Owls & Feathers

everyone is finally on the mend around here and i've been getting super crafty with cole to help pass the time till santa arrives.  i am literally greeted every morning with "is it christmas today?!?"  i haven't had the heart to explain that it's twenty some days away (not that he can comprehend that kind of time anyway) so distraction has been my best friend.  here's two projects we completed so far - these sets of owls similar to ones i saw on pinterest and feather ornaments inspired by some gorgeous ones from dwell studio.  i love the look of them and they go with my woodland theme for my tree this year, but even hung high there's no way they'd survive in my house, so this was my attempt at a kid friendly version.  not only were both of these projects fun to do, but they were very inexpensive too...    

this set of the sleepy gold owls was my favorite and i loved the way they looked
perched on a piece of driftwood too.  they have held up surprisingly well
to being ripped off the tree and the same goes for the feathers ornaments,

if they get pulled apart they are very easy to fix.

here's how to make both...

you'll need - feathers + leather cording + colored tape like this

step 1. put together 3-5 feathers of your choosing

step 2. cut a piece of cording about 5" long and fold it in half to make a loop

step 3. wrap a small piece of tape to hold it all together.  

*note - this kind of paper tape is not super sticky, so i recommend using scotch tape first for binding and then adding the colored paper tape over top for looks.  this kind of tape doesn't do well when it's wrapped over itself too many times.  also make sure you've trimmed the stems off any long feathers so that one tape width covers the leather cording and stems.

you'll need - cardboard rolls + spray paint + sharpie

step 1. cut (if necessary) cardboard roll to toilet paper size
step 2. spray paint
step 3. once dry fold top inward on two sides to create the owls ears
step 4. use a black fine point sharpie to draw on the owl

*note - i recommend rubber gloves and a comfort grip handle like this to give you more control (whenever you are spray painting really).  also if it's too cold for the paint to cure properly bring them inside once they're tacky to dry the rest of the way.  i used a couple different brands from what i had around the house and the rust-oleum worked so much better than even the more expensive craft store brands - it looked better over the cardboard, dried faster, and was easier to write over once dry.