teaches papier-mâché classes at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Sarah’s art showcases a quirky, whimsical style inspired in part by her childhood as part of a US Navy family and her time spent living in Germany. She loves bright vintage colors and folk art, and she’s inspired by color and her curiosity about the world.
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛