Ode to Owls! A list of Cute Crafts, Fun Facts and a Cake!

From Lindsey and Austin's trip to New Mexico.

Lindsey painted this ceramic owl bank for me! 3 owls for 3 winks!

Maddy found these cute little pencil sharpeners for me at the Dollar Store!

I picked this up at Home Goods. It holds the soap by my kitchen sink.

   When we started this blog and I decided to call it 3 Winks, and Madalynn drew our logo, my owl collection and my interest in owls began to grow.  Owls became kind of trendy a few years ago, and I willingly hopped on board and I haven't jumped off.  That is why, when my sister surprised me by sending me a couple of owl items in the mail a few of days ago, I was thrilled! 

    She had paid a visit to Hobby Lobby and got me these!  I will show you the results at the end of this post. 
​     First, I thought I would share a few owl crafts that I love. Some I have made, and some I am hoping to make. 

      I just found these free printable bookmarkshere at Wizarding Wares.  As soon as I get some new colored ink, I am printing them. 

    I love these cute little hand warmers, filled with rice, and a cute printable tag from Our Peaceful Planet.  I am sure that I have plenty of felt scrapes and rice to make these!

  A couple of years ago, I found this pattern for these little owl ornaments at Better Homes and Gardens.  I thought they were adorable and I made and sold them at the Ugly Sweater Express.  

      I also used this free pattern from  thirty handmade days. I feel like these are a great gift for men and women alike! Who doesn't sometimes need that warm heat pack nestled against their neck.  It may as well be a cute little owl when you do!

     Just a couple more things that I would love to make;

​            This is from 
Lovely Crafty home! So adorable! 

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​     And this sweet thing is from Laurie Speltz the Creative Coach.

   Ready for a few fun owl facts?  
#1 is my favorite The Audubon Society says that a group of owls is called a parliament! C.S. Lewis coined that description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia.
#2 Many owl species have asymmetrical ears that are at different heights on their heads.  This helps them to pinpoint sounds in many dimensions.
#3 The reason owls can turn their heads 270 degrees is because they have a blood-pooling system that collects blood that keeps their brain and eyes functioning when the neck movement cuts off their circulation.
#4 The tiniest owl in the world is the Elf Owl, which is only 5-6 inches tall and weighs about 1 .5 ounces.  In Arizona, we also have a fairly tiny species of owl.  It is the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owl! It averages about 6.5 inches in height and weighs only 2 .5 oz. 

      And now, on to the Owl Cake!  Click on the pictures for directions and tips.

I used a butter pecan cake mix because it sounded like fall to me. The pan held all of the mix, but it overflowed in the oven as it baked. Luckily I had it on a cookie sheet. I would suggest making a couple of cup cakes on the side.

Here he is all baked! His feet broke off when I took him out of the pan, so be careful!

I just used frosting and star tips to decorate him. I piped on some feet on the brownies that I used for tree branches. I should have done autumn colored leaves!

   My sister had the really good idea of using a pumpkin roll for the tree branch! I love that idea, but I just used brownies this time.

    Finally, in case any of you were wondering, if I could I would buy these dishes to set my table for all of Autumn! They are so beautiful!

        They were saved from the blog of  Memento Gift Shop in downtown Palm Springs.  I haven't found the manufacturer yet, but I am on the hunt!  If I find them, I will post it below! In the meantime, "Owl be seeing you!" (Couldn't resist. :))
         *No luck so far, but Rachel Ray has this set below.