Step 1: Get your supplies
- 3 plastic bottles
- Black and white acrylic paint
- Paint brushes
- Xacto knife
- Scissors
Make sure that your xacto knife is nice and sharp. It will make it easier to cut the soda bottles but make sure to watch your fingers! We chose black and white paint but you can also pick orange to make it more festive!
Step 2: Painting the bottles
After taking off all packaging on the bottles, and cut them in half. If you have small hands helping with this project, make sure an adult does this part. The bottles don’t need to have a perfect cut because you’ll be cutting them again later. Paint each bottle whatever color you choose. If you get a clear bottle like we had, we used 3 layers of paint to completely cover the plastic, but also to still let some light through. Make sure to let your paint dry between layers.
Step 3: Sketch and cut our your owl
We eyeballed the sketch for each bottle because each bottle was a different size. When you sketch out what you want your owl to look like, make sure it looks proportional to the size of your bottle. If you choose to use all the same size bottles for each owl, you can find a sketch online and trace it out. Use your Xacto-knife to cut out the center of the feathers and make sure the top is even. Make sure to watch your fingers!
Step 4: Paint your owl
Use a lighter or darker color to paint around the edges of the owl, and to outline the eyes and the feathers. Paint stripes into the lines between the feathers. We only did one layer of paint. Have fun with the decorations. This is your place to be creative!
Step 5: Let them glow!
Place some LED lights or candles inside the owl to let them glow! We don’t recommend using a regular candle because you don't want the plastic to melt.
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