Handmade Whimsical Owl Card - Hoo Loves Ya Baby - Backyard Bird of Prey

Peek at My Handmade Owl Card

Today I heard an owl in the early morning hours so I thought I would share a handmade owl card with you. Although I truly love these little creatures, this is the first owl card I have made. My handmade owl card is very whimsical in colors of pink, kraft and blue. I adorned it with ribbon and a pink heart button to add that touch of panache. I decided to use the sentiment "Hoo loves ya baby?" because it makes me smile and is such a wonderful play on words. The owl image I selected for my card fits my sentiment since the little owl has out-stretched wings as if to ask the question "Hoo loves ya baby?"

Inspiration for My Handmade Owl Card

Like many people I have a fascination with owls. They are so cute and appear to have a lot of personality with their big expressive eyes. Growing up I spent a lot of time on my Grandparent's farm and there was a little barn owl that lived in a tree near the house for many years. My Grandmother called him "Rusty" and you could hear him calling during the night and early morning hours. Little Rusty was the inspiration for my owl card and my Grandmother absolutely loved him (I often heard her talking about him with great affection).

These days I have my own owl. Although I have not seen him "in person", I have seen him at night on my night vision video camera when he swoops down near our bird feeders during his hunting expeditions. Sometimes I see him landing on the ground or in our gardens. We also have heard him in the early morning hours just before dawn. I have the feeling that my handmade love you owl card is just the first of many.

Now this is the first owl card I have made, but it is not my first "Love" card. A few other posts of my cards for romance include: Tattoo Art Love You card, I Love You Teddy Bear Card, You Float My Boat card, Perfect for Me card, Robots in Love cards, and I Love You Always card.

Skip nature photography and challenge list and go directly to the detailed handmade card information.

Skip nature photography and go directly to the challenge list.

The World Around Me

As I mentioned, I haven't seen my owl, but I have seen many other birds of prey during the day in my backyard. They seem to think that I put bird food out just to attract their lunch for them. Here is one of my sneaky hawks sitting on my garden fence. He's behind the butterfly bush.

Hawk Perched on Garden Fence Looking for Lunch

Here's a closer look at him via my zoom.

Hawk Perched on Garden Fence

Hawk on Perched on Garden Fence in Profile

Hawk Wiping Beak on Garden Fence

My Love of Papercrafting Challenges

I follow many challenge blogs and my handmade owl card reflects the following challenges:

• Stamping with the Dragon Challenge: Anything goes.
• Sweet Pea Stampers Challenge: Use a digital stamp. My sentiment is a digital stamp.
• A Gem of a Challenge: Button it.
• Catch the Bug Challenge: Anything goes.
• Make it Monday (MIM): Anything goes. I saw this cute little piggy get well card in the MIM gallery that I thought I would share. It has a nice use of distressing on it.
• Mygrafico Challenge: Anything goes.
• Love to Create Challenge: Pick 2 of the following die cuts, ribbon/twine, pearls, distressing, sentiment. I used a die cut and ribbon on my owl card.
• Crafty Sentiments Challenge: Pretty in pink.
• My Heart Pieces Digital Stamp Challenge: Use your 3 favorite things. I used die cuts, ribbon, and buttons.
• The ABC Challenge: I is for in love.
• Creative Card Crew Challenge: Use ribbon.
• Divas by Design Challenge: Buttons and bows.

Handcrafting My Handmade Owl Card

Card Statistics

• Final Card Size: 5.5" tall x 4.25" wide
• Tools: scalloped heart die, owl stamp, computer, blending stumps, scoring board, paper cutter, Cuttlebug machine, bow easy, non stick craft mat, tape runner, ruler, scissors, detail scissors, sponge pieces
• Materials: cardstock, designer paper, cover stock, ribbon, silicon adhesive, tape adhesive, gel adhesive, colored pencils, ink, spray sealer, button, jute, gamsol
• Card can be Purchased in My Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Handmade Love You Owl Card

Front Panel of My Handmade Owl Card

Angle Right - My Handmade Owl Card

I used kraft cardstock (4.25" x 11") for the base of my handmade owl card. I scored the cardstock at 5.5" so that my card opens vertically from the bottom to form a tent card.

For my front card panel I started with a piece of pastel pink cardstock (4" x 5.25"). The first thing I did was determine the placement of my sentiment and then printed "Hoo Loves Ya Baby?" in brown ink on it using my computer. Once my sentiment was in place, I affixed a piece of striped designer paper (4" x 2") on the lower portion of the pink cardstock panel.

To add a little panache to my owl card I attached a ribbon across the interface of the striped paper and cardstock (5"). I wrapped the ends of the ribbon around the edges of my panel and secured them on the back. Once the ribbon was in place I affixed the panel to my card base using my tape runner.

For the focal point of my card I stamped my owl on kraft cardstock and colored him using gamsol and colored pencils. When I finished coloring him I fussy cut him out (he's about 1" tall x 1.25" wide). Next I die cut a scalloped heart (1.75" wide x 1.5" tall) from kraft cardstock. Leaving the die in place on the heart, I sponged pink ink on the heart. When I removed the die, it left a nice kraft border around my heart.

After completing my owl and heart, I positioned them on my card front and affixed them with silicon adhesive so that they are popped up from the surface. I like the added dimension they give my card.

Close up View of the Image on My Handmade Owl Card

To finish off my card front I added a bow and heart button. I used a piece of jute on the button and attached it to the center of my bow. Using gel adhesive, I attached the bow to the card front on the ribbon.

Angle Left - My Handmade Owl Card

You can see the nice dimension that the bow and popped elements add to my owl card. I find it simple, but also interesting.

Inside Panel of My Handmade Owl Card

Inside Panel - My Handmade Owl Card

I kept the inside panel of my owl card very clean and simple. I cut a piece of white cardstock (3.75" x 5") and matted it with pastel pink cardstock (4" x 5.25"). For a little decoration I affixed a strip of the striped designer paper. I attached my completed inside panel to my kraft card base using my tape runner.

I also constructed an envelope from heavy cover stock (8.5" x 8.5"). As decoration on my envelope I stamped an owl in the lower left corner and colored him to match the owl on my card. I sprayed my colored image with sealer to protect it in the mail.

Final Handmade Owl Card and Handmade Envelope Set

My Handmade Owl Card and Handmade Envelope Set

My finished project is a whimsical owl card with a smile maker of a sentiment. I really like this card.

This card set is available in my Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Handmade Love You Owl Card.

Card Recipe Specifics for My Handmade Owl Card

• Cardstock: The Paper Company, Wausau
• Designer Paper: Paper Essentials
• Cover Stock: Staples
• Ribbon: Michaels
• Owl Stamp: Hampton Art
• Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities classic scalloped heart
• Ink: Stazon jet black, Colorbox pigment pink
• Prismacolor Pencils: sunburst yellow, dark umber, pink, peach beige, blush pink, powder blue, blue slate
• Tools: tape runner, Cuttlebug machine, scoring board, paper cutter, ruler, blending stumps, scissors, sponge pieces, detail scissors, computer, bow easy, non stick craft mat
• Misc. Materials: gel adhesive, silicon adhesive, tape adhesive, gamsol, jute, heart button
• Techniques Used: gamsol, die cutting, fussy cutting, stamping, digital stamping, stenciling, sponging

So ends another jaunt along my handcrafting card journey with my handmade owl card. A unique hooter card perfect for a lighthearted "I Love You.". Thank you for visiting my blog and allowing me to share my handmade card and photography with you. I hope you enjoyed your visit and will come back soon! 

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