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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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How-to: Back to School Motivatonal Owls

August 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

It’s back to school time again, and I wanted to make a simple project busy parents could throw together in a couple of minutes to add something fun to their family’s morning routine.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Supplies

2 toilet paper tubes

x-acto knife

scissors

stapler

markers

tag board/index card

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Directions

Fold one end of the tube down as shown, creating your owl’s ears.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com   How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Grab your second TP tube, fold it flat, and cut it into several same-sized pieces.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Staple two bundles of four tube strips together.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Cut two holes at the same height on each side of the first tp tube (the owl’s body) with an x-acto knife. Insert one bundle of tube strips into each hole, and adjust the strips to look like owl wings.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Draw a cartoon owl face on the body tube, and you’ve got yourself an owl! Next, I made a second owl following the same steps.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Then, I made cartoony speech bubbles that say “Whooo’s ready for school?” and “I am!” You can easily mount the speech bubbles on the owls with some rolled tape.

I think these would be cute breakfast table surprises for kids on the first day of school, or for kids who are struggling with getting along in the new school year. These are also the right size to put some candy in if you pack cold lunch for your kids.

How-to: Back-to-School Owl Motivator | HandsOccupied.com

Filed Under: Back to School, How-to Tagged With: back-to-school, easy, kid crafts, motivator, toilet paper tubes

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
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In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
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P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you In knitting, a Left Lifted Increase (LLI) lets you add a stitch in between two columns of stitches that leans to the left. Similar to an M1L, LLIs allow you to increase nearly invisibly.
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To learn more about lifted increases, including when to use them and how they differ from Make 1s, head to the 🔗 in my profle. 
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Have you ever used lifted increases? I used M1’s almost exclusively for a long time when I needed to inc between stitches, but when I designed the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern, I needed something that would allow me to increase a lot near my cast on, and M1’s resulted in edge curling. The more you know! 🌈 
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Yarn: @lionbrandyarn Wool Ease from my Stash / Neddles: @boyeyarncrafts - Just remembered these are the needles I learned to knit on at age 8. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #learntoknit #howtoknit #sweaterknitting #knitinspiration #knittersofinstagram #liftedincreases
Last week I got to hang out with my family & helpe Last week I got to hang out with my family & helped babysit my red-headed niece and nephew. So here’s some plane knitting, and a couple pictures (shared with permission) of my babysitting adventures.
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Lessons learned: 1️⃣ Trying to knit around 2 toddlers, 2 cats & 2 large dogs is pretty hard. 2️⃣ I learned during water color time that pink and black make “colorful black.” 🩷🖤 3️⃣ Toddlers do NOT care about your rainbow sorting of their toys. 4️⃣ Toddlers are very good at finding mischief in a very short amount of time, what a surprise. 😂
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#handsoccupied #knitting #placesyoucanknit #knitters #knitinpublic #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration
Weaving in ends & seaming with mattress stitch are Weaving in ends & seaming with mattress stitch are both so useful for garment knitting! But for me, weaving in ends can feel like a chore while the latter feels like I’ve successfully done magic. 🧙🏻‍♀️ Does anybody else run into this phenomenon? Are you the opposite? Any theories as to why they feel different? 
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In this video, I’m finishing my brand new Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 I’m working with @universal_yarn Uni Merino & the pattern is available at the 🔗 in my b1o. 
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#handsoccupied #intarsiaflowerpillow #intarsia #intarsiaknitting #knitting #colorwork #knitpillow #knittinginspiration #knittersofinstagram
I independently released a knitting pattern today, I independently released a knitting pattern today, my first in 5 years! The Intarsia Flower Pillow is a 16” (40cm) round pillow knit with an intentional combination of intarsia, stockinette, garter and seed stitch. This pillow has everything you need to level up your intarsia technique while also knitting something you can use. 
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This pillow allows you to practice knitting intarsia while simultaneously increasing and decreasing. The Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern was designed to be a little knit-nerdy for learning and a little cute, arming you with many of the skills you'd need to knit an intarsia sweater. 
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Intarsia Flower Pillow is available in the Hands Occupied Sh0p and on @hi.ravelry . You can read more about the pattern on the bl0g, the🔗 are where you’d think.
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YARN: @universal_yarn Uni Merino in Antiquity, Fjord and Conch / NEEDLES: US 2 (2.75 mm) / PATTERN: Intarsia Flower Pillow by Heidi Gustad
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