Printable Paper Pelican Craft – An Awesome Seaside Craft!
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This Paper Pelican Craft is an easy and quick project that kids can make in no time and use to imagine an extraordinary seaside expedition during playtime! For this fun craft, you just need to download our free template and follow the super easy step-by-step instructions to make a pelican with construction paper and glue!
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Paper Pelican Craft
This sweet by the sea craft is great for improving those cutting skills, learning how to follow instructions, and an opportunity to talk about different creatures that live near the ocean.
To make a paper pelican, all you will need is some construction/craft paper, scissors, glue, and our free printable template.
Once assembled, you can use the Pelican for roleplaying, learning about the creature (check our facts below to get you started!), building an ocean scene, or hanging from the ceiling!
Facts About Pelicans
- Pelicans are large water birds with long beaks and a large throat pouch. It is the only bird with a throat pouch.
- They use their throat pouch for scooping up prey and draining the water before swallowing.
- Pelicans don’t just eat fish, but also crustaceans, amphibians, and turtles.
- They have even been known to eat other birds! If it can fit down their throats, they’ll eat it!
- When not eating, pelicans spend hours preening, snoozing, or sunbathing.
- Pelicans have been around for 30 million years.
- There are 8 species of pelicans found around the world – except for Antarctica.
- Depending on the species, a pelican’s wingspan can range from 2 to 3.6 meters (6.7 to 11.8 feet).
- They live in warm and temperate climates and always near water.
- With their large webbed feet, pelicans are excellent at swimming, but clumsy when walking!
- Pelicans live for 10 to 25 years in the wild and up to 54 in captivity.
Materials & Tools Used in This Craft
The full list of materials, tools, and instructions are found in the printable tutorial card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through before starting this project to ensure that you have everything required and understand the steps and timings involved.
You may have several standard craft supplies at home already, but I’ve included links to Amazon below for your convenience.
- Construction Paper in the following suggested colors: White, Dark Gray, Orange, Brown
- Scissors
- Glue Stick
- Pelican Printable Template
- You will find the template download links before the tutorial card and surrounded by a purple box. Tap the purple download buttons to save the file(s) to your device.
- Printables are available in two paper sizes – A4 and US Letter (8.5″ x 11″). Download the size that is appropriate for your printer.
TOP TIP! Print my craft templates in advance and store them in a folder so that you can grab them at a moment’s notice.
Speaking of a moment’s notice, a box of basic craft supplies is also a good thing to have on hand so you can get started on projects without worrying if you have the right stuff!
I’ve compiled a list of craft basics that I think everyone should have – you’ll find them in tips section further down this page. You don’t have to get ALL the things all at once, but building your craft stash will make life a lot easier when the kids are stuck indoors or want to make something last minute!
More Under The Sea Crafts
This Pelican paper craft is just one of a collection of fun under the sea paper crafts! Here are the others for you to do after this one:
- Angelfish
- Blue Whale
- Blue Crab
- Blue Tang Fish
- Dolphin
- Jellyfish
- Lionfish
- Lobster
- Octopus
- Oyster & Starfish
- Pelican – by the sea rather than under it!
- Puffer Fish
- Scuba Boy
- Scuba Girl
- Seagull – by the sea rather than under it!
- Seahorse
- Sea Turtle
- Shark
- Sperm Whale
- Squid
- Stingray
- Submarine
We have created more than 100+ Free Printables for you to download and use. They include seasonal crafts, decorations, puzzles, coloring sheets, and more! Right-click and open a new tab to read next.
Pelican Craft Tips
- Print the template onto the suggested colored construction paper and cut the pieces out. (But you could use any colors you want!)
- Why not experiment with different color combinations and make a whole rainbow of Pelicans!
- If construction paper won’t go through your printer, you could print onto regular paper and trace around the pieces onto the colored paper/card. You will have to add any detail with a black marker pen.
- Another option is to print onto white paper and color the pieces in with crayons, pens, paints, or pencils.
- Or what about making this Pelican using craft foam? You will have to add any detail with a black marker pen.
- Cut all the pieces out and lay them where they should go before sticking them down with glue.
- An optional extra is adding glitter: apply white school glue to the parts you want to add some sparkle, sprinkle glitter on top, shake off the excess and leave to dry.
- You could also use other embellishments like googly eyes, or sequins to bring this craft to life.
- If you want to hang up your completed Pelican you could use a piece of ribbon or string to form a hanging loop and stick to the back (or you could punch a hole at the top and thread the ribbon/string through).
- Why not use a variety of blue paints to create a sky background to mount the paper Pelican onto?
- If you plan on making more under-the-sea creatures from this series, you could even paint a large ocean background using a roll of plain/lining paper from the DIY store!
- Included in the printable are bubbles of various sizes – use these in your artwork as you wish.
Download the Pelican Template
Click the download link to save the printable file(s) to your computer.
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How Do I Make a Paper Pelican?
Just check out the how-to card below with full materials, tools, instructions, and demonstration photos. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, the pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Paper Pelican Craft
This fun pelican is super easy to make, you just need some construction paper and few other simple craft supplies and you’re ready to go!
Materials
- Construction Paper in the following suggested colors: White, Dark Gray, Orange, Brown
- Free Printable Template (link in blog post)
Tools
- Scissors
- Glue Stick
Instructions
- Download the pelican template and print it onto the suggested color construction paper. Additional bubble template is included to use as you wish.
- Cut the pieces out.
- Lay the pieces in the correct order before sticking them down with a glue stick.
- Leave to dry before using (mounting, using role-play, or hanging up).
- Optional - paint a blue sky background onto a larger piece of paper to mount the pelican onto!
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