Happy Firday + Andrea Lauren

I shall wrap up for the weekend with these stunning artwork by Andrea Lauren a printmaker and a designer who is presently living in Asheville, NC. I am enamored with this series of block printed artwork depicting owls, birds and other animals. She hand draws the illustrations then hand-carves them on natural wood which are then block printed to design silkscreen art print in water-based block printing inks. 

If you like, you can follow her on Tumblr to see more of her amazing prints and to learn about her artwork and the process.

I wish you a lovely weekend. Take care!

xoxo

Shivani

DIY: Halloween Place Card Holder

These little guys is a spook-tacular idea to show guests where to sit or to label food on your next Halloween gathering. Sculpey.com shares simple step-by-step instructions for making owl, cat and pumpkin place card holders to add some whimsy to your holiday table. For the entire list of the materials and the complete instructions go to the link given above. Happy crafting!

Owl and Witch Halloween Vintage Postcards

This halloween vintage postcard with an owl perched on a crescent shaped moon with a young witch woman can be downloaded from here to be used for any halloween craft projects.

This second wonderful antique image features a witch who is impressively balancing the owl on her finger and the cat on her shoulder. The greeting reads "Good Wishes for Hallowe'en." Go ahead and download it from here for your next project.

"Song Contest" Owl Collection

'Song Contest' Cocktail Napkins Green'

'Green Little Owls Lunch Napkins'

'Orange Little Owls Lunch Napkins'

'Owl Song Contest Owls Dessert Plate', 'Song Contest Metal Tin', 'Song Contest Owl Tea for One' and 'Song Contest Owl Hand-Painted Spreader and Bowl Set'

'Song Contest' owl collection offers party supplies and other homeware items  that are perfect for your next party. Bring more festivity and color with these cheerful owls, birds surrounded with leaves and flowers in the background. The collection includes - owl paper napkins, paper plates, storage tin, tea for one set, bowl with hand-painted spreader and table runner (not shown). You can find all the products and order them online from here.

DIY: Owl Mask + Free Pattern

Woodland creatures is one of the favorite chooses for kids to dress up as on Halloween. No wonder the internet is overflowing with printables and costume tutorials for owl, raccoon, fox, hare etc. For those of us who like to make things by hands Allison has shared this wonderful tutorial on making an owl mask which comes with a printable template. For the rest, there are many masks that I have shared in the past that can be downloaded and printed.

To make the project, you'll require only a few things:

- Felt

- Embroidery floss 

- Embroidery needle

- Ribbon

- Iron on interfacing

- Spray adhesive

- Freezer paper

- and, the template

For the the step by step instructions and to download the template, go to Allison's blog.

Freebie: Printable Owls

If you have been looking for a quick and easy fall/halloween decoration idea then you are going to love today's freebie. I found this printable here which you can download and print for free! The template is available in two sizes which you can be colored to go with the occasion for example shades of orange for fall and black for halloween. Simply print, fold and cut, and your done! 

How to Make an Owl with Paper Mache and Clay

Malinda of Dahlhart Lane created this wonderful tutorial on making a paper mache owl. The tutorial is in two parts, part one that teaches how to make the basic owl form using paper and part two shows how to cover that form with clay. The instructions are given in detail with images and are clear enough for someone who is attempting at paper mache for the very first time. Following the tutorial you can make an owl in any size you desire to decorate with for fall or halloween.

October 2014 Desktop Calendar

"There’s An Owl In My Olive!" Get it from here.

"Fall In Love With Autumn" Get it from here.

"Harvest Carnival Fun" Get it from here.

"Singing Owls" Get it from here.

Happy October! In this brand new month, I found not one, not two but four lovely desktop calendars to share with you. Go ahead and download the one you like the most to dress up your desktop with fall inspired calendar. The source for each of the desktop calendar is given right under the image. Simply click to find them in several sizes and download the one you need.

Tammy Marinuzzi: Ceramic Jars

"Hooter #1"

Hooter #1 side view

Hooter #1, ceramic jar with head for a lid

"Hooter #2"

"Blue Guy"

"I Love You Boy?"

"Preferences"

"I Love You Gal"

Tammy Marinuzzi is a super talented ceramic artist from Panama City, FL. Her hand-built whimsical and quirky ceramic pieces are made out of terra-cotta and hand painted with bright stains and glazes. Tammy's primary source of inspiration comes from watching people, she observes and reads their body language and facial expressions which are reflected in her pieces. She makes functional ceramics that are ideal for everyday use such as ceramic jars, cups, teapots, plates.  Her work has a human like quality that expresses and exposes human imperfections like greed, lust, jealousy, fear, love, and joy. 

Artist's statement: "The work brings self-awareness directly to the table. It is made to mimic the interactions of everyday life and to encourage self-examination. They can be read as heavy both in weight and emotion, a metaphor for human interaction: "One can fill a cup or render it empty." To see more of her more and to learn about her you can go here.

Free Printable Halloween Owl

You can get this adorable halloween owl to make treat bag tags and to decorate cards. The printable file will have owls in three different sizes - one large, two medium sized and five small cut outs to meet all kind of needs. To read the instructions to download and print please go to this link. While on the link, also check out other wonderful printables such as bat, skull, skeleton etc. Enjoy!

Easy Owl Leaf Art

This is an easy as well as a fun tutorial that teaches you how to make a feathered owl with leaves. All you need to do is grab some leaves (which you could do while taking a walk in your neighborhood on a fine afternoon), construction paper, glue and scissors. This is a very simple craft project for kids of all ages to try that does not need much help. You can make multiple owls to decorate around the house and bring a little fall colors into your home. 

For the entire tutorial with complete instructions, you can go here. You can find other fall inspired craft projects and diys that I shared previously on the blog by going to this link.

Bird Sculptures Made From PVC

Nelson and Lorna Forest from North Central Florida is a super talented duo who have been creating these lovely bird sculptures from PVC pipe for over 12 years! Yes, you read that right. These birds are made using PVC pipe.

Why they chose PVC to make the bird sculptures?

"We found making sculptures with PVC pipe allows us to give our sculptures a 3 dimensional aspect. We also found that the PVC also mimics the movements of the real bird as it will sway in the wind. We strive to make our sculpture as real and life like as the bird we portray."

The process begins with a drawing which is then formed into a 3D sculpture with the help of simple tools like jigsaw, sandpaper and different heat sources to achieve different poses. The birds have a very light and delicate quality that if you see them without the knowledge of the material used, you can't guess they are to be formed with a mundane material such as PVC. To see more of their birds, visit their website.

Ceramic Dish Sets for Kids

Make your little one's meal time fun with this sweet collection of ceramic dish sets by Alex Marshall Studios. The set of three hand-made ceramic pieces includes a plate, bowl and a mug that can be personalized with your child's name. The set comes in bright eye-catching colors and several animal designs such as owl, elephant. whale, rabbit, monkey, duck and more!

More products and designs from the ceramic collection can be found here. 

"Have a hoot of a Halloween" Printable

Here's another wonderful printable with an owl and text that reads: "Have a hoot of a Halloween" that's perfect to be used for all kinds of Halloween projects. To download the image in full size go here and download for free.