Owl Bookmark Tutorial

If you like to give and receive hand-made gifts then this is a great tutorial for you. This is a wonderful tutorial on how make an owl bookmark created by Emilie of Nem Graphisme. The website is in French, but the tutorial is easy and simple to understand alone with the help of images but you can always translate it with the help of Google translator. The tutorial comes with a template which can be downloaded and printed. Why not make a cute owl bookmark this weekend for yourself or for a bookworm you know :)

Have a lovely weekend and keep smiling!

xoxo

Shivani

Papercut Templates by April Summers Art

Emily Scard of April Summers Art is a paper cut artist based in England who hand cuts beautiful hand drawn or digitally designed templates. On her online store the templates are categorized as - personal and commercial. 

If you fancy to create your own paper cuts to sell then you can buy templates from commercial category and sell them on small scale. Carefully read the instructions given under the item's description you wish to buy. Presently, her online store has over 40 templates to choice including quotes, floral design, owls, birds and other animals.

Free Owl Party Printables

Ces is the author of the blog called One Charming Day where she has shared tons of creative and inspiring ideas for hosting kids parties, weddings, as well as stylish and chic printables that can be downloaded for free. The shown printable set includes invitations, label cards, cupcake toppers, thank you tags, water bottle labels and straw flags, perfect for a girl's birthday party. 

Feel free to download the printables for your next birthday party by following this link. But please remember these printables as for personal use only. 

Cut Feather Artwork by Chris Maynard

Chris Maynard from Washington uses scalpel, an eye surgery tool, to cut and to carve poetic works of art out of various bird feathers acquired from zoos and private aviaries. Each unique feather piece is moved and arranged in a shadow box that is handcrafted.

“Each feather, though dead and discarded, keeps something of the bird’s essence,” Maynard shares. Indeed, the colorful and sometimes humorous creations highlight the feather’s beauty but also encourages us to ponder the life of its previous owner. “Since I work mostly with shed feathers, some of the birds that grew them are likely still living.”  - via.

In his work, he often tries to use feathers of the same bird he is portraying for example swan feathers for a swan, peacock feathers for a peacock . He makes sure that the feathers retain their original colors, textures and shapes as they were on the bird.

"Owl for One and One for Owl" the shadow box at the top is inspired by Charlie Harper’s piece, "Owltercation" as well as Chris watching three crows chasing an owl out of the tall fir tree in his neighborhood. 

Karl Martens: Watercolor Paintings

I recently discovered the gorgeous work of Karl Martens an artist from San Francisco. He paints his birds from memory using watercolors and charcoal on hand-made paper.

"I look at a bird and a specific expression or posture, which particularly expresses the personality of the bird, sticks in my mind. Then I paint..." 

Some of his paintings are available in form of limited edition prints for purchase at Art.com.

Katherine Rally Textiles from Indonesia

Katherine Rally Textiles was started by designers Kathy and Rally Dupps, originally from Boulder, Colorado who after getting married moved to Bali, Indonesia. Inspired by travel, textiles and natural surroundings they produced a beautiful line of batiks in vibrant colors. The range features stunning patterns and designs including animal motifs hand printed on cotton linen and cotton twill  in bright colors. Love Cats (tiger print) and Alexandra (owl print) are perfect for making cushion covers or other accessories for any room in the house.

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Animal Photographs by Cally Whitman

Cally Whitham is a photographic artist from New Zealand, currently working and living  in the Rural North of Auckland. Cally Whitham studied two years of photography at Carrington Design School/Unitec. She takes artistic portraits of animals and birds in romantic light that brings out aesthetics of her subject giving her work a real oil painting effects. 

“My photographic voice is very romantic and nostalgic. I am a pictorialist at heart. I work on the idea of capturing a thought or feeling more so than the actual subject matter in front of me.”

The owl at the top is stunning, really. The dark background framing the owl makes its posture and features stand out giving him a personality that has a human resemblance.

Mamas & Papas: Patternology

Mamas & Papas is a UK brand started by husband and wife team - David and Luisa Scacchetti in 1981. They offer a wide variety of baby and kids products like furniture, car seats, toys, books, clothing and much more. The first thing anyone who visits their website will notice instantly is their innovative design and vibrant color palette of their merchandise.  

Designed by Ruth Ashton "Patternology" is a collection featuring forest friends - owl, squirrel, lion, hedgehog, fox and bear made from eye catching patterns and  geometric shapes. The above shown are few of the products from the range including stacking boxes, passport holders, cushions, body suits and keepsake suitcase. More products from the collection can be found on their website.

Art on Mushroom

Ildikó is an artist from Pula, Hungary who paints on shelf mushroom also known as Tinder Fungus. Another awesome thing I learnt about today, I didn't know you could paint on mushrooms!

"Tinder Fungus, are a tree fungus that grows on dead or wounded trees in any woodland. Working with nature's canvas is a long process, which can take months of preparation. Each one is unique in size and shape, with wonderful natural features that inspire. They are wood like and very durable, natures design to last a lifetime and beyond." - from the artist's online store.

Her painting are often inspired by nature and animals. The owl painting on the mushroom shown above is filled with amazing detailing, especially the reflection in the owl's eyes which puts life into the painting. You can join her on facebook where she updates about her new artwork and special discounts. She welcomes custom orders, you can contact her with a picture of your favorite animal, your pet or a place to create something unique for you.

Sticky Rice Owl Dessert

How adorable are those faces! I was browsing for recipes online when I stumbled across this link to a Japanese website that shared the recipe to make owls for dessert out of Nerikiri. I don't know Japenese neither did I know what Nerikiri was but I was curious to learn so I searched some more. Nerikiri is a Japanese confection made from white bean, sticky rice flour and sugar. The dough is used the same way as you would use clay to form different edible shapes and desserts. 

Of course, if you have experience in cooking Japanese this recipe will be easier to make than those who have never worked with sticky rice before. Nonetheless, this is an inspiring idea to try or to incorporate in your baking because the round shaped owls are just too cute to pass!