Our crafty maple-leaf birds are so simple that even young children will want to make their own. String your birds into a garland to drape across your front window, porch or picnic table. Or precut all the pieces, then let everyone sit on the grass -- to fold and glue and dot the eyes -- at the family cottage reunion.

Click here to download the actual-size leaf patterns

Click here for a closeup of a bird under construction

You need (for each):
-15 cm (6 in) square each of stiff red and white paper
-15 cm square each of tracing paper
and stiff paper, for the templates
-Glue stick
-Black, blue, green and red
fine-tip markers

To make:
1. Fold your tracing paper in half and lay it on the leaf pattern with the folded edge along the broken line. With the black marker, trace the solid black lines and dot, then, with matching markers, draw the blue, green and red lines. Cut it out along the solid black lines only. Open out the leaf, lay it on your stiff paper, then trace around the edges and cut it out to make the leaf template. Transfer the markings.

Fold a scrap of tracing paper and lay it on the beak pattern with the folded edge along the broken line. With the black marker, trace the solid black lines. Cut it out along the solid lines. Open out the beak, lay it on your stiff paper, then trace around the edges and cut it out to make the beak template.

2. Using the templates: Cut 1 leaf from your red paper, cutting a slit along the red line, then fold it in half along the broken line. Cut 1 beak from your red paper, then fold it in half along the broken line. Cut 1 leaf from your white paper, then fold it in half along the broken line and cut a slit along the blue line (just to where it turns green), to make a triangular flap.

3. With the black marker, draw the eyes onto the top of the white leaf where shown by the big black dots. Then, using the glue stick, glue the beak to the underside where shown by the dotted lines.

4. To make the leaves turn into a bird: Pinch the folded white leaf (the body) together at the eyes, then, with the folds lined up, slide the slit edges of the red leaf (the wings) under the triangular flap, and down the body, along the green lines.

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