Fun With Owls Part 1: Owl Ball Felt Toy

Two weeks ago we celebrated our little’s birthday. We did an autumn owl theme which turned out to be really fun. Having a cold the week before and a few rainy days the week of, I had some indoor time that left me making all of the party decorations. These decorations are super easy and fun for a themed birthday party, fall decor or just a fun arts and crafts project. Enjoy! K

Owl Ball Felt Toy

These were made as a take home party favor for the little ones. Not only are they cute, but they are easy to make and could become another animal easily with different shapes and pieces cut from felt.

Supplies:

Felt
1 - full 9 x 12 sheet any color for the body
2 - 2” circles white or cream for eyes
2 - 1/2” brown circles for pupils
2 - 2.5 x 3.5” brown ovals for wings
1 - orange, brown, or yellow diamond for beak

Tacky Glue
Scissors
Piece of Ric Rac or sturdy ribbon
Small Ball - Pinky Hi Bouce Balls work perfectly
Template

Process:

1.) Cut pieces according template which you can download here or create your own.

2.) Take your ball and colored sheet of felt and wrap the ball.

Place the ball in the center and fold in the short sides, gather up the long sides, allowing one side to be slightly longer.

3.) Tie the ric rac at the top of the ball.

4.) Tuck the top of the felt to form the shape of the owl's head. Use glue to hold.

5.)  Tuck the oval shaped wings beneath the ric rac and secure with a little glue, on each side.

6.) Glue both big circles side by side to the center of owls head, okay to overlap a little.

7.) Glue each small circle in the center of the big circle to complete the eyes.

8.) Glue the widest part of the diamond beneath the eyes in the center to make the beak.

9.) Let the glue dry and now you have an owl. Enjoy!

Spooky Tchotchke Shelf

Tchotchke Shelf Before © creativebleed

Last month I spotted this awful tchotchke shelf at a local thrift store. Not sure if it was the red velvet backing or the scalloped edges, but $4 later and I am walking home with it. After it sat for a few weeks I saw its future while pulling out my box of Halloween goodies... ah ha a SEASONAL tchotchke shelf!

A little spray paint and some synthetic cob webs and whala I have a spooky house shelf for my Halloween knick knacks. Dont underestimate the power of the 70's tchotchke shelves. K

Tchotchke Shelf After © creativebleed

This Place Was Clean...Yesterday

This Place Was Clean Yesterday © Kristin Chapman 2011

On Sunday I got to spend a few minutes alone with my camera in the middle of nowhere...this is what I captured. Enjoy! K

Blue Chair, Once Green © Kristin Chapman 2011Rust On Green © Kristin Chapman 2011

Rust Smudges On White © Kristin Chapman 2011

Curtain © Kristin Chapman 2011Hipsters Were Here © Kristin Chapman 2011

Creative Bleed Bungalow on Re-Nest

© creativebleed

Two months ago I applied for a blogger position on Apartment Therapy's Re-Nest team. To my surprise they published one of my posts back in August, see post here. Unfortunately I did not get the gig, which was confirmed last week. Regardless, it was cool to be published and see my work on the site. Check it out if you haven't already. K

Pipe Table

Rusted pipe table at Alameda Point

Back in February we spotted this table at the Point. It was exactly what we were looking for our outdoor dining area. Of course at Point prices this was out of our reach but we felt we could tackle this one on our own. So earlier this summer we got to work making one. We started by scouting out materials and coming up with a plan based on the height of the chairs we had and the space the table would live in.

 © creativebleed

The result became a 10 ft in length custom table and a new windshield. We started by gathering used galvanized pipe from Urban Ore in Berkeley. Then headed over to Lowes to have the pipe cut to the dimensions we needed and purchased new fittings. Next we assembled the frame, by basically attaching the fittings to the pipes.

Frame made from salvaged galvanized pipe and new fittings © creativebleed

Once the frame was assembled we used salvaged redwood from Oakland's ReUse Store and assembled the top. This is were my windshield broke. Turns out the boards were just a bit too long for the car.

Table completed frame close-up © creativebleed

Using two supporting panels that go over the pipe, the redwood was then nailed to the tops to complete the table. And wha la we have a table customized to the length of the space and height of the chairs.

Table top close-up © creativebleed

This is not a cheap DIY project, it can be an investment depending on the source of materials and size of the table. We saved big bucks using salvaged pipe and redwood. The biggest expense was the new windshield, but that included, it was still a fraction of what a table this size would retail for. And yes we have been enjoying it all summer long! k