Owl Themed Party Gift Bags

Last week I made owl themed party invitations for my daughter's seventh birthday. So, it was only a matter of time before I would need to make owl themed party favors. For this week's tutorial, I'll teach you how to make these really cute owl themed party gift bags.

To make one bag you will need:
Solid color card stock
Patterned card stock in colors complementary to your solid color card stock
A lunch size paper sack
White or cream colored card stock
Orange, brown or deep yellow card stock
An oval cutting system (or oval template) that will make an oval at least 6" long and another 4-5" long
A circle punch (or circle template) that will make a 1.5" diameter circle
A circle punch (or circle template) that will make a 1/2" diameter circle
A square punch (or square template) that will make a small square that is 3/4" long on each side
A square punch (or square template) that will make a small square that is 1 1/4" long on each side
Glue or glue stick

Using your 6" oval cutting system, cut one oval from the patterened card stock; this will be the owl's body. Paste the body on one side of the gift bag, doing your best to center the body. Cut a 4-5" oval from the coordinating solid color card stock. Fold the smaller oval in half lengthwise. Open the oval and cut along the fold. These will be the wings. Paste the wing pieces along each side of the body (apply the glue to the straight edge since the curved edge will likely hang over the side of the gift bag).

Punch two 1 1/4" squares from the yellow (orange or brown, whichever you choose) card stock and cut each in half to create triangles. Paste two triangles on the top of the body to create ears. Reserve one of the triangles for the brow and the other for the beak.

Punch two 3/4" squares out of the same card stock and cut each in half to create triangles. Cut each triangle in half again. Then cut the resulting triangles in half one more time. Each square will make 8 smaller triangles. Paste three of these smaller triangles on the bottom left side of the body, overlapping the triangles slightly, with center points facing toward the left. These are the left talons. Paste another three small triangles on the bottom right side of the body, overlapping slightly with center points facing right to form the right talons.

Punch two 1.5" diam. circles out of the white/cream card stock. Paste the circles below the ears to form the eyes. Punch two 1/2" diam. circles out of the solid color card stock (to match the wings) and paste these onto the white circles to form the irises. Now that you have eyes, paste one of your larger triangles (the brow piece) between the top of the eyes, with the center point facing downward. Paste the other triangle (the beak) between the bottom of the eyes, sliding the left and right points under the eyes and keeping the center point facing downward.

That's it! You have a cute gift bag for all those party favors! Again, this is more DIY than upcycle but I'm sure you can find sone ways to incorporate recyclables. This was a great way for me to use up scrapbook paper scraps that I've been accumulating for years. But you can also use book or magazine pages or fabric from old clothes. If you use thick card stock you can create a 3D type effect by applying glue only the center of the eye, ear and brow pieces. Embellish with glitter, beads or buttons or write a cute message on the bag. If you are creative, these bags will be a hoot!