I’ve been saving this project to share with you guys for months, and I’m so excited today’s the day! This homemade wreath is the perfect home accent for the holiday season. Even better, it’s got a backstory.
Some of my dad’s favorite hobbies are hunting and fishing, and my parents’ house is full of relics of his exploits like mounted antlers and photos of ice fishing, fall hunting and early morning summer fishing outings. My family’s love of pursuing wild game goes back generations, and my dad’s dad even retired to a log (literally, made of logs) cabin on a lake in Minnesota. He also built that cabin himself, just so you know the amount of rural Minnesota cred my dad’s family has. :D Since I grew up in the big city of Fargo, ND, I only get tangential rural points from my dad, grandparents and cousins.
The vast majority of my crafty upbringing is thanks to my mom, who originally made this wreath in the early ’90s using feathers from a pheasant (or two?) that my dad bagged on a fall hunting trip. I’ll be honest, this wreath takes a long time to make, but the results are beautiful and lasting. The wreath pictured is about 20 years old! Just make sure that if you’re using feathers from a recently-live animal that you properly clean them. Wild game can carry lice and other not-so-nice things.
Supplies
clean pheasant feathers
styrofoam wreath
styrofoam-friendly (acrylic) paint or spray paint
2 paper clips
Directions
Paint your styrofoam wreath using an acrylic spray or other paint. It has to be acrylic or the styrofoam will disintegrate. Let dry.
Uncoil a paper clip and pierce small pilot holes into your dry, painted wreath. Going at a rate of about half a dozen at a time, I poked my pilot holes, placed my feathers and repeated again. And again. And again.
I recommend starting by inserting the longest feathers you’re working with first, so that when the wreath is hung up, the longest feathers are closest to the wall. As you work your way toward the middle of the wreath, start incorporating the smallest and most colorful feathers so that they’re most visually prominent. Here are some close ups of my mom’s handiwork:
Pheasant feathers really are beautiful, aren’t they? As I shot the photos for this post, I noticed so many fuchsias, reds, blues, and interesting patterns.Â
To hang the wreath, my mom used a cut and bent paperclip, like the one below. It looks like another hanger was used at one point in the last two decades as well, based on the holes you can see near the paperclip hanger.
I essentially had to beg my mom, with some help from my dad, to ship her beautiful wreath from the frozen tundra of North Dakota to the mean streets of Chicago for me to shoot and begin re-creating for this post. A big thank you goes to my mom (and dad) for their help with this post!
Next month, I’ll be heading to what promises to be a very white Christmas at their house in Fargo. I’ll be sharing lots and lots of crafty finds from among my family’s holiday decorations. And just as a teaser, my family is of Norwegian and German descent, so I’m very much planning on raiding my family’s recipe books for delicious treats to share with you. Can you say sandbakkels?
The wreath used in my project was provided by FloraCraft. You can find FloraCraft products at major craft stores.
I love your pheasant wreath! But my feathers are so long I’m not sure it will work. But I assume you separated the breast feathers and inserted them individually. They are so colorful. Thank you for sharing
Hi! What a stunning wreath. I have lots of feathers and would like to try to make this. What size Styrofoam wreath did you use? Looking at Amazon there a different sizes and widths available. Again, very beautiful.
I used a 12 inch wreath form, but you can use any size, depending on the look you’re going for.
Please, please can I buy this wreath or one similar to it ? I love it and it would adorn my front door forever!
My mom showed me how to make these when I was a kid. I don’t have a shop or anything, but they aren’t too hard to make. You can do it!
we make these wreaths on a daily basis – the hunters here in maui hunt for meat on the table and then sell their pelts to the lei makers…
maui feather lei is a classroom and retail area for products by the students and kumu
please check us out mauifeatherlei@gmail.com
Absolutely beautiful, but no glue? Won’t the feathers fall out
My mom has made dozens of these over the years, never using glue. The one hanging her house was made in the 90s and hasn’t shed since. If you’re using a fresh wreath form, the feathers should be pretty secure. Best of luck!
This is absolutely beautiful. I have 5 pheasants in my freezer waiting for their feathers to be plucked – hens and roosters with the most gorgeous coloring and I can’t wait to make a wreath like this. Your wreath was what I had in mind, but wasn’t sure it could be done – now I know it can!!! Thank you so much for the post.
Georgous! I love it! I have turkey feathers and have made a wreath with them but looking for nee ideas! This is great!
Thanks! It’s been a staple in my mom’s home for years! :)
So beautiful! What do you do to the feathers before using them for the wreath? How do you preserve them?
Oops! I missed the part about cleaning the feathers! Sorry!
Hi What angle were you putting the feathers in 90degrees? Or on a slant? It’s beautiful!!
Merry Xmas!!
Sophie
Mostly on a slant! :)
My husband is pheasant hunting and I would like to use the feathers I have never done this before, so how much would I need to do a wreath? Is it a mix of contour and down feathers?
I honestly don’t know, but my mom made this using pheasants from a single hunting trip if that’s helpful!