Miniature Potted Feather Tree Tutorial
Even though we are far away from Christmas I am still in my exploration of feather trees. Today I am working on a miniature feather tree using pink goose feathers for a sweet springtime look. You could use a regular wooden base- just a little wood cube with a hole in it, or a wooden toy wheel would do the trick. I am using a small flower pot for this tree, embellished with decoupaged layers of scrapbook paper from my stash.
If you are new to making feather trees, please also see my full how-to here. I am going through all the steps in this project, but the original tutorial is more in-depth on the techniques used, and this tree is scaled down to be a miniature version. This tree can be made using goose biots in any color, and berry stems come in a range of sizes and finishes that you can choose from to suit your style. The finished tree is about 6 1/2 inches tall and about 5 1/2 inches wide. It's a stubby, bushy style tree that would look so cute tucked into a vignette or seasonal display.
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Supplies:
- Approx. 25 Goose Biot feathers available in Pink and Green
- 16 Pearl Berries on stems, or Other Berry Stems
- 16 paper-wrapped 18 gauge floral wires in white 7" long each
- White floral tape
- Wooden Flower Pot about 2" tall
- Wooden doll stand
- Hot glue, glue sticks
- Wire snips
- Mixed Scrapbook paper
- Crepe paper or party streamers in white or pale pink
- Quick dry tacky glue
- Craft clips, clothespins, or binder clips
- Paintbrush
- Ruler
- Masking tape
Step 1:
Decoupage the wooden flower pot. Mix a little water into some liquid glue. Tear scrapbook paper into small pieces. Brush glue onto the pot, apply a piece of torn paper, and brush with more glue until it adheres. Thicker papers take a few seconds to soak up the glue and become sticky/pliable. Layer bits of paper to create an interesting design. Cover all exposed wood and then brush all over with glue until the surface is smooth and no paper pieces are lifting. Set aside to dry.
Step 2:
Cut berry stems so that each berry has about 1 inch of stem. Use a small piece of floral tape to wrap the berry onto the end of each 7" wire. Stretch the floral tape before wrapping to release its stickiness. Alternatively, a small piece of masking tape may be used to attach berries to the ends of each stem.
Step 3:
To attach the first feather, apply a small amount of glue around the end of a wire, just under the berry. Identify the pointed end of a feather and hold it against the wire with the rest of the feather extending past the berry. Begin wrapping the feather around the wire, wrapping over the pointed end to secure it. Once the point of the feather has been attached, you can begin spinning the wire itself. Continue wrapping the feather with some tension, keeping the spine of the feather against the wire so that the feather will splay out as it's being wrapped down the wire in a spiral fashion. When you reach about the last inch of the feather, hold it taut against the wire with one hand, and use your other hand to apply a dot of quick drying glue near the end of the feather. Continue wrapping so that the feather will be glued to the wire, and use a craft clip or clothespin to clamp the end against the wire. Allow to dry fully.
To add the next feather, remove the clip after the first feather has dried, and snip off the remaining end of the feather, leaving about a 1/4 inch tail. Apply a dot of glue to the wire and wrap the next feather over the tail of the last.
To achieve branches of a specific length, reference a ruler to check the total length of the wrapped branch, and finish the wrap when you reach the required lengths. This means that some of your branches will have feathers that are not wrapped to their ends, and you'll have excess to snip off later.
Wrap feathers onto all of the branches in the following lengths:
Tree top: 2 inches
Top tier, 3 branches: 1 3/4 inches
Second tier, 5 branches: 2 inches
Lower tier, 7 branches: 2 1/2 inches
Step 4:
Assemble the tree from the top down. Before attaching each tier of branches, bend them slightly right where the feathers stop. Arrange the top 3 branches (1 3/4 inches) around the tree top (2 inches) so that they are evenly spaced. Wrap the stems together with floral tape, covering about 1 inch of the wires with the tape. Tug on the floral tape while you wrap to stretch it as you wrap. Tear off the tape, and then arrange the second tier with 5 branches (2 inches.) Wrap another 1" of the wire stems with floral tape, and then attach the lower seven branches (2 1/2 inches.)
You can adjust the spacing and angle of the branches to your liking.
Step 5:
Hold the tree up next to the flower pot to determine how long the trunk of the tree should be. Use wire snips to cut the each of the wires to length, and then wrap them all together down to the bottom with floral tape.
Use crepe paper or party streamers to cover the floral tape on the trunk. Cut the paper into strips, about 1/2 inch wide, across the grain of the paper. Bend the branches out of the way to reveal the trunk sections, and apply the strips of paper with dots of glue. Stretch the paper gently as you wrap, creating a uniform trunk. Glue the end down to finish.
Step 6:
Prepare the flower pot by placing masking tape over the hole at the bottom inside the pot. With the flat end of the doll stand facing up, apply hot glue around the outside edge and push the doll stand into the pot. Check that the tree will fit inside, and add floral tape to the trunk to bulk it up if needed. Squeeze hot glue into the bottom of the flower pot through the hole, and apply a little bit to the inside edge of the doll stand as well. Insert the tree, and hold until the glue sets.
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