An ongoing project here at my house is the transitioning of my daughter’s room from one that is for a “little girl,” to decor more fitting for a “bigger girl.” It’s been slow-going so far because 1) She would pick all the furry, sparkly, mermaid sequined things, and 2) My head would then explode. So we have been taking our time and hashing it out.
The ultimate goal is to help her choose items that she can actually grow with and won’t (hopefully) want to change out again in six months. Another factor that I have been keeping very close in mind is budget. She is young, her tastes change so quickly right now. Whatever is “in” on her radar today inevitably will be super un-cool, in her opinion, in the blink of an eye. Being mindful of this fact, I have tried to keep all decor items at a very affordable price point. When tackling a budget-conscious project, do-it-yourself projects can be very helpful in meeting that goal.
In browsing through inspiration pictures for her room we had seen some beautiful Juju hat wall hangings. We both loved the texture and style that they can add to a space. Actually, I liked the texture and style, she was more into the fact that its made entirely of feathers. Unfortunately Juju hats can be rather expensive to purchase, so I started searching for a way to make our own version. Let me tell you, there are LOTS of tutorials out there on how to make your own. However, in my search, I found that once you purchased all of the necessary supplies the project ended up not being the most cost-effective. It also seemed pretty time consuming. So, we had kind of moved on from the idea of using Juju hat wall hangings in her room until I stumbled upon these at Hobby Lobby.
Hobby Lobby has a section in their store where wall hangings and other decor are displayed by style. i.e. girls, boys, boho, etc. I found two white feathered wall hangings in this section, one slightly larger than the other. They aren’t exactly like the Juju hats I have seen in decor shops (these were flatter and had less feathers) but they were close enough! Priced at $39.99 and $49.99 respectively they were far less than what I’d pay for the real deal. Hobby Lobby also had an online coupon available at the time of my purchase for 40% off one item so the larger of the two only ended up costing $29.99!
Large wall hanging.
Smaller wall hanging.
Considering their size, displayed in the above photos, I was happy with the price.
We knew we wanted to add some color to the wall hangings and I felt that they needed more “bulk” so I bought 3 bags of colored feathers for $2.99/pc. to add to each.
Back at home we laid out our supplies and, with the help of my favorite Fabri-Tac glue, got started.
Beginning in the center, we chose which color we wanted, laid it out and started gluing. I placed a small bead of glue on the stem of each feather and tucked it into the existing feathers.
From there it is all up to your imagination, what colors you want to use and how many added feathers you want in each wall hanging. For this project we used feathers in shades of blue, pink and a silvery-grey to complement her room decor.
As is the case in many DIY projects, I ended up needing a few more supplies than I originally planned for. Once we were done applying the colored feathers I felt that the wall hanging needed additional white feathers to add more bulk and thickness.
I made a quick run down the road to our neighborhood favorite, The (New) Dime Store, and grabbed a couple more bags of feathers for $1.99/pc. I actually wish I had purchased these feathers first as we preferred the more muted tones of the blues and pinks.
I filled in any areas that looked a little sparse with the white feathers that came in the packages. I also added a little more blue. We didn’t end up using very many of the colored feathers so we have plenty of leftovers for future projects or to add as supplies to the kids art area.
The end result was a much more substantial looking piece than what I had originally purchased. We decided to keep the smaller one more minimal which helped in how the pieces laid against the wall when we hung them slightly overlapping one another.
The grand total for this project was just over $80.
The best part of this “semi” DIY is that my daughter and I worked on it together and created something unique that she is very happy with (for the time being!)
I love doing projects with my kids because it not only provides such great quality time for us to spend together but it also gives them a sense of pride in creating something for themselves. My kids come to me quite often asking if we can make certain things from toys, to costumes, and sometimes even furniture (which mommy isn’t quite skilled enough for that one unfortunately). What is so refreshing about these simple requests is that they aren’t asking me to just go out and buy these items for them. They are learning that, with a little creativity and elbow grease, you can actually make something that has more personal meaning and is often just as good as what you can get in a store!
And I love that!
