gilded feather garland

Inspired by these gold-dipped feathers, and using this template.

See what I did after the jump.

Supplies:

White cardstock

Gold leaf (I used "imitation" goldleaf)

Modpodge

Small paint brush for painting on the Modpodge, large one for brushing away excess goldleaf

Sticks

Glue gun

Twine

1. Print off templates.

2. Cut outer edges of feather only (leave the details for now). I also cut the ends off so I could add sticks to tie into a garland later. Crease each feather to leave a spine (folding along a curve is a little tricky, but try working your way from the ends towards the centre).

3. Flatten the feathers, brush Modpodge on, and then apply gold leaf. I had never gold leafed anything before, and watched this (slightly ridiculous) tutorial first. Basically you just lay it on and smooth it out. Do one feather at a time, because Modpodge starts to set quickly, and pat, don't rub the gold leaf, because it tears easily. Set aside for at least an hour, then use the big brush and your fingers to remove the excess gold leaf. Trim the details in the feathers (it's much easier to remove excess gold leaf from a smooth edge).

I strung my feathers and hung them above my bed, like so:

Story, my cat, was pretty excited by all of this, and is just waiting for me to turn my back so she can tear them down.