This stuffed heat pack winter owl craft is not only a fun and easy craft, but it makes a wonderful heating pad for cold feet or for headache relief. Grab more ideas for winter fun on my page Winter Season Unit Study.
Felt is a very easy to use and forgiving material for learning how to sew and this activity does not require a pattern or fancy materials.
You need just a few pieces of felt and a bag of rice, both of which can even be found at Dollar Tree making it a $3 or less craft.
While it is a great craft to make for learning a basic life skill it is also ideal for gifting and can also be used with essential oil to create another layer of soothing comfort.
First, look at these facts about the snowy owl.
6 Facts About the Snowy Owl
- Snowy owls are the largest Arctic bird predator and one of the largest of all the owls in the world.
- When their wings are fully expanded the span can be as wide as 4 to 5 feet from tip to tip.
- The Snowy owl is also known as the arctic owl, ghost owl, great white owl, and Scandinavian night bird but their scientific name is Bubo scandiacus.
- Unlike most other species of owls, snowy owls are diurnal, which means they are active during the day instead of night.
- In the wild a snowy owl has a lifespan of 10 years or more. But owls in captivity can live almost 30 years.
- Snowy Owls fly at an impressive speed of up to 46 mph.
Next, I have some fun resources to learn about snowy owls.
Books and Resources for Learning about Snowy Owls
Add some of these fun resources to your unit study about snowy owls.
Each member of the Snowy Owl family has a special role in the flock. Kevin Torline's colorful artwork showcases how a special family of birds works together to live in the frosty Arctic tundra.
This book is special because:
- Sharing books with your little one strengthens your bond
- Adorable books support empathy for animals
- Educational focus: reading skills, early learning, animal facts, snowy owls, arctic, birds
Snowy owls make their homes in the icy white lands of the north. In these snowy places, they are perfectly camouflaged. Learn more about this giant owl with full color photos, range maps, and carefully leveled text.
Snowy owls call the bitterly cold Arctic their home. Learn how they live in this harsh environment. Snowy Owls tells readers how these birds find their prey, what dangers they have to watch out for, and more.
See the world in a whole new way! Acclaimed illustrator Julia Rothman combines art and science in this exciting and educational guide to the structure, function, and personality of the natural world. Explore the anatomy of a jellyfish, the inside of a volcano, monarch butterfly migration, how sunsets work, and much more. Rothman’s whimsical illustrations are paired with interactive activities that encourage curiosity and inspire you to look more closely at the world all around you. Nature Anatomy is the second book in Rothman's Anatomy series – you'll love Nature Anatomy Notebook, Ocean Anatomy, Food Anatomy, and Farm Anatomy, too!
This adorable snowy owl would be great for a diorama, sensory bin, or even just to add to a winter themed science shelf.
One winter, as food gets scarce, a snowy owl finds himself forced to look in new and unfamiliar spots in order to find food and a place to call home. Based on a true story, A Snowy Owl Story describes, through the tale of one particular owl, the recent irruption of snowy owls all across the United States. Through this simple narrative, youngsters will learn about migration, adaptation, and respectful human interaction with nature. This unique title (first in a projected series of four board books) is written and designed specifically for a preschool market; few board books exist that tell conservation stories for this age range. Published in cooperation with Maine Audubon.
Also, here are more winter craft ideas.
Winter Craft Ideas
- Winter Craft Ideas for Kids Animals in Winter Fun Snow Slime
- Kindergarten Crafts for Winter An Easy and Fun Polar Bear Fork Painting
- Two Fun Candy Cane Hands-on Science Winter Experiments
- Cardinal Birds in Winter and Birch Trees Easy Watercolor Kids Activity
- Cute and Simple Snowman Story Stones Winter Art Activities For Preschoolers
- Winter Craft Ideas How to Make Fun Pinecone Flowers
- Easy DIY Fun Salt Winter Watercolor Art Project for Kids
- Free Easy Arctic and Inuit Science Lapbook & Unit Study
- Julie of the Wolves Free Hands-on Arctic Unit Study
- Easy and Fun Pine Cone Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten
- 3 Fun Cocoa Winter Hands on Science Activities
- Free Amazing Winter Unit Study and Winter Lapbook for Kids
Finally, look how to make a stuffed heat pack winter owl craft.
You can absolutely make your owl any color you like but we opted to avoid white for this project since it gets dirty so quickly.
Stuffed Heat Pack Winter Owl Craft
If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can follow the same steps below but sewing by hand instead.
You will need:
- 2 pieces of 9×12 felt for the body- same color
- A half piece of any color for the wings
- A small scrap of black, white, and yellow felt
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- 1 to 2 pounds of rice.
- Fabric or tacky glue
The first thing that you want to do is lay your two pieces of felt together and either trace with a white pencil or marker or free hand cut an owl shape.
You can see here it’s just a modified oval with two points on the top for ears.
Take the color that you chose for the wings and lay it across the bottom half of the body where you would like to position the wings.
Then flip your fabric over and cut along the edge of your main felt so that they are the same size.
Flip it back over and cut your wing piece in half, then cut one side into the shape of a wing.
Lay it on the other piece and cut out the exact same piece so that they match.
Now, taking into consideration the scale of your owl that you’ve chosen, cut out a yellow beak shape.
And two large white circles, and two smaller black circles to create the eyes.
Keep the small pieces in place while you sew by gluing them with tacky glue or a fabric clue rather than pins.
The first thing you want to sew is about a quarter inch all the way around the wings to secure them to the body piece on each side.
Next, sew a circle around the white eyes and inside the black as well as around the nose.
Trim off the excess thread everywhere, use a black permanent marker to blend the white thread into the black eyes.
Heat Pack Winter Owl Craft
Now you will need to match up your two main body pieces with the wings and the eyes facing inward, so it is “wrong side out”.
Sew all the way around the body except for the bottom.
There are two ways you can do this.
First, sew leaving just a couple inches unsewn, use a funnel to fill the bag.
Fold the remaining sedition inward and sew a hidden seam in between the folds.
Second, if you have a beginner sewer or just want an easier method, leave the bottom completely unsewn.
Fill it up, and then hold the weight of the bag up as you do an external stitch all the way across the bottom.
To heat up your warmer, throw the rice pack in the microwave for 30 second intervals until desired heat is reached.
You can also add a few drops of essential oil like lavender, which is great for headaches and anxiety.
On cold days, you might wish to use a warm seasonal scent like cinnamon or peppermint.
