Who? Owls, that’s who!

I've been biding my time, as our family awaits our new home completion.  In this down time (10 months of it!), I have been an avid reader of some DIY blogs.  I've book marked more than my fair share of sites, and while my dreams and mental capacity are infinite, my actual time and space are the polar opposite.

It was during the most recent stretch of crappy weather, that I came across some cool (and inexpensive) inspiration from a fellow blogger Peas and Crayons.  Why owls?  Well, in our new house we are going to have these on our mantle –

What else is in a forest with Gnomes?  Me thinks owls!

I've been itching to re-connect with my graffiti roots and start using spray paint again, but more grown-uply.  And owls were the target for the first shot.

On a dad and sons day, we took off in the King (our grabber blue Mustang Vert!) and hit the local Target.  I searched high and low for the owls to no avail.  However, having 2 diminutive helpers really came in handy, and D man found the owl bin at his level.  Some other shopping later – which included an Easter Rabbit cookie jar, and Oreo Spring cookies! – we had 5 of these critters of our own. 

Ok that isn't my before picture (its from Peas and Crayons).  And our mix was two of the blackish and whitish, and three of the grey mottled color flecked ones, but still.  Kinda cheeky.  They would be white, soon enough.  We bought 5, because I promised the boys that after I painted them – they could paint 2 of them with their paint markers.  I called it the treaty of Target. 

Hey, it worked, and it gave them something to look forward to. 

So, this past weekend, after our spring break trip – to be written about soon – the transformation began.

Step One - Prime

First mistake.  Windy

Second mistake.  Did not hang them.

Third mistake – did I mention it was windy?

Un-deterred, I waited patiently while the primer dried.  The kids were eager to get their hands on the wet paint.  So we left the house. 

Step Two – Prime again

Because of mistakes one, two and three, the coverage was un equal.  And I was having fun with my spray can pistol grip, too. 

After the primer dried (over night) and after church on Sunday, the kids had their chance to beautify their owls. 

Pretty cool job, only having 5 colors to start with!  G man of course decided to paint his neck, too, since he ran out of white owl.

While the kids played, I put the first of 2 coats of bright white semi gloss on.

Conclusions

First, this was fun for me and the kids.  And a bonus kick of Mommy Stuff liking the finished product. 

Second, it is harder than I thought to paint evenly and completely.  I have new appreciation for those of you that can do this in your sleep.

Third, the pistol grip thing rocks. 

So, a total of $25 bucks in material and an hour of my time was not poorly spent.  I got new stuff to play with.  The kids had a craft and enjoyed the process of going from the before to the after.  And I have some personalized owls for the house.

Will they make the mantle?  Not sure.  The scale might be too small for the gnomes, and, while waiting for a warm enough day to do the task, I found these for 8 bucks at Urban Outfitters (in grey and teal):

But the kids want theirs in their new rooms, to which I say, you bet'cha!

All in all – wait for it – a Hoot of a project!

What kinds of hands on stuff do you do with your kids?

(Thanks to Thrifty Decor Chick for the Link up!)