How to make an origami bird of happiness step by step instructions

History of origin and meaning of the amulet

The Bird of Happiness has a very interesting history. As the legend goes, a child in the family of a poor villager fell ill. The doctors could not help him and only threw up their hands, trusting in God. Every day the baby got worse and worse and the father decided to distract him a little. He asked his son what could cheer him up. The child replied that he dreams of only one thing - to see the sun all day. But at that time it was winter, the days became gloomy and dark, and the sun's rays only occasionally brought joy with their light. The father was afraid that his child would not live to see spring and wondered what he could do for him.

While thinking, the villager paid attention to the wood chips, and an idea came to him. He worked all night and by dawn he had made a beautiful bird from a pile of pieces of wood. She was so light and delicate that her wings fluttered even from a light breeze. My father decided to hang it above the stove so that the warm air would create the illusion of flight.

In the morning, when the boy woke up, he saw a bird that reminded him of the sun. After this, his health began to improve and he soon made a full recovery. From then on, the Bird of Happiness hung in the villager’s house for a long time, protecting his family from illness and troubles.

What does the Bird of Happiness amulet look like?

Since then, birds made in this way have been called amulets and are associated with the luminary of the day. There are also other properties of the amulet:

protects against disease, especially for young children;
prevents theft in the home;
protects against accidents such as fire or flooding;
protects the home from the arrival of uninvited guests;
smoothes out family conflicts.

A husband or wife who feels that someone is casting a love spell on their other half especially needs a talisman. In order for it to work, certain actions are carried out on it, activating its protective qualities.

Who is the Bird of Happiness amulet suitable for?

The amulet is very popular among people. It can be used by anyone who wants to protect their home from evil. A wooden bird can be bought in any souvenir shop, and in order for it to acquire a magical meaning, it is activated in a certain way. She protects children, helps to maintain comfort, and with her there will be no sadness or sorrow in the house.

The Bird of Happiness amulet protects the house from evil

Slavic beliefs say that the Bird of Happiness is needed by pregnant women. It is hung over the expectant mother's bed. Thus, she protects her and the unborn baby, and subsequently will help the birth pass without complications.

Rules and principles of use

You need to think carefully about where to hang the Bird of Happiness amulet so that it covers the entire house. Our ancestors placed the bird in the red corner of the hut as an image of the soul. It was also hung above the table so that it would circle over the boiling samovar. A crib was considered a special place for a talisman. For the baby, the amulet acted as a protector from evil forces and at the same time was a toy. If you hang it over an adult’s bed, it will disperse evil spirits in the darkness. The best place for a talisman is near the front door. From everyone passing under it, the bird will absorb all the negativity.

Once a year, the Bird of Happiness needs to be wiped clean of dust. Amulets can absorb many energy messages. They take away illnesses, troubles, injuries and will take as much negativity as they can.

If the amulet fell or broke on its own, this means that it took upon itself something bad that was intended for the inhabitants of the house. It is worth reading several protective spells, sprinkling every corner of the house with holy water and going to church. On the way you need to remain silent and not answer questions. No one should know what happened. A spoiled bird can no longer be used. The broken parts must be wrapped in a scarf, taken to a pond at dawn, burned, and the ashes scattered to the wind. You can buy a new amulet, speak and hang it in place of the old one.

Activation of the amulet

If the Bird of Happiness is not activated, it will remain just a beautiful decorative thing and will not play the role of a protector. Slavic sorcerers consecrated the amulet with fire. A similar method will work now. To do this you need to buy 10 church candles and incense. The ritual is performed on a sunny day. It is best to do this in the summer, but another season will do, provided that it is not cloudy outside.

With everything they need, they go out into the field or into the park.
Candles are stuck into the ground and set on fire.
They burn incense and pray to their saint.

When the Sun is at its zenith, the bird is raised to the sky and said: “A tree grew in a dark forest, in a damp forest. It grew, reaching towards the sky, dropping branches to the ground. Your children will not grow and bloom, my illnesses and sorrows will leave me. I burn with fire, I drive away trouble. Everything unnecessary goes to the fire, trouble goes away. Lord, have mercy and save me, God’s servant (name). Amen". After these words, the bird is asked for help and support in any endeavor.

This text was spoken by the ancient Slavs, so there is no doubt about its power. A bird, illuminated and charged by the Sun, receives a powerful influx of energy, which then spreads to a person and his home.

How to play?

Today, thanks to the Internet and a large amount of educational literature, anyone can try themselves in this ancient craft. Detailed master classes and a detailed description of the process of making an unusual toy will help you create a real masterpiece with your own hands. The only thing is that processing and sawing wood requires knowledge, dexterity and the ability to use a knife. Therefore, this process should not be trusted to children. You can start this type of creativity no earlier than 7 years old under mandatory adult supervision. But even the smallest family members can paint thin feathers with bright colors. Any paints are suitable for creativity: regular gouache or bright and more durable acrylic paints.

Origami bird of happiness

Prepare red and yellow sheets of A4 paper, scissors and a stapler. Follow the step by step instructions:

Fold the yellow sheet diagonally down.
Cut off the remaining portion to make a square.
Read also: 6 photos of ideas for creative crafts from cocktail straws for the New Year 2022 with your own hands
Fold the adjacent sides of the square towards the center. Place the sharp angle to the right.
Bend the left corner to the right.
Bend the top left short edge towards the middle.
Repeat with the bottom edge.
Fold the workpiece along the valley.
Fold the right corner up.
Use a reverse fold to fold the corner inward. This is the bird's neck.
Form a beak with the inner fold.
Fold the red sheet lengthwise like an accordion.
Round the edges.
Cut out patterns.
Straighten to evaluate the result.
Make a vertical cut in the body of the bird along the width of the folded accordion.
Insert the accordion into the cut and straighten it out. We got wings.
Cut a strip of yellow paper into 2 parts - a square and a rectangle.
Make accordion patterns similar to the wings.
The big one is the tail, the small one is the crest.
Attach the elements to the craft using a stapler.
The bird of happiness is ready.

This figurine can be hung from the ceiling in the room. The air movement will cause it to fly and spin.

The bird of happiness has always been considered a talisman for family and home, which will undoubtedly bring all the best and protect from evil. They made birds from different materials: wood, pine cones, nuts, shells, fabric, thread. Today we will look at how to make a bird of happiness from paper and cardboard.

This is an excellent opportunity to spend time with children in an interesting, educational and useful way. Working with materials develops fine motor skills, and making poultry makes imagination and thinking work, and develops patience and perseverance. And of course, these are warm memories of the time spent together, which will forever remain in the memory and little heart.

What else can be made from paper: assembly diagrams

All kinds of origami techniques make it possible to make many interesting crafts. This is an ideal pastime for a child in the form of play. Such decorative and applied art does not stand still: it gradually gained experience and was transformed, as a result of which many schemes for assembling various figures of snowflakes, cars, airplanes, furniture, animals, etc. arose.

Fighter aircraft

Many in childhood folded airplanes from pieces of paper torn from a school notebook and launched them during recess, watching the flight. In the origami technique there are a lot of options and forms of this craft, from the simplest to the most complex models. The diagrams below clearly demonstrate the assembly of fighters, which will require a little patience and paper.

Cars

The next popular paper craft is a typewriter. Every boy loved to play with them in childhood. If you don’t know how to make one, the following easy diagrams of racing and regular cars, trucks, and police cars will help you. If you follow the instructions, assembling the model will not take much time, and the result will be excellent.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a sandbox construction computer game. It allows players to create, destroy various blocks, and use objects in the surrounding 3D environment. If you are familiar with the game Minecraft, you will be interested in creating its blocks and heroes using the origami diagrams below. You can use white paper and draw the desired image on it, or print out templates.

Furniture

It's very fun to make origami furniture using paper patterns. You can create a window, a sofa, a table, a bed, a desk, an armchair. Such crafts are suitable for future children’s games, creating a dollhouse, and appliqués. You can choose any paper, in different shades. By creating several figures, you will get a whole set of miniature furniture. All patterns are easy, so even a child can do crafts.

Origami: DIY bird of happiness

Legends and songs were written about the bird of happiness, and many people were probably at least once interested in what it looked like. However, its appearance in the imagination of each nation differs: in particular, in Japan the crane is called the bird of happiness. In this East Asian country, there is a belief that 1000 of these origami birds are able to fulfill even the most unrealistic but secret desire. Of course, this is just a beautiful fairy tale, but maybe by the time the 1000th crane flies out from under your hands, your old dream will really come true?

To create such a bird you will need paper, preferably colored on both sides. Sheet sizes are preferable to 18 by 18 or 24 by 24, since with smaller parameters it becomes more difficult to work out every detail unless you have significant experience in origami. And the last nuance that is important to consider when choosing paper is the degree of its softness and strength. Often you have to bend and straighten one line several times, after which some materials begin to tear in this place, which reduces the result to “no”.

According to the classic origami bird of luck pattern, the square is placed so that it resembles a diamond, after which it is folded in half twice and folded back, each time forming a rectangle. This move made it possible to outline auxiliary lines. Now you need to turn the paper over and start bending again, but along the diagonals of the rhombus, each time getting triangles. This created the last auxiliary lines.
The sheet is turned over again, and then you need to press on its center with your finger, lifting all the corners up and combining them: i.e. the paper “hugs” the finger, which is immediately removed. The paper standing on the surface with its base in a plane is still the same square, but in the projection of a rhombus. It should be turned over so that the “blind” corner, which is the base on which the pressure was pressed, is at the top, and the diverging ones look down.
A new stage - the sides of the diamond need to be bent inward, aligning the edges along the center line. After which they bend back. The same must be done for the upper “blind” corner: lower it down and straighten it again. The basting lines are ready. The most interesting and important point: the lower edge of the top layer should be pulled, lifting it, as a result of which folds should be created along the previously drawn lines, and a hollow, not completely closed rhombus should be formed. The same actions are performed for the opposite (back) side.

Now, in appearance, the figure resembles 2 elongated rhombuses, combined with a single base. Continuing to hold it in this position, you should again fold the sides inward, towards the middle line: for each rhombus this is done separately, they are under no circumstances combined at this stage. Then it is important to bend each of the lower parts upward and move them apart no more than 45 degrees, and then straighten them again.
According to the resulting lines, the ends of the rhombus will again need to be bent, but inward, and on either side the very tip is also bent by 45 degrees - this will be the bird’s head. The final step is lowering the “wings”, i.e. the upper ends of the rhombus, as well as flattening. The Japanese bird of happiness is ready to fly after its dreams!

Parrot

An exotic guest from distant tropical countries is more often than other birds made using the origami technique. It can be made in two versions: for children the model will be simple and quite conventional, and for experienced craftsmen it will be very realistic and effective.

The first folding method is quite within the capabilities of elementary school students. Interesting techniques for transforming a piece of paper into a three-dimensional parrot will not only give them aesthetic pleasure, but will also help them master the basics of algebra and geometry.

Assembly diagram:

For a motley tropical origami bird, it is best to take a two-color sheet of paper, then the head will turn out to be one shade, and the body will be another.

Step by step description:

At the base square we outline a diagonal fold.
Place the figure with the middle line towards you. We bend the sides towards the center.
The result is a basic “kite” figure. We bend the upper triangle back, as shown in the figure.
Fold the sides to the middle axis.
Raise the top layer of the workpiece.
We bend along the previously outlined folds in the opposite direction, obtaining the basic “Fish” shape.
We lower the upper triangles down.
And we return it back, but already folded in half. It looks like a crown.
We bend the lower peak twice. Then we close both halves of the workpiece, as if “hiding” all the folds inside.
We turn the resulting model 180°.
In the place where the head will be, we make a reverse inner fold, as described in the previous master class.
All that remains is to draw the parrot's eyes and he is ready.

This cute paper pet can't fly, but it sits great on the table. He will make excellent company at breakfast or while working on the computer.

How to make a more complex origami bird is best watched in the video. The master focuses on details that may escape the attention of beginners reading the description. A classic diagram will help to separate the folding stages:

Required materials and tools

Before you begin, you need to stock up on tools and materials that you will need during work:

multi-colored sheets of cardboard;
colored paper. It is better to choose good quality paper, otherwise it will tear and ruin the final result.
scissors;
a simple pencil;
glue and brush.

And of course, free evening to work on crafts. Having prepared everything you need, you can begin.

Where crafts come in handy

The bird of happiness is a Slavic amulet, which in ancient times brought peace and prosperity to the house. But even in our times it has not lost its popularity. Here are the main areas of its use:

as a talisman for the home;
during popular celebrations, for example, during the apple rescue;
during weddings in Rus', as a guarantee of strong love and great happiness.

The bird was usually hung from the ceiling in the center of the main room so that, while circling, it could inspect all the wealth, feel positive, and increase it all.

How to make a bird using origami technique?

The most actively used origami techniques are cranes, swans or doves. Owls, seagulls and other representatives of the fauna are less popular, and more often precisely because of the difficulty of working with them. There are, of course, many designs for each bird: they differ both in the required level of preparation and in the general appearance of the figure.

All of them imply the presence of colored or plain paper, which will not tear from too frequent manipulation at a specific point, but will also be easily deformed. In addition, you often have to resort to using a simple pencil, ruler, protractor and scissors. However, in some algorithms these devices may not be needed.

The easiest way to make a paper swan is. You can often notice such a bird as an element of table setting, when large napkins are folded in a similar way, placing them on an empty dish.

To make it, you need a large sheet of paper in the shape of a square, on which a central line is marked, and the side corners are turned to it. The figure resembles an elongated rhombus. The triangles that made up its long part have their internal corners bent, and the figure along the middle vertical is again folded in half.

The most acute angle (lying at the base) is bent diagonally so that this part forms a perpendicular to the base, and its tip is directed with a new fold outward to the side. The swan's head and neck are ready. It is enough to bend the tail twice along parallel diagonals with an accordion, and the work with this origami bird is completed.

How to make an origami crane out of paper:

Take a square sheet of paper.

Fold it in half and then in half again.

Next, fold it diagonally on one side, unfold it and do the same action on the other side.

We bend the corners on both sides inward and get a rhombus.

We bend the corners to the fold line, first on one side, then on the other.

Straighten the bent corners and lift the bottom corner up, folding the figure as shown in the photo.

We perform the same action on the other side.

Now we bend the right side towards the middle.

Then we bend the left side, as well as the reverse side.

Expanding the figure

We bend the lower part up and bend the corner - we get the head of a crane.

On the opposite side we also bend the lower part upward - this will be the tail.

We expand the figure - we get two wings.

We lower the wing down.

We get an origami crane made of paper.

We make many, many colorful cranes.

We thread the needle and tie a knot at the end.

We thread a needle into the hole at the bottom of the crane and bring it out at the top.

The nodule remains outside.

The origami cranes are ready and you can decorate the birthday boy’s room.

How to make a bird of happiness from paper and cardboard

The easiest way to make a bird of happiness is using paper and cardboard. These materials are very common and are found in every home. Despite the banality, there are many ways to make birds, obtaining radically different results.

Let's give a few examples.

Quilling

To begin, take double-sided colored paper and cut it into strips: 4 cm wide and the length of the entire sheet. The base of the craft will consist of twisted strips in the form of droplets.

To get started, you need to take a strip of the desired color, make a drop of the desired size from it, twisting it a little in the center. Glue the edges and trim off the excess.

Once you start making a bird, you will understand for yourself what size drops you need and how many.

When starting to make wings, immediately make several dozen blanks and lay them out in the desired combination. This way you will see the overall picture and can change and improve it.

To complement the base of the body and decorate the finished product, twist the ends of the strip on both sides and fix it on the sheet.

To secure the composition, glue the strips to the album sheet with an edge.

For the head, make a drop out of white paper. You can draw the eye with a black marker or glue a black peppercorn.

The bird's tail consists mostly of twisted stripes, which makes it appear more voluminous and more magnificent.

Twisting strips is a fun activity for both children and adults. And imagination will allow you to make the bird bright and rainbow-colored.

Origami

Origami is an old form of decorative and applied art of creating different figures by folding an ordinary sheet of paper. If this option of creating a bird of happiness is closer to you, feel free to get down to business.

Before making a bird of happiness out of paper, prepare 2 sheets of colored paper - one will be spent on the body and tail, the second on the wings. The sheets can be either the same color or radically different.

First, bend one of the sheets so that you get a square. The excess part needs to be cut off, but not thrown away. We will still need it.

Next you need to fold the square as shown in the picture, getting the body. Bend and straighten the tail to make it look more voluminous. The craft will immediately be transformed.

For the tail, take the rest of the paper and fold it like an accordion, 0.7-1 cm wide. At the end, with small scissors you need to make cuts along the side parts of a triangular shape. This technology is reminiscent of making a snowflake.

Now let's move on to the wings. To do this, fold the remaining sheet with a similar accordion. Along the edges, as well as on the tail, we make triangular cuts.

As the step-by-step instructions say, all that remains is to make a rectangular hole into which to insert the wings.

No need to cut the sheet!

At the last stage, all that remains is to glue the tail and straighten it. To make your handmade paper bird of happiness even more beautiful, you can give it a “hairstyle.”

This is how it should turn out to be a beauty.

Application for children

This technique is perfect for children who are in 2nd grade and younger. It is not as difficult as quilling or origami, and the happiness from the result will be the same.

The materials for the craft are the same as in the previous versions. If the child is small, you can prepare a template for cutting. This way the work will go faster.

Draw the bird's body and head on a white sheet of paper. It can be cut out of paper and glued. Next, cut out “feathers” from colorful paper. For the wings the blanks will be smaller, for the tail a little larger. Next, make cuts along the edge so that the “feathers” appear fluffy.

Attach it all to a piece of paper. You can also finish drawing the sun, grass, trees.

You can then cut out the bird and attach it to the ceiling with a thread or wire. This will give the craft special importance and value. And the child will be extremely proud of his work. How it will look can be seen in the photo.

For children who are interested in making crafts, you can prepare several templates that will make it easier to work with. Depending on the chosen technique, they will look different.

These can be blanks of the body, feathers, or cut strips of paper. The main thing is to simplify the work, making it accessible to all ages.

Here are some basic examples:

Volumetric craft using the kirigami technique

Unlike origami, the kirigami technique appeared not so long ago, and is suitable for children who are in grade 5 or older. Examples of crafts:

It is important to carry out all actions step by step. Download the bird outline template in advance or draw it yourself.

Bend the album sheet strictly in half, attach the template, and secure it. Using nail scissors or a stationery knife, cut out the blank.

When the work is finished, remove the template and unfold the sheet. These are the funny birds of happiness you now have.

It looks very beautiful if you make a kirigami craft not just on a sheet of paper, but by first selecting a beautiful color. You can give the sheet certain shapes. It’s great if the form is thematic. For example, the shape of a heart before Valentine's Day.

Let the bird of happiness, made with your own hands, not only please the eye, reminding you of spring and awakening, but also bring all the best and most desirable things to your home, family and environment.

Fabric bird

We have a Master Class on our website on how to make a bird out of fabric

Traditional folk birds were made to summon spring, and of course, from natural materials in bright colors. They were used to decorate the spring Joy Bird doll.

Nowadays, many beautiful synthetic materials have appeared, like organza, and crafts are also made from them:

Another master class for lovers of interior aromatic toys - coffee shop:

How and from what do you make a bird of happiness?
Send your photos and master classes, we will be happy to publish them! In order not to forget the address of the page and share with friends, add it to your social networks: Do you want to know news about competitions or master classes?
Tags: March 8, Maslenitsa, Crafts for home

Attention! It is better to write urgent questions in the comments on the website (form at the bottom of the page) or, better yet, directly by email. There are no notifications about comments from the VKontakte form! This form is more for feedback.

Discussion: 6 comments

Antonina Ivanovna:
March 10, 2022 at 9:25 pm
What beautiful birds! I really want spring already. You have to do it yourself so that the living ones arrive faster