Owl Decorations

Hi everyone! It's Cheryl here again from Cheryl's Crafts (www.facebook.com/japancherylcraft)! I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween! 

I love so many things about the fall. I wish there was a longer period of time between Halloween and Thanksgiving so that all the autumn decorations have their fair chance to be up. 

Here's an idea I adjusted from another tutorial I saw (www.parents.com/fun/arts-crafts/kid/give-a-hoot-owl-craft). I'm so happy how they turned out! You can even make these with your kids. They can even be table decorations for your Thanksgiving dinner!

I'll be showing you how to make both of these owls - 1) Cupcake Liner Owl, 2) Ribbon Owl. First let's take a look at what you are going to need to make these little friends!

- hot glue gun and glue sticks

- scissors

- ruler

- lighter

- toilet paper cardboard tubes

- cupcake paper liners (I used several different colors and patterns.)

- ribbon

- bottle caps 

- wiggly eyes

Cupcake Liner Owl

First, push in the tip of one end of a toilet paper cardboard tube. Repeat on the opposite side (not the opposite end).

This is what you'll have after you push both tips in.

Turn it around so that the flap is sticking out on the back side. This is now the front of your owl.

Take one cupcake paper liner and fold it in half with the print side facing out.

Cut out the bottom portion of the cupcake liner. You do this by cutting out a semicircle along the pre-existing crease for the bottom.

When you open up your liner, you will have a donut-shaped liner.

Cut the donut shape in half creating 2 halves. Repeat this process with one more cupcake liner. You will now have created 4 donut halves.

Take your warmed-up glue gun and start gluing on the liners starting from the bottom. Basically you are gluing on the liner like putting a skirt around the toilet paper roll. It's okay that the liner doesn't cover the full backside of the cardboard tube. You will be covering up that portion later with the owl wings.

This is what the back side looks like. I made sure the liner was hanging down a little below the bottom of the toilet paper tube so the cardboard wouldn't show. 

Repeat the process with the remaining 3 pieces of the liner creating a layered skirt look.

I used a piece of ribbon and cut it into a small triangle. I sealed the ends. I will use this for my owl's nose. You can easily use a piece of cardstock or construction paper instead to make the nose as well.

Glue the nose on.

Next, create the eyes. I used flattened bottle caps and glued the wiggly eyes on it. As a bow maker and a former scrapbooker, I had this stuff lying around my house. Like with the nose, you can just use paper to create the eyes if you don't have these things or are looking for an alternative method. 

Glue your eyes onto the owl. 

Take 2 more cupcake liners and fold them in half. This will be used for the owl's wings. I used the same patterned liners that I used above, but feel free to try something different.

Glue one liner on the backside with the pleated part sticking out.

This is the view from the backside.

Glue the other liner on to create the second wing.

Here's the completed owl!

Ribbon Owl

For the ribbon owl, I used mostly 7/8" width ribbon and gold colored 1/2" width ribbon. I cut several strips to 3 inches in length. I sealed all the ends. (I ended up using 14 strips of 7/8" ribbon and 4 strips of 1/2" ribbon.) The amount of ribbon or strips you will make depends on the end result you are hoping for.

Take a strip of ribbon. Fold it in half and glue the tips together.

Repeat with the remains strips.

Take a cardboard toilet paper tube and fold down the top like instructed in making the Cupcake Liner Owl. Beginning gluing the strips of ribbon from the bottom and back side of the cardboard tube. The tips will be pointing up and the majority of the glue should be on the back of this part when gluing to the tube. Again, I made sure some of the ribbon hung over the bottom of the tube in order so that the cardboard wouldn't show from the front. 

Take your next piece of ribbon and glue it next to the first piece of ribbon. Continue this process until you have almost gone completely around the tube. It's not necessary for you to completely cover the tube. In the end, the owl's wings will cover this part.

Now repeat this process making the next layer. I made 3 rows/layers of ribbon.

Create your eyes, nose and wings just like you did with the Cupcake Liner Owl. Glue them all on and you are done!

Here are the 2 completed owls used as table decorations.

I cut some branches from a tree outside. I put them in a wine bottle and hung my owls on the branches. Now it's a nice floor decoration. Maybe I'll try to put some paper leaves on later! 

I hope you all enjoy the autumn season as much as me!!