Friday, October 15, 2010

Old School Stationers


Brian and Amy Reed are the owners of Old School Stationers a letterpress studio located in Portland. They specialize in the production of handmade cards, journals and wall prints that are bold in color and inspired by old times art work. They print these gorgoues cards on a paper imported from that's more than  350 years old Italian family-owned mill and printed by a hand-run antique letterpress circa 1917.

Masked Owl Costume: Martha Stewart


I believe it's safe to say that Martha Stewart loves owls too. Lately, I have discovered many wonderful owl crafts and costume ideas by her and have been sharing with you here. This masked owl costume is by far my favorite. It is a perfect fusion of an aviator and owl costume. Don't you love the goggles and pilot cap with that feathery belly?

To download the template and to read the instructions click here.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Halloween Shadow Makers: Mini Eco




Kate of Mini Eco made these adorable shadow makers in shapes of ghost, skull, bat and owl for her boys that are very easy and quick to make. All you'll need is some black paper, a craft knife, sticky tape and some wooden sticks. To download the full size templates go to her blog. Enjoy!

Patti Sandberg


I absolutely adore these ceramic mugs and dishes by Patti Sandberg. Artits said "I am drawn to working with clay because the process of building and the playfulness of the material is a connection with my childhood, and a form of communicating in a way that I can not do with words. My work is drawn from the living and natural world."

Halloween Decor: Middleburg







Susan is a full-time artist of Middleburg a business based in Snow Hill, North Carolina. She crafts one-of-a-kind paper mache pieces prepared with earth friendly recycled paper and wood inspired by folk art. I love those chalkboard silhouettes on real twigs. These will make a wonderful addition to your Halloween decorations!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Virginia Johnson



Virginia Johnson's new range of decorative pillows and chain stitched bags. The owl wool pouches and pillows have been chain stitched by hand in Kashmir, India.

Pretty Little Things


Lori Marie of Pretty Little Things is a designer and textile artists presently living in California. Lori started out as an aerospace engineering major at UCSD and decided to take some art classes "to balance out my math and science courses." Lori shares "I realized that my passion for innovation and creativity was better applied to pattern making than rocket science...so I transferred to The Fashion Institute of Merchandising in San Francisco and graduated with a degree in fashion design instead."

Her primary inspiration comes by print and pattern among many other sorts of stuff. She works with lots of fun colors and hand detailing to great functional and unique pieces.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Owl Smores


Today, I have the cutest and easiest recipe for Halloween treat for you by Amy of Living Locurto. This recipe calls for 5 simple ingredients. Yes, you read that right. You'll need: graham crackers, marshmallows,chocolate chips yellow candy melts and candy corn. And, you are done! Tada!

For full recipe and instructions hop over to Amy's blog here.

Halloween With Martha Stewart











Year after year, Martha Stewart surprises us with tons of  wonderful Halloween home decorations, holiday crafts and amazing ideas for trick or treat. I had to share some of my favorites with you all from her newest Halloween collection. 

Stamp and Shake Owl Card Tutorial



Tricia Tharp of Frizzelstix was kind enough to put together this tutorial exclusively for My Owl Barn readers knowing that we'll all enjoy and could use a fun project like this with Halloween right around the corner. "Stamp and Shake" owl card is a great project for you to create your own unique Halloween card with your kids. Why is it called "Stamp and Shake"? {hint: sparkle!} Read the tutorial by clicking on the second image to find out.

You can use your own owl stamp or pick the special limited edition spooky owl rubber stamp from Tricia's shop now!

Monday, October 11, 2010

It's All In The Details: Wedding

Marissa and Caleb is a very talented and genius couple who incorporated lots of handmade projects on their big day like these beautiful owl invitations.
If you look closely at Marissa's bouquet, you'll see so many wonderful pieces on it which seem like vintage jewelry. (A bouquet made with brooches and such?) I couldn't zoom in on the bouquet much but I did spot some flowers, an elephant and an owl in there. Isn't it intriguing?
Their guestbook was adorable! Their friend illustrated this beautiful poster featuring a giant tree on which the guests could leave "leaf" thumbprints along with their signs next to it. This is a great idea! Don't you think? It can be framed and hung on a wall. Did you notice that sweet owl couple on the tree?
The bride and groom holding hands on top of that huge house is my favorite picture.
Colorful and cute owl couple cake toppers. Don't they look like tiny piñatas?

{images from here}

DIY: Owl Mask





Johanna and her friend Heather crafted this amazing paper mache owl mask inspired by Martha Stewart's bird masks. I like how it turned out - masculine. Read more on her blog on how she made the owl's feathers, beak and eyes.