paper bag owls

This Halloween decoration was inspired by my 15-month-old daughter's love of owls.  I made these owls during her afternoon nap, and surprised her when she woke up!  Elise helps me with most projects, but this one seemed more appropriate for a slightly older child. 

materials

• paper bags (large owl is a leaf bag, small owls are gift bags with the handles cut off)
• leaves
• masking tape
• paint/markers
• glue
• wall bumpers (large owl eyes)
• ping pong balls (small owl eyes)
• sharpie 
• x-acto knife/scissors
• orange card stock

1. Fill bags with leaves, pressing down every so often to make compact.  (We live in a windy place, so I put large rocks in the bottoms of my bags first to keep them from blowing over.)
2. Tape the top of the bag closed, shaping the sides into "ears."  I used painter's tape, but masking tape would be ideal.  (see above photo)
3. If your bag has writing on it, you'll probably want to paint over it.  I used spray paint to paint the large owl I made from the leaf bag.  I didn't paint my small owls because I made them with plain bags.
4. Use paint or markers to add details like feathers, wings, etc.   I used a black sharpie for the details on the white owl.  I used white paint on the other two owls.
5. Draw pupils on wall bumper and ping pong ball eyes with a sharpie.  I used double-sided tape to attach wall bumper eyes to the large owl.  The ping pong ball eyes were a little trickier to attach.  First, I cut ping pong ball sized X's with an x-acto knife where I wanted the eyes to be on the owls.  Then, I applied glue to the backs of the ping pong balls and pressed them into the X's.  
6. Cut triangles out of orange card stock for the beaks, folding down the center to add dimension.  Use glue to attach beaks to the owls. 
7. Done!  Give your finished owls a kiss - that's what Elise does.  ;)

Hoo Hoo's excited for Halloween?!?!!!!