Little Owl

For Hallowe'en this year, I thought Isabel would like to dress as an owl. She already has a little owl mask which she likes to put on whilst hooting " twit twoo" and then make us hoot too, so I thought it would be an appropriate place to start, knowing for sure that she wouldn't hate the mask at least. I'd been thinking about it for a while and was determined to keep it a simple affair, based around the mask and an old brown long-sleeved bodysuit, that could be completed in a night. Well, here's the final result, and yes it did take a bit longer to complete that I had planned!

After browsing ideas on the Internet, my imagination started to run wild and simple browns and yellows became a rainbow pallete, based on the colours in the tights which I decided she would have to wear underneath the brown bodysuit, as it turned out to be a little too short for her.

The wings were made up of about 60 felt feathers, individually cut-out and partly sewn, partly glued on to a wing outline made from an old t-shirt of Will's. They took the most time. The rest was fairly simple. A pale brown breast for the owl was made from the same old t-shirt, which my mum stitched on as my sewing just isn't up to that standard. The mask was sewn on to Isabel's wooly hat in the end, as she kept putting it on and pulling it off again so many times that the elastic burst and tore the foam, so it was just easier that way.

I was quite nervous that she might just flatly refuse to put the wings on but it turned out that Isabel LOVED her costume. She had it on all day and even wore it to the airport to collect Daddy that evening, amusing lots of bored commuters by "flying" around the arrivals gate.