miy white Christmas feathered wreath, Maddylane, miy

Miy Wooden Avent Candle Holders ~ Lighting the way to the Holidays

Hands-on time: Under an hour.
Total time: Under an hour.
Skill: Easy.
Project cost: Under $30.00, depending on the type of feathers you purchase.

Materials & tools:
• A square Styrofoam base, 30 cm in length, by 22 cm wide, by 5 cm thick ( if you can’t find one cut out a square
center opening inside a square Styrofoam base using a craft knife).
•White feathers of your choice such as ostrich, turkey, chicken, eyelash feathers, goose, or chandelle feathered
boa’s, strung or individuals.
• A ruler
• Scissors or clippers
• Glue gun, with clear sticks (use a low temperature glue gun)
• One meter of satin ribbon, 5cm wide (I used brown)
(Materials for this project are available at craft, fabric, notions and florists' shops.)

The simplest holiday decorations are often the most charming. For a sleek contemporary holiday look, create
your own feathered wreath, table-top tree and decorations.
Feather wreaths are a huge trend in home decor, and they make stunning accessories for any season. They are
absolutely spectacular poised on a fireplace mantel, centered over a large mirror, on a door or hooked casually
over a chair.

Festive feather wreaths are graceful yet quite easy to make. Trim any excess fuzz or unwanted tips off of the
feathers. Sort them by size and length.

Start by gluing similar feathered lengths horizontally along the four exterior sides of the Styrofoam square base.
Using a glue gun with low-temperature glue sticks, glue the feathers on flat on their lengths, side by side in two
rows. Do the same thing to cover the square opening of the wreath's base.

To cover the front surface area of the wreath base, apply a row of feathers along the centre, gluing them one at
a time side-by-side, but just the tip part. Start at one end and work your way around the whole base. Add a
second layer of feathers to overlap the first row in the same manner, but this time along and around the centre
opening border of the base.

Once completed, check the wreath, you might need to secure some feathers with a bit more glue. If you wish,
you can secure a wire loop in the back of the wreath for hanging.
For the finishing, I added a plain, deep-chocolate-brown satin ribbon with a bow.

A feathered wreath will last for years. Each holiday, you can give it a fresh new look by just decorating it with a
variety of different accessories. Leave the wreath plain or include assorted embellishments such as colourful
miniature balls, fresh ivy, a feathered bird, berry clusters, bows and creative wire ornaments.

If you use feather wreaths outdoors, be sure to place them under a covered porch area to avoid direct sunlight
or snow. You will want a feather wreath for every season, to hang over a door, on a wall or over a mirror. They
make wonderful gifts, too.

Tabletop tree: To make a small cone tree covered with feathers, start by applying a row of feathers with a glue
gun at the bottom of the cone base, and keep adding overlapping rows of feathers until the cone base is
completely covered all the way to the top. To minimize cost, you can buy an inexpensive feather boa, secure one
end to the base with florist's pins or glue, wrap it around the cone shape and tuck in the end to secure it onto the
base.

I applied family photographs of past Christmases onto self-hardening clay circle and square shapes to create an
advent calendar tree and attached them onto a white feathered tabletop tree using decorative pins. To see how
to do image transfer view Miy Image transfer project.

Variations:
To make Hanukkah candle holders, cut eight wooden holders in the same size and height. Cut a ninth (and
centre, the Shamas) holder taller. Stain blue, paint silver, or decorate with gold leaf accents, such as Stars of
David.
To use tapered candles, simply drill a smaller hole at the other end of the wooden block, then turn them over to
use different size candles.
No need to clean your paintbrush between each coat; simply kept it sealed in Glad® Press’n Seal™ wrap.
Minwax PolyShades also allows you to easily change the colour of currently stained or varnished wood items
without stripping.

Miy White Feathered Christmas
C r e a t i o n s & I n s p i r a t i o n s
"f o r t h e p u r e j o y o f m a k i n g t h i n g s"

“A White Christmas ~ Pure and Simple”

Miycreations Project article and photographs
by Madeleine M Langlois MaddyLane Designs

Make it Yourself Creations... The Spirit of Making Things ~ Naturally Simple