This month, I had the joy of creating a sleeping baby barn owl to donate to a very special cause—the Sarafina FIber Art Longwood Community Christmas Tree.
Each year, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania hosts a breathtaking holiday celebration. For the 2025 season, the Sarafina Fiber Art community has been invited to decorate a tree with handmade needle felted ornaments. These wooly creatures will be on display throughout the holiday season and then donated to local charities in 2026. I’m honored to contribute to this heartwarming event.
For my ornament, I followed Sara Renzulli’s Baby Owl Tutorial and made a few tweaks to transform her wide-awake version into a sleepy baby barn owl. I adjusted the head shape, added white closed eyelids, and created the iconic heart-shaped facial disk that barn owls are known for.
🔗 Watch the video
I revisited many of the techniques I learned early on from Sara’s tutorials. Her generous spirit and commitment to teaching have helped so many of us grow as artists. Like many felters, my journey started with Sara’s designs, and this project felt like a fitting tribute.
🎄 Want to contribute to the Longwood Tree project?
Visit the Sarafina Fiber Art Community Tree page for all the details and sign-up link.
Deadline to mail in your ornament: September 30, 2025
I hope this project inspires you to join the community and create something magical for the tree! These ornaments don’t need to be perfect—they just need to be made with love.
Tools and supplies I used in this project
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Tools
- Pink Double-Sided Self-Healing Cutting Mat 18″X24″
- Sarafina Digit Widget
- Needle Felting Needle assortment
- Woolbuddy Felting Mat Small
- Ranger Wax Melting Pot
- Silicone color shaper set
- Dritz Sewing Gauge or Ruler
- Clover Pen Style Needle Holder w/Needles
- Awl Small (part of this needle felting starter kit)
- Flat soft paintbrush
- Clover Needle Felting Punch Tool
- Fiskars Micro-Tip Easy Action Shears
- 1” Hair Straightener
- Small, Fine Mist, Refillable Spray Bottle
Supplies
- Wire Aluminum Dead Soft 14g, 1 – 26” (so I had enough wire to make the back toes fold up to the ankle)
- 26g White cloth covered wire, 2 – 18”
- 22g White cloth covered wire, 1 – 18”
- Pipe Cleaner, 1 – 12 inches long
- Oatmeal Core Roving (now named Oats)
- Elmer’s Glue-All
- Sarafina Swax (added black powdered pigment for claws)
- Off White Core Wool Roving
- Random beak color from my Merino Combed Top scraps bag
- Snow Hare House Carded Batt (now named Snow Hare Pelt)
- White Masham Lamb Locks
- Disappearing Ink or Air erase Marker
- Brown Grey Blend BG6 Spectrum Noir Illustrator Alcohol Marker
- Gold Brown Blend GB3 & GB5 Spectrum Noir Illustrator Alcohol Markers
- Blush FS4 Spectrum Noir Illustrator Alcohol Marker
- Master’s Touch Alcohol Marker 104 Brown Grey
- Spiceberry Felter’s Palette Carded Wool
- Beaver DHG Carded Extra Fine Merino
- Liquitex Gloss Medium
- DHG Marrekech Merino Combed Top
- DHG Honey Merino Combed Top
- Berkley Trilene XL Monofilament Fishing Line
The photo of a real baby barn owl in the video is from the following photographer:
