DIY Feather Barrettes

DIY Feather Barrettes
By Tina Barseghian

Inspired by so many beautiful (but expensive) feather barrettes we’ve seen at our favorite shops, my friend and I (and our giddy daughters) decided to make our own. A trip to Michael’s covered everything we needed: standard metal hair barrettes, pieces of felt, a bag of vintage buttons, feathers, a hot glue gun, and thus the merrymaking began.

Materials:

Metal hair barrettes
Felt
Buttons
Feathers
Hot glue gun

Directions:

Step 1: Cut out a piece of felt slightly larger than the size of the barrette and hot glue it onto the top of the barrette.

Step 2: Start to experiment with layering different colored feathers on top of each other to see how it will look. The dramatic black ones were highlighted with bright yellow, green, and blue, punctuated with a jazzy button. We decided that the peacock feathers, however, needed no further embellishments and can stand proudly on their own.

Step 3: Hot glue the feather(s) onto the felt piece on the barrette.

That’s it! Now you have your instant fashionable hair accessory. Match colors with your outfit or use ’em as their own splash of color to your attire.
About the Author:

Tina Barseghian is the former editor-in-chief of CRAFT magazine and will continue to carry its torch through Craftzine. She’s busy working on a couple of books and articles, tinkering with feathers, and rediscovering the joys of the glue gun. You can find some of her recently published pieces at www.barseghian.com.