DIY-feather-art

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

When I needed an extra piece of art for our living room gallery wall I created DIY Feather Art. You can create your own, but please purchase craft feathers, use fake feathers or paper feathers. (Per the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is illegal to collect feathers, nests and other anatomical parts of certain migratory birds.)

Materials:

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

  • Rustic 1×4″ boards (I used pallet wood)
  • Wood yardstick or lattice boards
  • Watered down white paint
  • Paint brush
  • Clamp
  • Scissors
  • Kreg Jig
  • Pocket hole screws (1.25″)
  • Nylon line
  • Small drill bit
  • Drill
  • Staple gun
  • 1″ finish nails
  • Hammer or nailgun
  • Wood glue
  • Feathers
  • Pencil
  • D-ring picture hangers

Instructions:

Cut your 1×4″ boards to size (or select one board the size you want for your art background.) To connect the two boards, mark the location to drill pocket holes.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Use the Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes into the back of both boards.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Clamp the boards together and join them with 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Flip the board over and paint it with watered down white paint for a white-washed look.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Mark the width of the white-washed board onto the yardstick. Cut two pieces the same length.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Add a line of wood glue to the yard stick pieces and secure them to the sides of the white-washed board with finish nails.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Mark the length of the top of your white-washed board onto the leftover yardstick and cut two pieces to the same length.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Add a line of glue to the cut yardstick and secure it to the white-washed board with finish nails.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

This completes your art frame.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Layout your feathers onto the white-washed board.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Mark the locations to attach the feathers. I attached all the feathers about half an inch up into the feather fringes where the feather shaft was thickest. Drill small holes where you made your marks.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Thread two ends of a piece of nylon line through the hole. Slip the feather into the loop made with the line.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Flip the board over and pull the ends of the nylon line. Don’t pull too tight or you’ll bend or break the feather shaft.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Tie a double knot into the nylon and staple over the knot. Tie another knot over the staple and clip the ends of the nylon line.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Finish attaching all the feathers. Flip the board over. Measure and mark two locations for the D-brackets. Attach them to the back of the board with the provided screws.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Hang your DIY Feather Art on the wall and admire your beautiful art.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Don’t forget to see my 12 Tips for Creating a Perfect Gallery Wall and learn how you can win $1,000 to spend at Build.com.

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2 replies
  1. fob
    fob says:

    I don’t mean to sound critical at all, but it is actually illegal to pick up wild bird feathers, in many cases, to use in art projects. It has to do with protecting wild bird populations. You need to look up the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, the Bald Eagle Act of 1940, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

    You probably can use feathers from pigeons, European starlings, and English house sparrows–but it’s pretty hard to know which feathers are what. Blue Jay feathers, I am pretty sure, cannot legally be used.

    If it were me, I’d take this post down immediately and dispose of the feathers. The Fish and Game people are known to be pretty particular about this.

    Reply

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