Owl Superpowers

I have always loved owls so this page has been on my “To do list” for quite a while now. With the theme over at Art Journal Journey being “Nature’s Wonders”, I had the perfect excuse to get creative and tick this off my list – thank you.

I was inspired after watching a Natural World TV programme; it was really fascinating to watch as it revealed the magic behind the owl’s superpowers.

First I applied Distress Ink with a circular blending tool then covered the whole page with a thin layer of white gesso using a baby wipe. Next I started on the smaller dot pattern using a paint brush to apply diluted Distress Ink and ink from Faber-Castell Big Brush markers, then I doodled on each shape with my black Uni Pin Fine Line marker to add detail (my hubby thinks these look like animal tracks). The owl image and name are from an old calendar, which I fussy cut with my scissors and stuck to the page using a UHU Stic. Next I stamped the title of the page using black Archival Ink. The feather is from a doodle book that I painted using Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils and Aqua markers. To make the tags I coloured the front of the tag with a Big Brush marker then I cut pieces of grid paper to fit the inside of my tags and stamped the five superpowers on each one, sticking them to the tags using a UHU Stic. I numbered each tag using outline stickers which I coloured black using a Sharpie marker and then embellished the tags further with alphabet buttons. If you read the buttons from tag 1 to 5 you will see the word “magic”, I used this word not only because the owl is magic with it’s superpowers but so are the tags! My tags are actually attached to the page using Velcro so you can remove them and read the additional information for each of the superpowers (that I stamped) on the back.

In this case I found it’s best to attach the tag using Velcro in two places so that the tags are secure. When you look at Velcro there is a barb side and a fluffy side, and it’s the fluffy side that detaches the easiest so I placed this on the tag so that it’s less likely to rip when being removed from the page. I think it’s pretty neat to be able to take the tag off and turn them over to understand more about the owl’s superpowers.

I choose this particular owl for my page because earlier this year we went on a tour of Marton Mere, a local Nature Reserve with one of our friends who volunteers there, specifically to see the Long-Eared owls. I was so excited and thankful we got to see them in their natural habitat. As you can see they were well camouflaged and our friend got better photos than we did (as usual), so with her permission I have included her photo – thank you! By the way those are just feathers on its head not its real ears that you can see. We had such a fab time! It is a lovely place to see wildlife especially birds.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Cracked Pistachio, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles ,Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils (Baked Earth 1800, Willow 1900, Bark 2000)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist’s Markers (Chocolate, Slate)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B, Black 199)
• Sharpie Permanent Fine Point Marker (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Docrafts A5 clear stamp set (Alphas Folk DCE907115)
• Dovecraft upper and lower case alphabet stamp set (WDN Alpha Stmp DCVW0050)
• The Works (24 Assorted Craft Tags)
• American Crafts DIY Shop (48 Papers 366665)
• The Works British Birds Calendar 2016
• North Parade Sudoku and Doodle (Animal Kingdom)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Mixed Numbers Silver ANT 8101013)
• Home Bargains Love Letters (63 Self-Adhesive Letters)
• UHU Stic
• Self-Adhesive Velcro