The 12 DIY’s Of Christmas – Feather Trees

Feather trees always look so French to me. I have seen them and admired them so many times but just like everything else that’s really pretty, they have large price tags. Of course that meant I couldn’t see a reason not to make some for much cheaper!

I got my items at Hobby Lobby taking advantage of all their Christmas items being 70% off. I couldn’t get the small, sort of curled feathers that I really wanted – at least not in white – so I settled for these and also grabbed some glue that especially made for using on styrofoam. I have used hot glue successfully in the past but you do have to be careful not to apply too much and to work quickly or the glue will melt the styrofoam. There are hot glue guns made for styrofoam that don’t get nearly as hot but I didn’t want to spend the money on one when I don’t work with styrofoam very often.

Using lines of the special glue in the direction that the feather was going to lay, I applied my feathers starting from the bottom. I extended the feathers just past the bottom a little. If you plan to put your trees on some sort of stand or base, I’d leave them like this but make sure they extend past the bottom the same amount all the way around. I didn’t plan to put my trees on a base so once I had the full bottom row glued on, I trimmed the feathers even with the bottom.

Keep applying the feathers in rows working your way to the top.

Once I had all my feathers on I applied a topper. For some I used a snowflake pick (trimmed the wire to about 1 inch and stuck it into the styrofoam top) and for others a sparkly ball that reminds me of a snowball. I had considered using some wooden finials but didn’t have the time to paint them and wait for them to dry while making these. I also thought stars would look nice at the top and so many other options. I chose to keep my trees all white, including the topper but you could mix it up if that’s the look you prefer.

I played around placing the feather trees in many different places with my winter decor…..so far I love them every place I put them. It’s hard to choose. In the end my favorite chippy cabinet won!

I couldn’t believe how quick and easy it was to make these. Now I’m wondering what took me so long!

Until next time,

Emily’s DIY

To see the DIY Emily is sharing today, just click on the photo below.