Wednesday, February 9, 2011

DIY-How to make a High End Feather Wreath

While visiting a beautiful home decor store in Brooklyn, I saw a large, striking feather wall piece. The price tag was far too steep for me, but I knew I could recreate it for myself. Living near LA, I'm lucky to have the garment district and its specialty shops relatively close by, which is where I picked up some colorful feathers. A few days and less than $100 later, I had my very own custom feather art piece.
Even if you don't have a garment district in your town, you can find the materials online pretty easily, and make this distinctive art for your home.

What you’ll need
Feathers of various lengths. You can use up to three different sizes.
One round feather centerpiece mounted on fabric for the center of the canvas (something like this. You could also make your own using a small circle of fabric and the basic instructions below for placing feathers)
Multi-purpose white glue
Round canvas (I used a 20", but you could go bigger or smaller, depending on your space)
A few heavy objects, like large books, to place on top of each layer as it dries
Instructions

1.  If you are using different color feathers, decide what order you want the colors to appear on the canvas. The outermost layer will have the least amount of visibility and the layers closest to the center will be the most visible.


2.  Glue your first layer of feathers along the perimeter of the canvas. Put glue on the entire bottom 1 ½ to 2 inches of each feather to ensure they stick. Each layer will cover about half of the previous layer, so the glued parts won’t show.


3.  Place the heavy objects on top of this layer for about an hour. Remove and let stand for about five more hours.

4.  Repeat the gluing with the next layer, moving it down far enough onto the canvas so that you have as much or as little of the previous layer showing.


5.  Again, place the heavy objects on top of this layer for about an hour. Remove and let stand for about five more hours.

6.  Repeat these steps, gluing layers onto the canvas’s shrinking perimeter till you get to the center of the canvas.

7. Using a generous amount of glue, affix the feather centerpiece in the center, covering the ends of the last layer of feathers.

8.  Place the heavy objects on top for two to three hours. Remove and let stand for a day.

9.  Pick up the piece gently, and make sure all layers are in place and secure, and then hang it on the wall and enjoy your custom made artwork!