Saturday, October 5, 2013

Recycled Bottle Owl




Have I got a fun project to share with you today! Handcrafted owls are very popular now and I love making them as you can see here.   When I saw a whimsical wreath with a very small owl perched on decorative vines at World Market  I wondered why the owl wasn't emphasized more instead of the vines.  I thought this would be a fun project to do featuring an owl I made out of a recycled liquid soap bottle. 





Here's how I made it:


1.  Using an empty liquid soap bottle (shaped somewhat like an owl), I removed the labels and cut off the screw top with a hot knife. I used the large refill size but the smaller size is the same shape.

2.  Glued burlap onto the bottle with Aileen's Extra Tacky Glue.

3.  For the eyes I used cotton twine from the dollar store and made them like I did here.

4.  To cover the hole in the top of the bottle I cut out a square piece of burlap and glued it on with the pointed edge between the eyes. Then glue twigs into the shape of a "v" between and above the eyes.

5.  Make sure the pointed edge of the burlap is centered before gluing on the back and  gently creased the two edges that are to the left and right of the owl's head.

6.  Use a glue gun to add pinecone scales to the sides of the owl.

7.   Overlap the pinecone scales from the bottom to the top sides. 

8.  Add twigs (for tail) to the back bottom of the owl.  I used more scales here to cover the top of the twigs. If you want, you can completely cover any remaining areas of the owl with twigs or with any natural fibers. The options are endless.

9.  Use three pieces of floral twine wrapped wire glued together to make each of the owl's feet.

 10.  Add a large pinecone scale between the lower portion of the eyes for the beak.

                                                                    

And it's done!  Quite simple and easy to make!  



Now, for my inspiration:

                                     Theirs                                                 Mine

An adorable owl perched on a leaf filled grapevine hung with jute twine! 





This precious owl vine swag can be hung on the wall or tied to a front door.  What a great fall accessory and a wonderful way to greet friends and family for the holidays.

Take a little time to enjoy!












22 comments:

  1. He is adorable Gail! I love his pine cone feathers! Too cute! I recently made a burlap owl too, but yours is so much cuter!

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  2. I love this cute little guy. A great addition to any Fall setting.

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  3. Oh Gail, so cute and adorable little owl! Love it!
    Have a lovely Sunday!
    Blessings,
    Vesna

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  4. I so love upcycled projects....this one is adorable! Great job!!

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  5. Now that is genius, I want to make an owl!!

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  6. I like the size and colors of yours better! It turned out great:@)

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  7. Oh my goodness, your owl is fantastic! Yours wins, hands down.

    Great to have you be a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  8. I really love your owl. Found you on Home Talk. I am now following you. Would love for you to visit The B Farm and follow me back. Looking forward to browsing thru your blog.
    Cecilia
    Http:// thebfarm.blogspot.com

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  9. I just LOVE this!! Amazingly creative!

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  10. Amazing, yet another case of the knockoff beating out the original. Would love to have this hanging on my front door. So creative!

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  11. I think this may be my all time favorite project of yours Gail! I love owls and you know that I love something made out of trash!! Way to upcycle! In my humble opinion, yours is way cuter than the world market one! Thanks for the easy to follow tutorial! Pinned it to try for next fall!

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  12. Oh, Gail your owl turned out fabulous.....it's so much like my "Two Southern Owls" that I posted back in July ;)

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  13. Gail, you know I had to feature this adorable owl at the Pick of the Bunch today! I love it. Just pinned and tweeted, too! Thanks so much for sharing with us at A Bouquet of Talent, you very talented lady!! :)
    XO
    Kathy

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  14. He is the cutest owl I have seen this Fall. Darling! You did a great job on him. Will give him a try. I am your newest follower.

    Judy

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  15. Oh how adorable!!! I love this little guy. He is toooo cute.

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  16. I never would have guessed this was a soap bottle! This owl is totally adorable! Visiting from the Craft Challenge Creative Link Party.

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  17. I love love love your owl! So creative to use the soap bottle for his body.

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  18. Oh this owl is so adorable! love the way you did the wings, looks like feathers! You are trying to get us inspired and it's working!!

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  19. I love your little guy so much better than the stores. I am going to try to make this. I love things like this and so much more fun to make than buy.

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  20. Oh my goodness; he is so cute! Pinned.

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