Pinecone Owls

So sorry for being MIA recently.  We have had a super crazy couple of weeks around here filled with an ear infection, the stomach flu and a cold.  Luckily, with the bad times there were some good ones.  Like my dad's birthday, two of our niece's baptisms (even though we could only make it to one) and our nephew's first birthday party.  AND I have managed to create one Thanksgiving project that I had planned.  Wohoo!

Look at these little cuties! These owls are very easy to make and this is a great project for kids to help out with.

I have to admit that I stole this idea from my teachers way, way back in elementary school.  My sister Cristina was the first one to do this project at school for Thanksgiving when she was in fourth grade.  Her owl is on the left.  I, being just one grade younger was extremely excited to get to make my owl the next year.  After all that anticipation, they had us make them differently and I ended up making that little number to the right.  I didn't even realize how un-cute mine was until I brought it home the last day of school before Thanksgiving break and set it down next to my sister's...  Complete disappointment.  I have been wanting to redo it for the last couple years and I finally got everything together and did it.

Materials Needed:

• pinecones  (I bought mine at clearance from a craft store.  They are lightly scented but not strong.  If you live somewhere that you can easily collect them from under a tree that works too.)
• cotton balls (pulled apart into smaller pieces). 
• felt (I used white, black and a couple shades of orange and tan.)
• craft glue
• scissors
• pencil

The bag of pinecones that I purchased came with two different types.  If you run into the same thing just separate them like I did.

The dark brown pinecones that are wide with a good amount of spacing work best for this project.  The other ones wont go to waste because I have a Christmas craft underway for them.

Use the felt to create the owl's face and body parts.  I started with the eyes, using the cap of my glue to get a good circle.  You'll also need ears, wings, a beak, a belly and feet.

Glue the overlapping felt together with craft glue then lay out your owl features.

Dot some glue onto the "petals" of the pinecone then stuff them with cotton pieces.

Now you should have the owl's body and body parts.

Glue all the body parts to the pinecone and you're done!  Isn't he cute?

You can even make a family of owls!  They are the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving decor.