Introducing…

Mrs. Owly.

   

Whooooo?  You say? 

My oldest, who loves to create, loves this owl from Pottery Barn Kids (which I LOVE!).  She just kept going on and on over how cute he was.  I suggested we try to make our own owl, since she loved to create things.

I had her start with an inspiration drawing. This was her first attempt.  It’s the first time I’ve seen her draw an owl…I was impressed.

 

I had her refine it by just drawing an owl.  I had her color it in so I would know how many fabrics to use.

We made a pattern using freezer paper.  It was awesome because you can iron on the freezer paper to the fabric and cut it out without using pins!  She is a young 6 years old, so I thought it would be great for her to try cutting out the pieces from the fabric that way.  It worked awesome and she got such a kick out of it!

She went through my stash and picked out all the fabrics she wanted to use.  I tried to let her pick on her own – so she could figure out what things she thought “went together” – like a true designer.

We fussy cut some fabrics for the eyes, nose, and eyelashes.  I had her go through my scraps to find a piece for a mouth and cut it how she wanted.  We used Steam A Seam to apply the fabric, which I let her do with the iron (also her first time ironing).  She thought it was so amazing how the Steam a Seam worked to stick together fabrics – much like glue on pieces of paper. 

We also put a little applique on the belly – again fussy cutting some scraps.  I also free-motion stitched around all the appliques to help the fabrics stay on for years to come.

And, hence, we brought to life Mrs. Owly.  Mrs. Owly who has been in her arms every possible moment.  It’s amazing how well this owl flies…I am pretty sure it flies better than a real owl (even though it’s wings are teeny tiny for it’s long body).

In the end, this was a fun project to do with a child who likes to make things.  She found it amazing how she MADE this – all from her own drawing.  She enjoyed getting her hands involved in the whole process – specifically stuffing it.  I love that she loves the end product, enjoyed the process, and in the end we have a handmade, homemade piece of art that looks just like SHE wanted it to look.