Friday, November 2, 2012

Irving Harper: Works in Paper




Irving Harper is an industrial designer who designed homewares in 50s and 60s and then started to make incredibly intricate paper sculptures. He lives in New York and his apartment has all his creations at display. "Crammed onto tabletops, windowsills and shelves and hung on the walls are the sprightly paper sculptures Harper fashioned over the past six decades as a way to occupy himself when his working day was done."

His sculptures were never available for purchase because he "did not need the money, but mostly because [he] admired them and liked to have them around.” Irving doesn't make new sculptures anymore and all his personal creations are being complied by Michael Maharamin in a book-monograph titled Irving Harper: Works in Paper which will be released in February 2013.




His sculptures are "Cut from cardboard, folded in vellum, built of matchsticks and secured with Elmer’s glue, the sculptures are modest marvels, both modern (or, anyway, Modernist) in spirit and anachronistic in their creator’s reliance on simple tools, a fecund imagination and a steady hand."






He did an interview with The New York Times in 2010 and the following paragraph explains a bit about this genius who still likes doing things the old school.

When an admirer gave Harper an Apple computer in return for a gift of some vintage graphics, the designer hauled it to his upstairs studio, where it remains unused in a closet. “With a computer there are too many choices, and I always liked working within limits,” he said. “You know, if you look at Mozart, who had this strict classical framework — an allegro, an andante, a scherzo and a finale — you see that within that formula, he got results he might never have gotten if he had all the options in the world.”

Thursday, November 1, 2012

World Market: Owl Measuring Cups



I just saw these cutest owl measuring cups at World Market.com. The cups come in a set of three. Description from their site: 'Beautifully made of ceramic in vivid detail, each half of the small, medium, and large owls can measure, for a total of six practical cups at a great value. After use, the three owls, named Barney, Gus and Ollie, even nest inside one another to save counter space.' They are not available online, only in stores at $12.99.

Holli: Art Dolls




These lovely dolls are from Holli of Paola Zakimi's ABC animals series. Each figurine is handmade with clay and hand painted with acrylics. These one-of-kind dolls get sold really fast so keep an eye out on her online store where she keeps adding new stuff all the time. By the way, how adorable are their collars!

I blogged about her previously, here.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!


I wish you all a safe and fun Halloween!

- Find several fun printables.

- Get an owl pumpkin stencil from here.

- Free Halloween party set from here.

- Printable Cupcake toppers

- Print templates for the favor boxes from here.

{image via}

Last Minute Treat + Free Printables






I have a few more last minute Halloween specials for you that I hope you'll like and find helpful. There is an easy Reeses owls treat, adorable 'Have a hoot be a spook' printable and gorgeous owl mask that's free for you to download from the link below the images.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Owl Feather Pumpkin

 

Isn't this adorable! The best part is it's a no-carve owl pumpkin! If you have an hour or so to spare for a halloween pumpkin then keep reading :) All this project needs is a pumpkin, felt scraps and glue. For more instructions go here.

Halloween Instant Art Ideas



Here are some more halloween craft ideas that you can instantly create using only a few things from around your house. You'll love these quick and simple diys if you have been looking for some last-minute inexpensive projects.


Halloween Fabric Art by Graphics Fairy

Halloween Owl Masks




Lex of What the Craft made these colorful, fun owl masks that are perfect for halloween or birthday parties. The tutorial comes with a printable template that's free for download here. Enjoy!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Owl Lover 2013 Calendar + $85 Paperchase Giveaway


Good morning, everyone! The long awaited Owl Lover calendar is here! I am thrilled and can't believe that this is our third consecutive calendar. Yay! It couldn't have been possible without all the wonderful people who contributed their amazing artwork for the calendar and all of you for your love and support. 

Just like before, you can make your own calendar from over 40 artworks from the gallery and download it for free. There is a pre-made version of the calendar ready to be downloaded with the hand picked artwork for each month. That's not all! You'll be able to download any number of calendar months you want. If you want to print just one month and use it as a gift tag, you can do that or you can print the entire calendar. The calendar will make an awesome Christmas gift for your friends and family or to yourself!


To show my gratitude for your continued support I have made this giveaway with some of my favorite goodies from Paperchase (most of them are no longer available). Make sure you enter the giveaway because only one lucky reader will take home everything, a total value of $85! To enter please read the following details.



1. To enter, you must be a follower of My Owl Barn (click here to follow My Owl Barn)
3. Share this giveaway on Facebook

Make sure you leave a comment here letting me know that you are a follower and have liked and shared.

Winner will be announced sometime on October 30th!

Update: Kayla Gerard is our winner. Congratulations!

7 Halloween Treats








I created this post with wonderful Halloween treats that are simple to make and really cute! Do you have a favorite Halloween recipe?

Halloween Desktop Wallpaper


Is your desktop owl-oween ready? I came across these wonderful wallpapers that'll instantly turn your desktop into spook central.

Free Halloween Pumpkin Stencils + Carving Ideas + Garlands







Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and now are ready for Halloween. I found some more free printable owl stencils, carving ideas and free owl garland by Matthew Mead. 

More pumpkin carving patterns can be found here and here.