Guatamalen money is called quetzal and has an image of the bird.
Quetzals are brightly plumaged birds that live in the humid highland forests of western Mexico, Central America and South America. The quetzal also is the national bird of Guatemala. Quetzal crafts are popular for teaching the alphabet to young children. Older children can make a headdress with simulated quetzal feathers or a colorful paper quetzal mosaic. Adults can embroider or quilt quetzal designs.
Preschool Craft
Preschool children can make a quetzal from a toilet paper tube and a template. Print a quetzal template found at DLTK's Growing Together website. Color the bird's head, back and wings green, the breast red and tail feathers blue and green. Cut out the pieces. Glue a piece of green construction paper or the template body around the toilet paper tube. Glue the tail to the inside rear of the tube and fold it up so that the bird stands. Glue the head to the front of the tube. Glue the wings either to the side and pointing down or to the back so it looks like the quetzal is flying. Glue the tops of the feet to the inside front of the tube and fold them to the outside.
Feather Headdress
Headdresses made from quetzal feathers appeared in the cultures of the Aztec and Highland Maya Indians of Mexico and as far south as Brazil. The Aztecs and Mayans sewed a large fan of feathers and attached it to the back of the head using straps and a headband or metal circlet. To replicate this look, cut an arc from cardboard that measures the width of your head. Trim turkey feathers to a thin shape or use long, thin feathers such as those from a pheasant. Spray paint the feathers blue or green. Glue the bases of the feathers to one side of the cardboard to create a fan shape. Staple an elastic circular band near the middle of the arc so that the feather headdress rests at the back of the head with the headband resting across the forehead.
Quetzal Embroidery
Find an image of a quetzal and transfer the image onto iron-on paper. Transfer the design to the fabric that will be embroidered. Give the feathers shimmer by mixing colored strands of embroidery floss together to make two- or three-colored strands that can be applied to the image. For example, mix two strands of green with one of turquoise for head feathers or mix one green with two bright blues for the wings' feathers.
Patterns
Find a quetzal image and turn it into a quilt pattern or use the pattern to make a wall hanging or stained glass. Children also can use a quilt pattern to cut patterned paper instead of fabric. Have them glue the pieces onto a large sheet of construction paper to create a mosaic.
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