Owl Brooch, wearable art by Julie Ann

Hello, it's great to be back at Calico Craft Parts, sharing another little project with you. I'm still focused on wildlife. After last time when we got to know some animal characters, I wanted to experiment with using Calico wood shapes as wearable art! For this project I used the same scanned image of Ava, the elf owl; but this time I transformed her into Felicia, the wise Queen of the Barn Owls!

I took one of the beautifully detailed MDF wood shapes from Calico - the medium sized barn owl.

I decided that this would be the perfect size for a pin, which could add an original touch to a dress, scarf or a hat. These Calico creatures are lovely in themselves; but I wanted my pin to have a character that set her apart from the average barn owl!

Here is Felicia in the early stages! I rested the scanned image on top to get some idea of position, although I knew I was going to have to file those little ears off for my barn owl. For the body, I took some patterned tissue and torn napkins (the top layer only) with garden birds on them. By tearing and fluffing the edges of the napkin, I could create the effect of Felicia's feathers. I fixed the collaged pieces with Fluid Matte Medium, giving Felicia a top coat of the Medium too, when I was sure she was smooth and fairly wrinkle-free. Some of the carved feather shapes of the original MDF piece showed through, which was ideal.

It was sad to see those little elf ears go, but I gave Felicia a majestic crown to make up for their loss! I blended the tissue and napkins in with strokes of diluted white acrylic paint and enhanced Felicia in places with water-colour touches. I sanded off her edges when they were completely dry, using a coffee stirrer with sand-paper fixed onto it to get into those little nooks and crannies.

A coat of black acrylic paint and an old gold, antique style pin plus a touch of gilding paste along the edges gave Felicia a nice finish.

Felicia likes nothing better than to add a touch of style to an embroidered, black top.

Sometimes Felicia likes to perch on a hat and whisper wit and wisdom - she doesn't mind if the owner of the hat takes all the credit!

And she's just as happy perched on a velvet scarf, protecting a human friend from those chilly March winds! She knows it's wise not to shed too many layers at this time of year. Thank You so much for stopping by and getting to know Felicia. She was so quick and easy to make from Calico Craft Parts. Have a lovely, creative week with - I hope - blue skies and glimpses of the Springtime.

Calico Craft Parts used
Barn Owl MDF wood shape
Mini MDF Crown