Burlap Owl Door Hanger

I'm seeing burlap door hangers everywhere, and I figured it would be fun to have one for myself!

There are lots of tutorials for these, but it's pretty easy to figure out on your own.  The main two tutorials I used were this one at Miss Kopy Kat and this one at Live a Little Wilder.  I love owls, and realized this season would be perfect for an owl hanging around!  Here's what I came up with:

Here's how I did it.

I wanted mine BIG.  I used a piece of poster board and cut out the form.  Then I traced the owl onto burlap and cut out a double thickness, allowing about an inch extra all around.  I'm not good at guessing measurements.  Maybe it's more than an inch.  I didn't measure it or make it precise.  

Next I removed the bottom layer of burlap, protected my table with newspaper, and sketched out the details of the owl. 

 Next I painted it all in with acrylic paint.  This was the part that took awhile, just because the burlap soaks up so much paint that it requires going back over it a few times.

The only colors I used for this owl were a cream, black, a dusty green, metallic gold, orange, and purple.  I also mixed a little glitter paint in with the black for a little extra dimension.  And, yeah, because I like stuff that sparkles. I mixed the green with the cream for the eye detail.

After I painted everything in, I roughly outlined the main form, wings, and eyes with a flat brush, using a very inexact mixture of gold, black and green.

For the polkadots, I just dipped a fresh pencil eraser into the paint and pressed it down.  Easy!

Here's something you might want to try if you make one of these.  I wish I'd known this tip before I started.  I've heard that if you Mod Podge the whole thing before you start, it makes the painting go much easier.  I've also heard of using an inexpensive fabric starch like Sta-Flo.  I'm thinking it couldn't hurt to try.

Now let that paint dry.  The paint is going to stiffen up that burlap like you won't believe, which is pretty good if you're hanging this outside.  

Next I hot glued the front to the back piece of burlap following the unpainted edges, working in small sections and stuffing with plastic bags as I went along.  You could also use leftover waxed paper or parchment.  If you're going to be using it indoors only, you could probably use fabric or tissue paper or even newspaper.  If it's going outside, be sure you use something more water-resistant.

After I got the whole thing stuffed and glued, I took a piece of floral wire and stuck it through burlap's weave in the back and twisted the ends around to hold it in place.  You can leave the ends out the front and curl them, but I felt like there was enough detail on mine that I'd leave the wire ends on the back.

I didn't use any kind of sealant on mine, because my front porch is covered and pretty protected, but feel free to seal yours if you like.

Now go hang that on a wreath hanger on your door, and enjoy looking at it whenever you step outside!

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