Owl-ing

I've had owls on the brain for a few days. I don't even know why. I think of owls as being more of an autumnal thing. Again, I don't know why except that owls and Halloween seem to go together. Maybe this cooler, wet, overcast weather has confused me into thinking it's fall and not spring.

I had to run a few errands yesterday during preschool and saw this plain, orange shirt on clearance. As soon as I saw it, I knew it needed an owl on the front. (If I could freezer-paper stencil, that would have been awesome.)

Jackson (the model with the Halloween finger that has been a prop in nearly every household prank lately) said the owl looks more like a tail-less cat in My Neighbor Totoro.


I've also been thinking about Mothers Day. I think I'm going to applique some pre-made canvas totes for my mother to use for shopping. While I was appliqueing the shirt, I decided to make some owl ones for my mother and myself while I had everything out.

I don't really know what else to give her. And I have no clue about my mother-in-law. Any creative suggestions?

Note: The Totoro-looking owl template is from here and the one perched on a branch is from here.