Felt American Goldfinch

My mom is very knowledgable about backyard birds. Despite years of her telling me the names of the various birds at the feeders (both at our home in California and when we visited relatives in Washington), one of the very few I was able to recognize as a kid was the American Goldfinch. Its distinctive yellow body with black forehead and wings stood out from the other various finches and whatnot that congregated at the feeders and birdbath. The goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, New Jersey and Washington; I'd done my 5th grade State Report on Washington and had to draw a goldfinch for my report, so that helped cement it in my mind. All these years later and I'm still not much better at identifying backyard birds, but I can always spot a goldfinch. 

This felt version stands on its own and is fun project for kids to try. Obviously, you can adapt it for practically any similarly-shaped bird. Affiliate links below. 

Felt American Goldfinch 

Materials: 

• felt (yellow and orange)
• acrylic paint (black, white)
• pipe cleaner (orange)
• wire cutters
• googly eyes
• glue gun
• Poly-fil

Steps: 

Cut out two large teardrop-shaped body pieces from yellow felt. Cut two smaller teardrop-shaped wing pieces from yellow felt. Cut a triangular beak from orange felt. 

Using a photo of a goldfinch as a reference, paint the forehead and part of the wing black on each of the two body pieces. Paint the tail white on each side, then add streaks of white to the wings. 

Cut an orange pipe cleaner into four lengths. To make each foot (shown completed below on the left), you will need one piece bent like an L and a second straight piece (shown on the right). Twist the straight piece around the L, then adjust the toes so they're evenly spaced. Trim off any excess so that the toes are the same length. 

To assemble your goldfinch, glue the wings and eyes to each side of the body. Glue the legs to the INSIDE of one of the bodies, making sure the toes face forward. Glue the beak to the inside of this body part as well. 

Add glue around the edge of this piece, leaving a gap where the legs are for stuffing. Press the two body pieces together. Push Poly-fil inside the goldfinch, then glue the opening closed. 

You may have to adjust the feet a bit, but once you do, your goldfinch will stand on its own.