The other day when I was browsing Christmas tablescapes online, I saw the cutest grapevine wreath napkin rings. The were decorated with ribbons and bells but I thought they would be amazing with some feathers on them instead. I have tons of chickens and guinea feathers that I've picked up from my backyard flocks and love to use them for crafts.
Well, I ordered the wrong mini wreaths! They were much larger than the ones I had seen being used as napkin rings, but I decided to go ahead and decorate them anyway. Turns out, they make pretty cute decorations!
I even used some as package tie-ons and I decorated egg cartons with others! It was a small thank you gift for those customers who have been purchasing eggs from me all year.
I'm going to attempt to write a tutorial for you here, but it's super simple so there's not much to write! We'll start with what you need:
These are the wreaths I bought from Amazon. The size is 4" and you can see they're not small enough for napkin rings. On that same listing is an option for wreaths that are 3". They will be slightly smaller but not quite what you want if you're making napkin rings. You'll want the 2" wreaths for napkin rings.
Decorate a chicken feather wreath
Start by separating the feathers into piles of long and short feathers. Chicken body feathers will work better for this craft than flight feathers which are rigid and not at all fluffy. Once separated, you'll want to chose the feathers for the first wreath.
Feathers have a natural curve to them. Before starting to glue feathers to the wreath decide how you want your feathers to lay. I like the curl to go up and towards the top of the wreath, so that is the way I positioned mine.
You'll start with the longest of your feather grouping and stack the smaller ones on top of it. Stack them, stagger them...whatever you like the look of. Put a small vertical line of hot glue right where you want the ends of the feathers on the wreath, then press the feather spines down onto it.
Add a little extra glue between the feathers if needed. Don't skimp on the glue, it's what keeps your project together! Once you hot glue your feathers into place, then trim the quill ends. Wrap with a ribbon or add a bow then make a loop with another piece of ribbon.
I had some cute chicken beads leftover from when I made this Elegant Feather Ornament craft two years ago. I attached one to the wreath with hot glue. Use a little more hot glue than you 'need' so it can grip both the bead and the wreath.
I picked those up at a Joann fabrics, but I found these cute charms on Amazon. They have chickens, ducks, cows and more in one package. Take a browse around your local craft store and you'll probably find lots of cute beads and figurines you can use!
For this one I used a premade wired ribbon bow and dyed guinea feathers of a close shade to stay with a color theme. Here is how I dye feathers myself. It's a super easy method and you can make pretty much any color you want very cheaply! This would be a great way to match room decor or stick to a color theme!
They sell cards with a dozen of these premade wired ribbon bows on them at the dollar stores or in the holiday section at Walmart, Target etc. They come with the twist ties already attached and all I did was fasten it around the wreath. You can add a drop of hot glue to help it stick but I didn't find it to be necessary.
I also made a few of these little wreath ornaments to tie on to egg cartons for regular customers. I think they look cute and are a nice little touch during the holidays.
Mostly though, I'm hanging these wreaths on my tree! Except for the ones I'm giving away. Seems like so many people are into rustic crafts lately, these should be a big hit!
Want more ideas for using feathers? Check out my other chicken craft tutorials.
~L
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