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DIY White Feather Wall Art

DIY White Feather Wall Art

DIY· Laura's Blog

I’m in love with a lot of the unique wall art I’m seeing lately. I’ve made several wreaths, but decided to try my hand at this textural treat for the eyes, feather wall art, also known as a Juju hat.

Here are the step by step instructions along with your supply list. Easy peasy and not pricey at all! 

At least 5 yards of rooster feathers which are strung together. These are what I used and I had a yard leftover. Also you will need a glue gun with about 10 glue sticks. Besides that, you will need a piece of cardboard or a paper dinner plate to adhere your feathers to. 

Instructions: 

  1. I used a cardboard box and made a template from an oval antique tray I had.
  2. Start gluing your feathers onto your surface, following the angle it. Go completely around.
  3. On your second pass, have the strung feathers jig in about a half an inch. Continue this process until you get to the very middle.
  4. End your length of feathers by cutting the end off and gluing it down. Fill in the center of your project with small pieces of your feather strands, gluing them in place. 
  5. Once your middle is filled in, fluff your art work. 
  6. Fill in with pieces of the rooster feathers, gluing down as you go, keep fluffing and filling in.
  7. Hold up to get perspective and see if there are any thin places. 
  8. Voila. You are done in an hour or less!

I hung my project with command strips so it didn’t damage my wall then ended up using the strips to hang over the fireplace. 

Check out Laura’s other projects and blog here.

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How to Make the Popular Moon and Stars Wall Hanging

How to Make the Popular Moon and Stars Wall Hanging

DIY· Laura's Blog

make a star and moon wall art

How cute is my latest DIY wall art project?

I decided to get the supplies and make this cool artwork during Thanksgiving. It was a huge hit, easy, and so much fun to make! 

Here is the version my daughter-in-law made (all stars)!

I wanted to make sure we had enough twine for her project, so we just made hers that day. We had plenty, so a week later, my other son’s girlfriend came over and she and I made ours together! 

Here is the supply list. (Enough to make 3 wall art projects!)

Pick out the stick you want to hang on your wall! Have fun. I brought 4 home then narrowed it down to my favorite. 
 
Instructions: 
Preheat Oven to 275 degrees.
1. Take a little bit of the white clay and warm it in your hands. (After making several, I created the stars with gloves. It does dry out your hands.) 
2. Place the clay into the star molds and push down. (We actually cut off the little hole placeholder within the mold. They didn’t work that well. Instead we used a small awl to create a hole large enough for our twine to go through.)
3. Smooth out the side of the star facing up. 
4. After creating your star, turn the mold upside down and pop the formed clay out.
5. Gently trim off any excess clay. I did this by hand. My son’s girlfriend used scissors.
6. Create a hole in one of the star arms for the twine prior to baking.
7. Then place the formed clay onto an unoiled cookie sheet (you may need 2).
8. If you want a moon on your artwork, make that also. Create a hole for the twine and bake with your stars. 
9. When you have enough stars, bake in preheated 275 degree oven for 15 minutes. 
10. Let stars cool for 10 minutes before assembling. 
11. Pick out each length of your twine as you work on your project, varying the lengths. Each piece of twine will have a star at each end (See variation below in step 12).
12. I had a bowl of water handy and dipped an end of my twine into that, twirled it a bit and slipped it through the holes on the stars. Tip, you can use your awl to help you thread your twine into the hole. We used a bow line knot to secure each star. 
13. Once we had one piece of twine ready with two stars at each end, we would position it on the stick, making a wide loop and pulling each star through so it was secured. My son’s girlfriend used a regular knot to tie hers and most of her stars were singular with only two being double stranded with a star at each end.
14. Have fun with it and make it your own beautiful piece of art.
15. Once we were happy with our finished pieces. We tied one end of the big twine bundle to one end of the stick, keeping the tail out while we wrapped it around that end a few times then tied the tail to the main piece of twine. Then we extended the twine to reach the other side, lifting the middle to have the arch we desired to hang it from. Again, we wrapped that end of the stick several times around with the twine and cut it with enough hanging (2-3 inches) to tie a knot. We did this two times to create two arching pieces of twine to hang our art from. 
 
Here is a picture of my son’s girlfriend’s wall art. 🙂
Let me know if you have any questions. 

Check out Laura’s other projects and blog here.

See the Latest Deals in Christian Books here.

How to Make a Rag Quilt – DIY with Laura J. Marshall

How to Make a Rag Quilt – DIY with Laura J. Marshall

DIY· Laura's Blog

I went to a site called Etsy one day and fell in love with a blanket. It was too rich for my blood, but boy did I pine for that blanket. I think God can and will use the desires of our hearts to not only enrich our lives but the lives of countless others.

He did this for me with sewing. I never thought I could or would be able to sew anything, let alone a blanket. Around Mother’s Day several years ago, after discovering the beautiful rag-style blanket on Etsy, I decided to invest some time in a sewing class (1/2 price at Joanne’s!) and thus began my love of fabric and sewing as I pray over each stitch. I can (AND so can you) do amazing things with God’s help. You CAN sew! 

I’m going to walk you through how to make a RAG QUILT.

I generally buy 6 different coordinating fabrics when I make my rag quilts. I buy 2 yards of each fabric and this makes a nice size to cuddle up with on the couch. (I have found most of the flannels are 46″ wide. This will give you approximately 144 squares or 24 squares of each fabric). If the fabric is not 46″ wide and is less, buy more of the fabric. Also, be aware that fabric with patterns may need to be put together so the pattern isn’t upside down. Be sure your fabrics are upright when you make your squares and when organizing your rows.

Here is your supply list (with links to products found on Amazon):

Rotary cutters look like this. I prefer the largest size. 

SIDE NOTE for blankets for babies: I have made blankets from fleece. This fabric is much more baby-friendly. I have read that the rag quilts made from fabrics with finer threads can cause a baby to choke, so if you are making a quilt for a baby, you will want to use fleece. Also, you will want to half your fabric amounts as you will only need to use one piece for each block. It has a finished back and front with one square. Here is a picture of a rag quilt made from fleece:

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Gather your fabrics. Set up your mat on a firm table. 

Cut each fabric into squares by putting your acrylic quilting square down and cutting each side with your rotary cutter. I work from the bottom up; meaning, I have the fabric length falling off the opposite end of the table and cut my pieces from the bottom closest to me. This part of the process can take a while. Each square will be 9.5 x 9.5 inches or however large your quilting square is. Tip: You can double-up your fabric (2-layers of the same fabric folded) and cut two squares at once. 

After the squares are cut, put two of the same fabric squares back to back, meaning the design faces outward on each side. You are making the front and back of your quilt simultaneously. Pin these two together. I put a pin at each corner and one in the middle of each side. Pin all of your squares.

Get ready to sew! Most sewing machines have marks for the seam allowance. When I first began sewing, I put a piece of painter’s tape on my machine where I wanted my seam. This way, each of the seams on all four sides of my squares were the same. In general, you want a seam allowance that is about 3/4 of an inch. Choose your seam allowance remembering that that is the part that gets “ragged” at the end of this process. 

Sew each side of your square, taking the pins out as maneuver the material through your machine. Do not run over your pins. They can become projectiles and hurt you or someone else or can jam your machine. 

Once all of your squares have a seam allowance on them, you have your quilt foundation. At this point, I lay out my squares on the floor and fiddle with my pattern. The kids love this part and always help me come up with a design we all like. Make sure your vertical patterns are all facing the same way.

Before I go any further, I sit with a pen and paper and write down my rows, my “map”. Example: 1. Minky, stripe, dark pink, flower, mint, dog 2. Dog, minky, stripe, dark pink, flower, mint And so on. 

Next, I sit on the floor and pin my rows. When pinning, you want your seam forward. (See picture.) 

Sew your squares together to form your rows. 

Next, pin your rows together with the help of the “map” that you wrote down. After pinning, sew your rows together and you have your almost* finished rag quilt. 

The last step is cutting the fringe that you created by sewing with the seams forward which are now the front of your blanket. Try not to cut through your seams. I have used regular fabric scissors for this or you can buy quilting snips that have a spring-loaded handle so your hand doesn’t tire as quickly. Wash and dry your quilt to start the ragging process. Some recommend going to the laundromat so you don’t get so many threads in your washer and dryer. I haven’t found that they are too excessive or cause any problems to my machines.  

Happy Rag Quilting! 

If I can clarify any directions, please leave a comment or leave feedback on how I can better improve this tutorial. 

Below are pictures of my son’s Coast Guard blanket made out of fleece.

Check out Laura’s other projects and blog here.

See the Latest Deals in Christian Books here.

This site is a participant in the Amazon.com Associates Program, and affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. It also may contain other affiliate advertising.