Looking for a fun craft project for kids to do that will actually make a nice gift? This Feather Ornament is a fun and easy craft for your tree or a handmade and personalized gift for your loved ones if your on a shoestring (or yarn!) budget.
Materials:
- yarn
- beads
- glue
- water
- paint brush
- scissors
- aluminum foil
In this modified version of the feather making process, combine roughly 1 part white glue with 2 parts water and give it a good mix. You want it to be diluted enough that it won’t dry white. Test your solution on a snippet of the yarn color you plan to use (especially if you’re using darker colors). Choose your colors and cut all your sections ahead of time.
The finished feathers end up about 6-7 inches long. For the base strand you need about 10-12 inches. You’ll need the extra to create a loop for the the hanger later! You want approximately 20-24 cross strands (depending on desired size and type of yarn used) to build on the base. To make quick work of this, hold the end of the yarn between your thumb and palm and wrap around your hand 10-12 times. Then carefully cut off of one side of palm, fold sections in half, and cut again.
Now you can assemble your feather! Grab something to help suspend a longer base strand and hold it in place. A clipboard would be ideal. Tie the shorter cross strands onto the base strand one by one. For this version just tie a simple knot. Don’t tie it too tight as you may want to adjust your cross strands once they’re all on.
If you wrapped the yarn around your hand you may have some strands that are a bit longer or shorter. Use the shorter strands toward what will be the tip of your feather. Slide the knots up and down until you get a pretty even spacing or desired length and tightmake en to lock them in place.
By this stage your feather should look something like this:
Next, grab your glue and water mixture and spread out a sheet of aluminum foil. Lay your feather on the foil and use the mixture-dipped paintbrush to brush the cross strands down in the same direction.
Try to line up your strands as you go so they don’t overlap too much. You want enough mixture to soak into the yarn some but try no to over-saturate. If the yarn is too soaked the drying stage will be considerably longer.
Let the feathers air dry for a few hours (or hit them with a hairdryer to speed up the process like I did LOL). Once they’ve dried a bit carefully peel them off of the foil and flip them over. Repeat the process on the other side and let the feathers dry overnight.
In the morning, slowly peel the feathers off of the foil. Once dry they should be be stiff and stuck together but still movable. Take your scissors and cut the edges into a more defined feather shape. Sharper scissors are best for this step so if you’re doing this project with little ones, have an adult do the shaping.
Next add beads and use the excess length of the base strand to make your hanger.
The potential for creativity here is endless! You can choose any color, pattern or bead you want. You can add glitter to your glue or sprinkle it on before they dry. I designed the ones here after natural bird feather patterns.
Head over to my handmade shop Mama Bear’s Craft Room to see the variety I created and get some ideas! Like this ornament but don’t have the time?
Pick them up in before I go off Etsy! I love crafting and plan to still do some local shows and events but, the online shop isn’t serving its purpose anymore and I feel its best to gain the focus I have put into it back into more deserving areas of my life. I’m offering free shipping and 25% off all of my inventory until I close up shop next month. Thanks to everyone who supported that endeavor!
Check back here for more easy crafts soon!
❤ Cait
Prayers Over The Kitchen Sink 