An Outrageously 'Owl'some Ornament by Debbie Huska
Updated: Jul 12, 2019
A mixed media project.
Debbie has created a great mixed media project combining your painting skills with an unusual surface and found media.
Learn how to use QuikWood® Epoxy Putty and a gourd to create an unusual owl ornament. Add a cute hat you create from of an old sweater and faux fur.
Debbie has been painting for about 20 years, a friend at work showed her the brush strokes. She has painted every day since then.
'I love painting on anything that does not move. I tried molding with the ® Epoxy Putty, just playing around, about 4 years ago. I started to create all kinds of different creations with the QuikWood®. I love creating unusual, one of a kind items.'
Supplies
Surface
2½” Diameter Round Egg Gourd, home grown cleaned & dried or
Craft Ready Gourd Ornaments from https://welburngourdfarm.com/
Paints
DecoArt Americana
Antique White DA058 Buttermilk DA03
Light Buttermilk DA164 Honey Brown DA163
Marigold DA194 Raw Umber DA130
Burnt Sienna DA064 Snow (Titanium) White DA01
Lamp (Ebony) Black DA067
Mediums
DecoArt Americana
Dura Clear Matt Varnish DS60
Triple Thick Brilliant Brush On Gloss Glaze
Brushes
# 4 Royale Fusion Filbert #3170
3/8” Langnickel #7730
Royal Knight Rake
# 8 Artist Loft Vienna Shader
# 2 Artist Loft Vienna Shader
# 4 Majestic Royal & Langnickel R4150
10/0 Artist Loft TM Vienna Liner/Fine 5/16” 8mm Crafter’s Choice R9113 Royal & Langnickel
¼” Angular Majestic Royal & Langnickel R4160
Miscellaneous Supplies
2 oz. QuikWood® Epoxy Putty #9024 https://www.quikwood.com/
Strathmore® palette paper #365-9
Glue gun with glue sticks
Inexpensive moisturizer lotion
X-Acto® knife
Gemplers® 8-mil powdered Nitril gloves -small (8) #198251
Johnson’s® baby powder
Masking tape 1/8” Paper towels Rubbing alcohol Fine point stylus Scissors
LocTite Super Glue Gel Control #5
Coats® heavy thread & needle
18 GA. galvanized wire stock #123142 Anchor Wire – The Hillman Group, Inc.
Old sweater, thrift store or closet.
Faux fur
Fairfield World Poly-fil® Premium Polyester Fiber Fill 12 oz. #PF12 Bleach and water Needle nose pliers Snowflake button #2 Pencil
Helpful Tips
When working with QuikWood®, read all Instructions and Warnings. I use rubber gloves. Knead the QuikWood® till it is one color without any white streaks. This step is very important, if it is not all one color, it will not harden completely. Rub a little baby powder on your hands before putting on the rubber gloves, this helps sliding on the rubber gloves easier. When kneading the QuikWood®, I use a cheap moisturizer or lotion, a drop on the rubber gloves, so the QuikWood® doesn’t stick to your gloves, if you use any more than that when kneading the QuikWood®, it will get slimy. If you need to smooth QuikWood® out on your project, put approximately a drop in the middle of the palm of your glove that you are wearing and using your palm of your hand to smooth it out. Before painting your QuikWood® project, wipe it down with rubbing alcohol. If you have any rough spots, you can use sand paper when it has hardened. I have found out if you tape around the bristle of the dry brush, or stencil brush, you will have more control.
Preparation
1.Owl head
Home Grown Gourd Instructions
If you are using a home grown cleaned and dried egg gourd, you need to cut a hole around the stem with an X-Acto knife. Be careful, egg gourds have a very thin shell. Remove the seeds and pod. Soak the egg gourd in bleach water for about 30 minutes to kill any mold inside. Let dry overnight.
When dry, glue the top back on the gourd. Drill a hole in the stem for the hanging wire.
Wearing rubber gloves, knead QuikWood® till it is one color, put a thin coat of ® over the whole Egg Gourd. Smooth with a drop of lotion on the palm of your gloves, I do this in sections, then let harden, then do the next section, until the whole gourd has been covered.
Ready Made Gourd Instructions
If you have purchased the craft ready ornament gourd from Welburn Gourd Farms, you can skip the above steps. The craft ready ornament gourd is already cleaned and the shell is a lot thicker and it comes with an ornament top. Wearing rubber gloves, pull off about ½” of QuikWood®, knead until it is one color. Roll into a ball, place ball onto the gourd in the drawn area, shape into a beak. Let harden.
Knead about another ½” of QuikWood® till it is one color, roll 2 pieces.
Add them from the beak in an angle outward as per the line drawing. Shape the rolls to look like the horned area of the Owl. Smooth the horns where they attach to the gourd, per line drawing.
Let harden. Once hardened, wipe the entire gourd with rubbing alcohol.
Using a #8 shader brush, base coat the entire gourd with matte varnish. Let dry.
Clean brush and base coat the whole gourd with Antique White, may need 2 coats.
I use the cap of the Quik Wood tube to draw the eye.
Tap the very tip of the filbert brush in Lamp Black paint, tap on to the gourd.
Tap all over the gourd, clean brush. Building up the feathers, repeat the step with Raw Sienna , then Burnt Sienna, then Honey Brown. Repeat once more with White, but tap lightly.
Base coat the eyes with Marigold using the #4 shader brush, until opaque. Using the fine liner brush, line the irises with thinned Burnt Sienna.
Shade around the irises with Burnt Sienna using a ¼” angular brush. Base coat the pupil with Lamp Black with #2 shader brush. Using the ¼” angular brush, highlight in a “C” stroke around the Irises and pupils.
Using the small tip of the stylus dip into White and dot the pupils. Tape around the iris of each eye. Using the rake brush, dip into thinned Buttermilk, then tap on paper towels then rake around the irises. Clean rake brush. Repeat the step, dip into thinned Light Buttermilk and then in White. Do the same steps as above on the horned areas. Shade around the outer eye, under the horned areas and around the beak with thinned Black, using the ¼” angular brush. Base coat the beak with Lamp Black with #4 shader brush. Using the rake brush, following the above steps over the beak. Dry brush White on the top of the head and also the top of the beak. Finish with a couple of coats of the triple thick varnish with #8 shader brush. Let Dry.
2. Hat & Finishing
Measure the old sweater around the head of the gourd, and cut. I like using the ribbed part of the sweater for the bottom of the hat. Sew together.
Cut the pattern for the faux fur pom poms. Using a running stitch with a needle and heavy thread around the outside edge of each pompom.
Fill with poly fiber, pull thread tight. Knot and then sew one to each corner of the sweater hat..
Thread wire, one end through hole in stem and twist and secure, then other end through center of the hat. It may take a couple of tries to get it center and on the head.
Before hot gluing the hat to the owl, fill the hat with Poly-fil®. Glue the hat to the owl. Curve the wire sticking out of the hat with a pair of needle nose pliers.
Hot glue a snowflake button in the bottom center of the hat. Your owl ornament is now finished. Enjoy!!!