Sustainable Play: Make a Bird Costume

Artist Suzy Ultman is an illustrator, toy maker, story teller, and an avid birder. One of her favorite activities is bird watching in her backyard and connecting to nature. Now you can turn into your favorite bird as Suzy teaches you how to upcycle everyday paper grocery bags into a full-fledged, fabulous bird costume. You'll learn how to print and assemble a paper template, cut paper bags to create a mask as well as a cape for wings, add paint and color to bring your bird to life, and make and attach paper feathers. Not only is this costume fun for little ones to play in, but they will delight in the painting and gluing process, too. The next time you go shopping, remember to hang on to your paper bags, because there is still an entire world of make-believe in there. Learn how to:

• Make a two-piece bird costume with paper bags
• Assemble a template for a bird mask
• Sketch and paint a bird's face
• Paint and cut paper feathers
• Trim a paper bag and add feathers to make wings