Jan 25

Jan 25 DIY: Puffy owl necklace

Celebrate birds and trees with littles on Shabbat Shira and Tu B’Shevat!

A little birdie told me that it’s Shabbat Shira this Friday - an extra-special Shabbat where we honor birds to thank them for their songs. I love that on this Shabbat - right before (or this year the day after) Tu B’Shevat - we celebrate birds and trees!

There are some sweet themed board books to share with littles! One of my favorites is In My Tree, by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich, which includes a baby owl puppet!

I love how the baby owl views the world in his cozy little tree, surrounded by his mishpacha - the Hebrew word for family! It’s just too cute! So for a Shabbat Shira / Tu B’Shevat playdate, I made some In My Tree inspired puffy owl necklaces for some special little friends.

With just a few supplies, you can make one too. So let’s go make a Shabbat Shira puffy owl necklace!

Puffy Owl Necklace

Here’s what you’ll need for each necklace:

2 small squares of felt - (front and back of the owl)- we used orange and grey
Small rectangles of felt in green (wing), yellow (beak) and black and white (eyes)
Sewing needle
Embroidery floss
Necklace cording (about 30”)
Cotton Ball
Pony beads
Scissors
Craft glue
Hot glue (optional)

Here’s how to make it!

1. Cut a squarish shape with rounded corners from your front and back squares of felt. You can see below as a guide.

2. Cut the wing, beak and eyes as shown below. Note: It’s best to use fine point scissors when cutting small pieces of felt.

3. Glue the wing onto the front of the owl.

4. Fold the necklace cording in half and place it on top of second piece of felt. To hold it secure, dab a little hot glue onto the cord. Next unroll your cotton ball and place it in the middle of the felt on top of the cording.

5. Place the top cut felt on top of the cotton ball (a little felt and cotton ball sandwich). Place a knot at the end of the embroidery floss. Sew the edges together with a simple running stitch. Older children should be able to do this stitch too!

6. After sewing the running stitch all the way around the edge of the owl, secure the floss with a knot and glue on the eyes and beak.

That’s it… a Shabbat Shira baby owl! Now it’s time to gather your owls and some pony beads for a Shabbat Shira / Tu B’Shevat playdate. I love that this playdate is outside at a park, and friends can socially distance to stay safe and healthy.

Stringing pony beads is wonderful for fine motor skills and concentration!

When the necklace is done, your little can put it on and act out a very tweet Shabbat Shira action rhyme! It goes like this:

Little bird, little bird jump up and down. (jump up and down)

Little bird, little bird don’t make a sound. (be very still)

Little bird, little bird tip-toe to me. (tip-toe around)

Little bird, little bird peep, peep, peep. (flap arms and say “peep!”)

Little bird, little bird sleep, sleep, sleep. (put hands together like a pillow and sleep)

Little bird, little fly to the leaves. (flap arms like wings)

Little bird, little bird, sit down please. (sit down)

You can extend the fun on your playdate by planting Tu B’Shevat bean sprouts…AND…

Reading Tu B’Shevat picture books - PJ Library, a wonderful non-profit, sends Jewish picture books each month at no-cost to Jewish families.

For families raising Jewish children, Tu B’Shevat is Coming!, Thank You, Trees! and other Jewish children’s books, can be mailed to your children each month for free by PJ Library! Click the link to learn more! — For families raising Jewish children, *Tu B’Shevat is Coming!, Thank You, Trees!* and other Jewish children’s books, can be mailed to your children each month for free by PJ Library! Click the link to learn more!

There are so many fun ways to celebrate Shabbat Shira with littles - including a DIY Birdhouse and Cheerio Bird Feeder! You can also explore our Tu B’Shevat Round-up AND for more DIY puffy necklaces, we have a tutorial for a Puffy Heart and Apple and Honeybee friendship necklaces!

Let us know if your family has any favorite Shabbat Shira or Tu B’Shevat traditions and let us know if you make a puffy owl necklace too! We wish you a very tweet Shabbat and Tu B’Shevat!

~ Jennifer