Every college student procrastinates at one point or another, and what better way to do so then to turn empty soda bottles into adorable woodland creatures?
Instead of the typical food-oriented Pinterest challenge, I shook things up a bit this week and tried my artistically-limited hand at a DIY craft. I didn’t have time or money to run to the nearest fabric store to purchase some fancy crafting supplies, so I searched my apartment for things that I could repurpose into something pretty.
After scrolling through at least 100 milk jug-turned-bird feeders, I came across a pin with instructions on how to create a little owl out of a 2 liter bottle of soda. It looked adorable and the directions were relatively simple, so I downed the last of a Wild Cherry Pepsi in my fridge, rinsed out the bottle and went to work.
First, let me clarify that my owl is a bit smaller than the owl in the pin because I used a 1.25 liter bottle instead of a 2 liter, but the process was basically identical.
The instructions said to make rings on the bottle for cutting lines, since the top of the bottle and the midsection aren’t needed to make the owl. By following the photo they provided, I marked off the areas with a sharpie and sawed at them with a kitchen knife.
Now, if anything was going to go catastrophically wrong during this challenge, it would’ve been during the bottle cutting, but it went surprisingly well. Just be sure to use caution when cutting the bottle. You have to cut with a knife because scissors don’t work well with rounded soda bottles. I suggest using an Exacto-knife if you have one.
Once I had cut the bottle up into pieces and made sure all of my fingers were still attached to my hands, I trimmed some of the sharp edges off the pieces I would be using for my owl. Then, using a hot glue gun — although I could see Elmer’s glue or double-sided tape working fine, too — I glued together the head and body pieces of my owl. My top piece ended up overlapping my bottom piece since they weren’t cut to the same diameter, but it made gluing them easier.
Once I had my owl shell, I began drawing the owl. The instructions said to use watercolor paints, but I don’t keep a palette of watercolors in my desk drawer, so I used some multicolored sharpies instead. I’ve never considered myself much of an artist, but I enjoy doing little crafty things from time to time, so decorating this little owl was a lot of fun for me. It was relaxing to put on some music and take a break from studying to make this adorable little thing, and since it didn’t cost me anything, there wasn’t any pressure to make it some sort of masterpiece. I even decided to scrap the natural color owl idea and make a multicolored bird instead. Because the sharpies were still a little transparent, I rolled up a piece of scrap paper and put it inside the owl to make the colors stand out a lot more.
All in all, this little bottle-turned-owl project was a success. It was easy, fun, and free, and what else would a college student want? It’s a great little stress-reliever and I suggest it to anyone looking for a short, artsy break from studying.
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