Mr Owl: carved paper sculpture tutorial

These eyes have been staring up at me from the recycling bin for the longest time; I've finally attached a body to them.

 Mr Owl was so easy and fun to make I'm now hoarding egg cartons. Egg cartons have such an uneven, sculptural texture that cutting them feels more like carving. I think adults and children alike would enjoy making these owls and it's simple to alter the cutting to make each one unique.

Paint or paper scraps could also be applied to these. I'm picturing a trio painted black with larger feather flaps and votive candles shining through for Halloween. 

To make Mr Owl you simply need:

 

• egg carton (I used a 6 egg carton but a 12 egg carton could be cut in half)
• scissors
• pencil
• craft knife (optional)
• craft glue

 

Using pencil, draw two shapes from the bottom side of the carton for, 1. the eyes and beak and 2. the ear/feather tufts that go above and behind the eyes and beak. Then cut them out with scissors. 
 
 

On one end of the top of the carton, draw a shape sort of like this; then cut the shape out (the head will slot in that section.) When your head is ready, you may need to add a couple of vertical cuts to firmly slot it into the body (see vertical cuts under the beak in the finished, yellow owl picture at the top of the page.)
   


Next, on the other end of the lid, draw some feet and cut out the section under the feet. Draw in some "U" shaped feathers and use a craft knife to cut around them (probably not a job for young children.) Then bend in the bottom of each side of the lid on a diagonal. The dotted line above indicates where you should bend the carton.
 

Cut feather shapes around the eyes of your owl if you wish. I cut slits and points and curved them under to give a feather appearance around the eyes. Do the same or create your own eye design. Then cut and gently shape the beak. 
 

Glue the ear piece behind the eyes. A piece of tape will help hold it in position while it dries.

When it's dry slot it in place on top of the owl body.

Finished

I'd love to know if you give these a go :)

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We're still seeing our Little Owl friend nearly everyday when we return home from school. He's inspired this and more upcoming projects. Maybe one day Little Owl will let us take a photo of him. He's very cute, but shy - unless you're a mouse!
 

Remember the repurposed storage containers turned toadstools? They were one of the patterns in the Stitch Village pattern book. Pam has made a whole village of them to store her sewing notions. Instead of embroidering lettering she's sewn a sample of the containers contents above each door - genius. It's very sweet and an incredible amount of work.

Go see Pam's whole village!

Comments

[monique]

Ingenious that egg-owl! I think I am going to give it a try though our egg cartons look a bit different.

[Lucy Locket-Pocket]

Your owl is fabulous! I must show your tutorial to Dot! Lucy x

[Sonia]

oh my this is genius, my friend ! I shall keep this in a bookmark for the looong summer days LOL Thank you so much for sharing the tutorial !
I'll catch up with your blog posts later this weekend. oxoxo

[Elissa]

oh you are SO creative! i've never seen an egg carton QUITE like that in the states, but i think it would probably translate in some way. i love the idea of some for halloween decorations. creative genius!

[Nanou]

Oh clever you, Nini ! I'm in love with your Mr. Owl ! How fun, I guess, to make it ! Thanks for sharing this genius project with us. Mr. Owl will be a wonderful companion for your neighboured owl !

Congrats to Pat for her amazing village inspired by your lovely idea and patterns ! It makes want to shrink to live in :)

[margie oomen]

i truly love your owl
wish I had seen this sooner
it would have been fun to make with my little nephew who was visiting
xo
m

[Rachel]

Aw, this is SO creative! What a fun and unique project. Thanks so much, I'll be linking.

[Margo]

I'm glad I found your blog! I love the poem, "The Owl and the Pussycat." This owl would be a great way to start a display featuring this poem. Now I'll have to think of a way to make 'Pussycat' so she fits into the idea.

[Mathyld / under the pyramids]

I love love this owl !
How did I miss this ?

I will share this link with my friend Andrea & her daughter who both love owls as much as I do and make crafts all the time together !

x x x
___mathyld___

[Emma]

Wow, that's great!

[canvas wall art]

It's so cute. Made from recycled carton paper. Amazing work!