— Decorating Hack, DIY, Home Decor, Wreaths —

DIY Feather Medallion/African Juju Hat

March 26, 2020

For almost two years, I have wanted an African Juju hat!  They look so cool in an entryway, above a bed or on your mantel.  They actually symbolize prosperity and are said to have been worn by dancers during big ceremonies.  That is so cool!  I love them, but they are SO expensive!  I even thought about making my own using feather trim, but that was still too expensive for me because I would still need 10-12 yards.  I decided that I wanted to try and figure out a way to make it for under $20.  Here’s how I was able to get a similar look for a much lower price:

I bought some bags of feathers similar to this one.  I also found these ones that are cheaper than what I used, even more feathers per bag(you probably only need one) and cuter than what I used!

All I did was cut cardboard in a circle like this:

It’s not even a perfect circle! ? It really doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, it’ll be covered in feathers anyway!

 

Then you just take a hot glue gun, lots of glue sticks and start gluing the feathers. Don’t glue the tips of the feathers!  Only glue the ends!  YOu want the feathers to stick up a little bit to add texture, depth and shape. Start with the outer part of the circle, and work your way into the middle.

 

It doesn’t need to be perfect! Just fill in the feathers as you see fit, and work your way to the middle.

 

Here it is once I thought I was done(spoiler alert: I wasn’t done).

 

 

To hang the medallion, all you need is a paper clip and a small piece of felt.

 

Put half of the paper clip on the cardboard, add a bunch of hot glue, and put the felt over the glue.

 

You can use a tack or nail to hang up the medallion on the loop of the paper clip. Easy and cheap right?! After I hung it up, I ended up not liking the color scheme as much as I thought I would! It doesn’t look full enough, and I just didn’t like it!

So I decided to try again:

I decided to remove all of the orange feathers, and add more natural looking feathers. I added and added feathers everywhere to make it look fluffy and full! My tip is that even when you think it’s full, add more!

Here’s how it turned out:

Looks much better than it did before with all the orange huh?  I also removed some of the black and just used another entire pack of feathers!

 

Here it is at a different angel. I wanted you to see how many layers and textures it has.

 

I’m really pleased with how it turned out!

That is how I got the look of an African Juju hat, and made a feather medallion for less than $20!  Would you want to make one?  I think a bright colored one for a little girl’s room would be fun, or to just have year round above your fireplace.

If you have any questions or feel overwhelmed with a project like this, I’m happy to help in any way possible!

Love you all!

 

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