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DIY, Holiday Creative Project, White Christmas Feathered Square WreathWhite Christmas Feathered Square Wreath http://www.maddylane.com/project12.html A white Christmas, Pure and simple with feathers Hands- Total time: Under an hour. Skill: Easy. Project cost: Under $30.00, depending on the type of feathers you purchase. Materials & tools: A square Styrofoam base, 30 cm in length, by 22 cm wide, by 5 cm thick ( if you can?t find one cut out a square center opening inside a square Styrofoam base using a craft knife). White feathers of your choice such as ostrich, turkey, chicken, eyelash feathers, goose, or chandelle feathered boa?s, strung or individuals. A ruler Scissors or clippers Glue gun, with clear sticks (use a low temperature glue gun) One meter of satin ribbon, 5cm wide (I used brown) (Materials for this project are available at craft, fabric, notions and florists' shops.) The simplest holiday decorations are often the most charming. For a sleek contemporary holiday look, create your own feathered wreath, table-top tree and decorations. Feather wreaths are a huge trend in home decor, and they make stunning accessories for any season. They are absolutely spectacular poised on a fireplace mantel, centered over a large mirror, on a door or hooked casually over a chair. Festive feather wreaths are graceful yet quite easy to make. Trim any excess fuzz or unwanted tips off of the feathers. Sort them by size and length. Start by gluing similar feathered lengths horizontally along the four exterior sides of the Styrofoam square base. Using a glue gun with low-temperature glue sticks, glue the feathers on flat on their lengths, side by side in two rows. Do the same thing to cover the square opening of the wreath's base. To cover the front surface area of the wreath base, apply a row of feathers along the centre, gluing them one at a time side-by-side, but just the tip part. Start at one end and work your way around the whole base. Add a second layer of feathers to overlap the first row in the same manner, but this time along and around the centre opening border of the base. Once completed, check the wreath, you might need to secure some feathers with a bit more glue. If you wish, you can secure a wire loop in the back of the wreath for hanging. For the finishing, I added a plain, deep-chocolate-brown satin ribbon with a bow. A feathered wreath will last for years. Each holiday, you can give it a fresh new look by just decorating it with a variety of different accessories. Leave the wreath plain or include assorted embellishments such as colourful miniature balls, fresh ivy, a feathered bird, berry clusters, bows and creative wire ornaments. If you use feather wreaths outdoors, be sure to place them under a covered porch area to avoid direct sunlight or snow. You will want a feather wreath for every season, to hang over a door, on a wall or over a mirror. They make wonderful gifts, too. Tabletop tree: To make a small cone tree covered with feathers, start by applying a row of feathers with a glue gun at the bottom of the cone base, and keep adding overlapping rows of feathers until the cone base is completely covered all the way to the top. To minimize cost, you can buy an inexpensive feather boa, secure one end to the base with florist's pins or glue, wrap it around the cone shape and tuck in the end to secure it onto the base. I applied family photographs of past Christmases onto self-hardening clay circle and square shapes to create an advent calendar tree and attached them onto a white feathered tabletop tree using decorative pins. Variations: Festive feather wreaths can also be quite dramatic in other colours such as plume, burgundy, red, pink, purple, brown, green, you get the picture. Or mix and blend colours to achieve a two tone or multicoloured presentation. Feathered wreaths can stylishly adorn a decorative ladder, be used as a base for a large pillar candle which is inside a hurricane or a plain glass base vase. Use feathered wreath to décor your home all year round, a super cute touch on young children?s bedroom doors, such as baby pink or purple. Use feathers as accents to trim napkin rings, or to grace each table setting, garnish the top of Christmas stockings and gifts. Assorted feathers types can also be found in party supply or customs stores. Copyright MaddyLane Designs © 2006 maddy@maddylane.com http://www.maddylane.com Madeleine Langlois Born in Montreal, Canada, Madeleine Langlois resides in Hudson, Quebec with family. Madeleine better known as Maddy is an artist and freelance décor designer/stylist with 25 years designing experience and many creative ventures to her credit. Maddy is the force and soul of "Maddy Lane Designs". From her Hudson home studio workshop, she creates innovative, savvy yet accessible home decorative projects for her private clientele and her syndicated column. Her DIY décor projects are published weekly in the Wednesday edition of the Montreal Gazette in the Art & Life section. Her work is also featured in Canadian magazines. Her various projects advocate the latest in home decorating trends. Her innovative contributions also extend to demonstrations and lectures at trade shows and special events. Maddy?s creativity goes beyond current lifestyle trends, inspiring people to transform ordinary every-day objects into trendy decorative accents for the home. Her inventive passion started at an early age, and when on to work as a fashion designer and illustrator for many years. Her artistic touch has also graced children?s books, unique giftware products, Christmas decorations, as well as product development for major Canadian companies. With a keen eye for photography and product merchandising, Maddy enjoys taking all the stylish pictures for her articles. Her up-to-date and imaginative ideas are due to her combined backgrounds both as a fashion and giftware designer, which have created her trademark and distinctive style. maddy@maddylane.com Permalink: http://expert-talk.com/tips/696/diy-holiday-creative-project-white-christmas-feathered-square-wreath-211696.htm Related Tips and Advices
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