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Autumn Leaf Marionette Birds

August 10, 2018

These actually make a great Autumn Craft for Kids, however you can of course make them at any time of year. As we have been getting some hotter days this year, we have made a few trips to the park recently. Whilst there, we played ball, look at the stream and collected some leaves. Now, I know autumn is the absolute best time for collecting leaves, but as Red Ted was keen, I thought, why not!? I did horrify me to realise that when it comes to leaves, I am clueless. I will have to brush up! Time for some more fun with Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for kids!

These fun Bird Marionettes were first published in Autumn 2010 and republished for your convenience!

So once we came home, I found a book on leaves. It is about Autumn really, but it is the nicest one I could find on relatively short notice:af craft

Leaf Trouble Leaf Trouble, Jonathan Emmett. This book tells the story of a little squirrel called Pip (perfect for our Pip Squeak!). Pip wakes one day to find that things are different: the leaves are changing colour and falling off the tree. Surely this isn’t right?! What is happening. His mum comes and explains why it is happening and that the leaves will come back again – a little like how the sun sets and comes back again the next day. I love the ending, where Pip compares the beautiful autumn colours to the setting sun. Very pretty.

So. What to make?

We have the leaves. But leaves can become brittle with time. I decided we should try leave rubbing – to discover that Red Ted is still too small. So I changed it to leaf printing and painting!

How to make a Bird out of Toilet Paper Rolls

 

He loved it! And had great joy doing it all by himself. Choosing colours. Painting and printing. I also found that your preserve the leaf a little if you paint it with acryclic paints. But in a way that seems a shame – you want to look at the lovely colours, no?

Whilst at it, he painted some loo rolls too.

 

fall crafs 

And I decided t make some autumnal birds. One out of Red Ted’s craft and one out of mine. I selected Red Ted’s prints that worked together well (greens, blacks and greys) and picked an orange set of mine to represent autumn. I used all pieces of string from gift bags & pepples/ forked sticks for feet and marionette handles. (I think the pictures speak for themselves)

kids fall crafts fall crafts

fall crafts fall crafts


Then we strung them all together:

kids fall crafts

And then we played!

Hope you liked our Autumn Leaf Birds!

More great Toilet Paper Roll Crafts here:

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Filed Under: Autumn, Kids Craft, Loo Rolls, Nature, Paper Crafts 53 Comments

Comments

  1. Patricia says

    July 21, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    Adorable!!! Looks like a lot of fun!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 21, 2010 at 4:50 pm

      Thank you! We did have fun and I think Red Ted was very proud of his bird!

      Reply
  2. MummyMatters says

    July 21, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    Wow looks like you had lots of fun. I always dread painting and crafts but its never as bad as I think its going to be once I get started! And the kids always love it – I’m feeling inspired perhaps a little arts and crafts in the morning!!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 21, 2010 at 4:51 pm

      Ooooh yes! Do get crafty 😉 and yes, usually it isn’t as messy as you think!!! x

      Reply
  3. Christy says

    July 22, 2010 at 11:44 am

    It’s so much fun to paint on a different surface. My kids love it too.

    Reply
  4. Little Wonders' Days says

    July 22, 2010 at 11:46 am

    The birds turned out really cute. Thanks for sharing this book and project!

    Reply
  5. Michelle says

    July 22, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    Oh wow these look amazing I am so impressed!! I will have to look for this book to it looks really cute, I will add it to our list for the fall.

    Thank you for linking up to stART!!

    Reply
  6. Char says

    July 22, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    Love the birds, very cute.

    Reply
  7. Its Sew Stinkin Cute says

    July 22, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    You are just so stinkin crafty! Where do you get all of these cool ideas? I feel like I am getting an F as a mother. Seems like I never get the time at home do do these fun things with my tyke. Awesome! Just so stinkin awesome! Thanks for linkin to It’s Stinkin’ Cute Craft Thursday as always!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 22, 2010 at 6:18 pm

      Oh no! Please don’t feel like you are getting an F in Motherhood. That would be totally contrary to what I want to achieve with this blog. Here to inspire not depressed!!!!! Aaaarrrrggggh. I bet you are really good at other motherly things that I am not (you should see the state that their cupboards and drawers are in for example…). But am pleased that you “like”…

      Reply
  8. Almost Unschoolers says

    July 22, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    Those are just excellent – I love them! And, it looks like Red Ted had a ball.

    Reply
  9. Charlene@Adventures-In-Mommy-Land says

    July 22, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    I love the marionettes. They look great.

    Although I have to admit, I’m not ready a bit ready for fall to arrive……..=)

    Reply
  10. Sarah says

    July 22, 2010 at 10:35 pm

    what a great project! I love how they came out…so fun!!!

    Reply
  11. JDaniel4's Mom says

    July 23, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    I love the puppets and the leaf rubbings. These are wonderful!

    Reply
  12. Anne@LittleSproutBooks says

    July 23, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    Absolutely adorable! Love the trimmed rolls to form the bird beak – so smart! Thanks for linking up to Little Sprout Books: Feed Me Books Friday is HERE!

    Reply
  13. coloradolady says

    July 23, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    How cute!!! that is a great idea!

    Reply
  14. threeundertwo says

    July 23, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    What a resourceful person you are, adjusting the craft to suit his skills. The results speak for themselves. He is a lucky little guy, you feed his mind and his creativity so well. Thanks for linking up to Finished for Friday!

    Reply
  15. Ticia says

    July 24, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    I love the project! I’ll have to think of a way we might do this.

    Reply
  16. Chari says

    July 25, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    Hello…

    Ohhh…I love the marionettes! What a great art/craft project to do with the little ones! Your post took me back to when my three daughters were small and still at home…we were always crafting! Thanks for sharing your post with us today for Sunday Favorites…it’s sooo nice to have you join in with the fun!!!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari @Happy To Design

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 25, 2010 at 5:35 pm

      Now you just have to wait for the grandchildren 😉 x

      Reply
  17. Becky says

    July 26, 2010 at 7:02 am

    Really cute! my kiddos would love to make these, glad I found your site we will be homeschooling in the fall and will be checking back to steal some of your ideas!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 26, 2010 at 7:43 am

      I would be honoured to know that homeschooled children are deriving some benefit from my blog! 🙂

      Reply
  18. Kaysi @ Keeping It Simple says

    July 27, 2010 at 12:34 am

    Those are adorable!!!! So creative!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 28, 2010 at 7:44 am

      Thank you! Do have a go too!!

      Reply
  19. J. Hill says

    July 27, 2010 at 1:03 am

    Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 28, 2010 at 7:44 am

      Thank YOU for hosting such a fab link up!

      Reply
  20. vanessa @ silly eagle books says

    July 27, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    I love how you reused the paper tubes and they puppets turned out beautifully!!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 28, 2010 at 7:43 am

      Thank you ! Glad you like them! Do Get Crafty too!!

      Reply
  21. teachingyoungchildren says

    July 27, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    I am adding the book and the craft to the list of things to try in the fall – very pretty!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 27, 2010 at 5:53 pm

      Oh how lovely! Hope you enjoy the book and making some birds 🙂

      Reply
  22. icklebabe_com says

    July 27, 2010 at 7:47 pm

    Such a fab idea! and how cute is your little one? …Adorable! 🙂

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 27, 2010 at 8:07 pm

      Aaaah thanks! Glad you like them! We certainly had fun making them!! And yes, Red Ted loves painting the most of all our crafty activity! x

      Reply
  23. Audra says

    August 2, 2010 at 3:58 am

    Very fun!
    You don’t cease to amaze me! 🙂
    Thanks for linking this up as well!

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      August 2, 2010 at 11:31 am

      Aaahhh, thank you for your kind words!!! And thanks for hosting the link up!!

      Reply
  24. Bridgette says

    August 3, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    Sorry I am late getting to see your project…thanks for joining us last week for Anything Related! ~Bridgette

    Reply
  25. amandab says

    September 21, 2010 at 1:01 am

    Sorry it’s taken me so long to read this, have had the page open for days, but a sick little girl has seen me a little bit busy in RL.

    Love the leaf painting, I should do that with our box of collected leaves (if they aren’t too brittle) and the birds are lovely! Toilet roll craft is a favourite in our house 🙂

    Reply
  26. Michelle says

    October 8, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    What a neat way to bring in Autumn.
    I love the crafty birds you both made.

    Reply
  27. Amy says

    October 8, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    Thanks for the great leaf ideas. I know my little one will want to paint one for sure. Have a great day. Thanks for the second link up..

    Reply
  28. Pinkoddy says

    March 4, 2013 at 10:11 am

    Oh these a brilliant, am really looking at TRH craft atm. Have pinned.

    Reply
  29. Mama Carmody says

    July 13, 2013 at 1:59 am

    I love your marionette birds. They are so cute. I look forward to making these with the little ones in my life.

    Reply
  30. Perrine says

    August 15, 2013 at 1:59 am

    So cute!!!!
    I will do it with my boys, thank you so much!!!
    Where did you find this cute yellow apron with the red apples?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. PLUS 2.4 » Blog Archive » Guest post with Red Ted Art- What to have in your child’s art box says:
    April 26, 2011 at 10:14 pm

    […] Salvage/ recycle: 1) Toilet rolls – a big favourite craft material of mine (I made Giraffes, Birds, Watches and Owls out of them and have more ideas up my sleeve) 2) Boxes – for storing stuff in […]

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  2. Red Ted Art's Blog » Blog Archive » Kids Get Crafty – Dog Loo Roll Marionette (Victor van Krumm) says:
    November 25, 2011 at 7:53 am

    […] Today, I am showing your our Sausage Dog Loo Roll Marionette! We love marionettes over at our house, especially those that you can make with recycled and nature’s materials – we already made  Giraffes and some Autumn Birds. […]

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  3. 9 Fun and Creative Bird Crafts for Spring | Buggy and Buddy says:
    March 1, 2013 at 12:38 pm

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  6. What all I’ve got stored away under the bird category | Adventures in MommydomAdventures in Mommydom says:
    February 20, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    […] Bird marionette puppets- I can see my kids taking this idea and running so far with it. […]

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  7. 11 Free Marionette Puppet Patterns from Around the Web | The Tucson Puppet Lady says:
    August 8, 2014 at 12:54 am

    […] Autumn Leaf Bird Marionette While there isn’t step by step instructions on how to create these cute autumn leaf bird marionettes, you can probably work out how to do it from the photos. Or get some inspiration for great ideas about different marionette creations. […]

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  8. 7 manieren om je badkamer groener te maken - hetkanWel.net says:
    November 6, 2014 at 8:03 am

    […] wel het leukste voordeel is wat je met de rollen kan doen als het papier op is. Een verrekijker, herfst vogeltjes of handige composteerbare ‘containers’ om zaadjes in te planten maken, creatieve alternatieven […]

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  9. Bird Unit Study for Preschool - Simply Vicki says:
    October 1, 2015 at 10:01 am

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  10. Every Kid Needs a Pocket Book! – Promoting Curiosity says:
    April 6, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    […] I am choosing the one about birds for our craft subject this week because I absolutely love this marionette bird craft!! […]

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  11. 40+ Green Autumn Crafts for Kids - Best Toys 4 Toddlers says:
    August 8, 2016 at 9:01 am

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  12. Birds Unit for Early Elementary School – Bambini Travel says:
    May 11, 2018 at 6:04 am

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