Tiny owls, painted and drawn onto the smooth surface of tumbled river pebbles, make for such a sweet handmade gift. Something from one childhood friend to another, from a little one to their treasured grown-up or for oneself to place in a little "nest" where such an owl would be comfy.
My tiny owl.
My dear friend, Lucy, of the blog Follow That Child, gave me two such tiny owls. One is wide awake and the other is dozing quietly. Lucy is the most resourceful and creative person I know! I get so many good ideas from her and so it was with her owls.
Lucy's owls.
These little bird friends can be sleepy daytime owls or wide-awake night owls. They can be painted with acrylic paints or drawn with permanent markers or a combination of the two. When considering how I would offer this sweet craft to a class of young children, I followed the simple process I found over at Red Ted Art. The surface of each pebble is given a coat of acrylic white paint and, once dry, a myriad of coloured permanent pens are used to add the owl-y details.
They really are very easy to make! I sourced some smooth river pebbles from my local landscape supplier. I washed them and let them dry before giving just one side a coat of a good quality acrylic white paint. (Leaving one side unpainted allows a child to see the surface and markings of the original rock underneath.) I chose a paint which would give a good even coverage without the need for a second coat. I then used permanent marker pens to draw on the details once the paint was dry. I recommend leaving them overnight as I found the paint can be a bit 'tacky' even if it is dry to the touch soon after being applied. Then comes the fun of drawing the eyes, beaks, wings, feathers, eyebrows and even eyelashes which bring a unique little owl character to life.
Three owl friends.
I think they are adorable!
Meg
