A Raven Craft, Nevermore
A Raven Craft Perfect for Poe, Halloween, or Anytime!
I am posting this in July (it is actually September now… welcome to my blog, where I attempt to post regularly but rarely do), we made it in February, and it probably won’t be popular until October (if at all)… here is my post on how to craft a raven!
You might be wondering why someone would need to craft a raven or a crow, this could be a crow… or any bird for that matter, and the answer rests with Edgar Allan Poe.
Homeschool is Usually to Blame
While learning about some 19th-century literature our homeschool program turned to Poe, who is one of my favorites, and I wanted to do a hands-on craft.
There are countless ideas out there to make a crow but my kids are teens and so I wanted to do an advanced project. I originally thought of paper mache, which I am sure would have been wonderful, but that involves several layers and quite a bit of drying time, so I decided against it.
If you want to do paper mache, check out this post on our Paper Mache Volcano!
It took me a minute to think about it but I was reminded of one of my elementary projects as a child. We had to create a prop to a story we wrote. I wrote about a plane and my grandmother helped me create an airplane with wire hangers and masking tape. We then painted it and viola!
It must have been a decent project, because I remember it 35 years later and it was showcased (behind glass) in our school’s library for years. I live 1000 miles from that school, that has since been torn down, but I like to imagine that plane is in a box somewhere… waiting for discovery.
We are all allowed our little delusions 🙂
Anway, on to the Raven…
Making a Raven
I couldn’t visualize how the wire would work, though I am sure another could, I just couldn’t. So, I abandoned the idea of wire and decided to wrap masking tape around something. Newspaper is what came to mind first but then I thought about some crafting bags I had, and thought I would try them.
Looking back, I would probably put a little newspaper into the bag to help shape it, but overall, the project came out great.
What You Will Need
- masking tape
- paper bag (lunch sized)
- paint (paint brush and clean up supplies)
- random wire (paper clips, metal christmas ornament hangers, thinner metal hanger)
- stick (optional)
I know I said I abandoned the wire, and I did for the frame, but I used some wire for the feet. Depending on how this would be displayed, feet could be optional.
How to Craft a Raven
- Start with your bag and masking tape
- Crumple the bag to create a plump center and wrap a piece of masking tape around the ends of the “belly”. This is where I might add some newspaper if I were to do it again. Mine turned out fine without it but it might be easier to work with.
- Begin covering the bag with tape. Wrap a piece around the head portion, then, add strips along the length of the body, overlapping if needed. There might be times you will need to wrap around the body and that is ok, (see my picture below) but remember that birds have feathers that lay along their body.
- Keep putting on masking tape until 3/4 of the bird is covered, leaving the tailfeathers. It is ok to keep adding tape and shaping. Remember, if you add tape around the body, add more tape lengthwise to create a sleeker look.
- To create a beak (and I am sorry I don’t have more in depth pictures of this), fold a piece of tape into a square, then a triangle. Do this a few times and then, wrap tape around the triangles to create a 3D triangle. Use a piece of tape on the top and bottom to secure it to the head.
- Continue to add tape, lengthwise, until you are happy with the look. This includes around the head and beak area. It won’t look perfect but you should see the basic shape. You will notice that mine has many bumps, it is part of what makes this bird look so great in the end!
- To finish the tailfeathers, add a layer to the top, then to the bottom, and push them together. This creates a solid bird.
- To create more “feathers” I folded over a piece of tape and then taped it to the bottom of the bird. I will admit it looks a little odd here but it looks awesome when done.
- The next step could be optional. For instance, if you were to make several of these for Halloween decor and wanted them to sit on a mirror, you could velcro or even hot glue them to your mirror, but if you want feet, this is your step.
- I used random coated wire as feet and simply folded it in half and taped it on the underside of the bird.
- I then used small pieces of tape to build up around each leg to create an actual leg.
- Once I liked the legs, I wrapped them around a stick from outside. Again, this could have been anything and if the wire doesn’t hold, just put some hot glue on the bottom of the feet to hold it in place.
- You can see that the raven is starting to look more like a real bird and so the next thing to do is paint it.
- This step could take a few coats, I used matte black but you can use whatever you would like here
- After the paint dries… you have your Raven!
Craft Notes:
- I didn’t use eyes for this craft, while sculpturally realistic, it isn’t totally realistic… and that’s ok!
- I used this to accompany a literature topic but this could be a perfect Halloween crow decoration!
Ravens vs. Crows
I have used both crow and raven often during this post, and the truth is, depending on why you are making it… it could be either, but crows and ravens are different birds.
Both birds are in the same Genus but are different species. This would be like how lions and tigers are in the same Genus, Panthera, but are different species… Panthera leo and Panthera tigris.Â
The American crow’s scientific name is Corvus brachyrhynchos, while the Raven’s is Corvus corax. Many birds in the Corvid family can mimic humans and other animals. Interestingly, Blue Jays fall into this category.
Ravens are 2-3 times larger than crows and both animal are highly intelligent. Both have been observed using tools, including dropping hard to open nuts on roads for cars to drive over and break open.Â
Based on the craft, the size says crow… so if you want a true raven, go with a bigger bag!
Poe Approved
I started this craft as a fun project to go along with learning about Edgar Allan Poe and his work, and I think he’d approve!
Obviously Poe is famous for his poem, The Raven, but there is much more to him than that. He was a critic, often making enemies with other writers. He went to West Point. He also lost several people in his life to tuberculosis.Â
The raven he wrote about was inspired by a pet raven of Charles Dickens, named Grip. There’s a cute book about the connection Grip gave the two authors called, A Raven Named Grip: How a Bird Inspired Two Famous Writers, Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe
If you are a homeschool parent or a parent looking to have some fun immersing into Edgar Allan Poe with your family, I created a packet with lesson pages, a recipe, online game access, activities, and more (including a printable of this craft). Head over to my Etsy Shop to grab it!
Get to Crafting…
My kids loved these and we now have a small “unkindness” in our living room… while a group of crows is a murder, a group of ravens is an unkindness!
If you or your kiddos make this Raven craft, I would love to hear what you think! Comment below and share or head over to Instagram or Facebook and tag me @bemandfam to share pics… I’d love to see them… especially any done for Halloween decorations!
Don’t forget to pin this for later and if you like Pinterest, I am there too!
Happy Crafting!
BEM and Fam 
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