For the Birds!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I certainly appreciate our children's teachers. They are kind, considerate, stern when needed and most of all they are committed to the education of our children. So to show our appreciation we make certain to do some little something for them each day of the week.  Here is a list of the items we (and by we I mean me ; )  ) chose this year.

Monday- A Scentsy Scent Circle- 'cause lil kids on a warm Texas day smell like sweaty puppies

The gift tag was a small round lace doily that said " You are "scent"sational! "

Tuesday- Hand Stamped Super Sticky Note Pads. It takes a awhile but they are so cute.

Wednesday- A decorated mini clipboard the perfect size for field trips

Thursday- Owl Bookmarks for the teacher "who" has it all  (sorry I couldn't help it, I was trying to be punny)

Friday- Well Dang it I am stuck so I will have to fill in that at a later date, hopefully before tomorrow  8 (

Now you are wondering how the blog title comes in. Well in this tutorial I will focus on the Owl bookmarks. Uh- huh now you got it!  I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Here is the whole gang. I made three for each of the teachers.

Now to get started you will need a few things. 

*white cardstock

*glue stick or mono-adhesive tape

*Mod-podge

*owl pattern ( I got mine from Silhouette America http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/) 

*Square bookmark template ( I made mine from the template at Tally's Treasures http://tallystreasury.com//wp-content/uploads/2011/05/page-corner-bookmark-monsters.pdf )

*Scissors or a Silhouette cutting machine

*sponge brush

*A LOT OF FREE TIME ; )

*patterned paper, color coordinated solid   paper 

 TIP: I tried to really think through my paper. I tried to find combinations of paper that I could use some on one owl and mix it and add to another owl and vice versa. Also some of my paper had nice coordinating colors or patterns on the back of it and other paper didn't but I used the white side anyway for contrast. Some of my favorite paper comes from Close To My Heart Scrapbooking, I order it from my friend, Micki Cox on her website http://mickic.ctmh.com/Default.aspx. Tell her I sent ya!

 Now here we go!

 First you want to make the bookmark corners.

Go to Tally's website download the template or simply draw three  2.5" squares stacked in the shape of a capital "L". Then snip the top and bottom square in half.  

 I used the white cardstock and found I could place four of the templates on one 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock. I played around a bit until I found just the right way to fit as many on as possible because I don't care for waste.  Then run a bone folder or a stylus on the folding edge of the triangle pieces to make a smoother/easier fold. Then fold the triangle pieces over each other and you have a little pocket. Put glue on the bottom side of the top flap and press it to the bottom flap creating a pocket. This is the pocket that the corner of the book page goes into.  With me so far? Ok good......

Use your owl template on your Silhouette and cut out all the pieces on the patterned paper.  Also you will want to cut out a body template out of cardstock to put behind the patterned paper. Now you can use patterned or textured cardstock only if you like too. It's completely up to you!!!!

 

Take your owl body and glue him to the corner bookmark. I glued mine with the flaps inside. I was thinking this would prevent the flap from snagging and I could write on the larger back section or put a large gift tag there.

Glue the eyes and beak on to the body. WAIT ON THE WINGS! Trust me just wait. I know I show it done here but this was my test run and as you apply the feathers to the body the wings are suddenly in the way. Then start at the bottom and place your feathers. I tried four or five in the bottom row and they both work. I tried to place the feathers to cover the tip of the bookmark that shows.   

 Try to layer the feathers by working upward. Fill in the gaps between each feather in the row below. Overlap some here and there if you like it looks more natural and less organized. This little guy has seven layers of feathers. Some of the flock has only five but hey diversity is a good thing right? RIGHT!

Yes, that is a lot of little feathers and yes I glued them all on one at a time. NO, I am not cross eyed, nor did I count them all. But I love the effect because I had control over how full or thin , how arranged or random the feathers turned out.  

Now you can add the wings. I used them to try to hid the corners of the bookmark but they look great both turned out or tucked tightly in against his little body.

Now each feather is an edge waiting to be snagged and caught or dare I say it....PULLED OFF....EEK!!!! So I took Mod Podge and gave each owl a coat on top of everything. The wings are thin but I still coated them on top. This way the Owl is mostly all one piece now and the little feathers won;t be snag prone edges anymore.

Here are a few pics of the rest of the flock to show you a few variations and looks.

  The Button eyes are a template also from Silhouette America. Love the look, but the kids thought it was creepy.  Sheesh, what do they know.... ;  )

See the plaid paper is re used here for contrast and texture.

Plaid used here again.

I was feeling a little cross-eyed and thought this little fella should reflect that feeling. Isn't he cute?! Altering the eyes is a fun way to give each it's own personality. I also thought about adding a bow tie or a hair bow to indicate boys and girls. Maybe next time.

What are you doing in here again?  Camera hog!!!

 

 Buttons for eyes again. And you can see in this one I used the plaid (yep again) but added it randomly organized in the feathers. I thought it turned out pretty neat.  Did ya notice some of the beaks are actually feathers? You can see the difference int his pic. The red head has a feather beak and the blue fella has an actual beak. Some how I lost a few beaks so I improvised. Diversity, I tell ya, it's a good thing!!!!

On the back I had the kids sign their little names and add the year, then I added along the bottom,

 " "Owl" be missing you all summer long. "

I know, I know.....dripping with sugar, huh?

Perched on the page corner inside the book.

 

Inside the book, peeking out and the back of the page and bookmark (pre note for the teacher).

Any WHOOOO.....

That's what I have been  UP to......

snicker snicker