Easy fall pheasant feather wreath

My daughter had a dream. My husband shared this dream. A fall pheasant feather wreath with lots of spiky pheasant feathers stealing the show.

There’s no substitute for pheasant feathers on a fall wreath if you’re looking to provide texture and create drama. And I think we can all use a little more drama these days. {Insert sarcasm right here.)

Then I thought to myself. We’ll just buy a fall wreath. I don’t want make a wreath. Too tired and cranky.

I looked up fall wreaths. The ones we liked with lots of pheasant feathers cost $159. Another was over $200.

I’m not spending that!

Yet. I want a showstopping pheasant feather wreath that will take my visitors breath away when they visit.

Warm and welcoming, greeting visitors as they enter my home.

So it’s back to DIY wreath-making for us. Esther and Tom won. Truthfully, all wreath-making takes is a little time, patience and a few bucks. Here how….

How-to get pheasant feathers

So you have a few options on how to get pheasant feathers and can go for the real deal or faux route. Pheasants are interesting animals!

I think you know by now that Tom is a hunter and hunts pheasant for pheasant stew and other such delights.

I know….I don’t always love hunting myself but fully realize the pheasants released by the DEC would be eaten by fox if Tom didn’t snag two of them.

My kids think they are delicious and their feathers beautiful. To this I completely agree! But if you can’t acquire your own “real” feathers faux ones will certainly do the trick.

Either way mixing and matching natural elements with man-made elements is the key to success in wreath-making.

Materials needed for a fall pheasant feather wreath

18″ or 24″ grapevine (like this) or wire frame (like this). Of course you could go with a 12″ and once you add all your materials will look full enough. But harvest materials are long and cumbersome to work with. The bigger wreath might make the process of attaching your add-ons easier. Some natural elements are long!

Floral wire (like this) – Green colored wire is best because it will blend in with your greenery and metal wreath form. You’ll hardly notice it. At the craft store, you’ll see this type of wire near the artificial flowers.

Wire-cutters (like this) – You probably already own a pair of wire-cutters. Don’t use your kitchen scissors for the task, it will ruin them. Even if you need to buy a pair, you’ll use them for lots of other projects.

Glue gun & extra glue (like this) – If you don’t already own a glue gun you certainly won’t regret buying one. They come in so handy for so many projects!

Natural and man-made materials – Go outside, enjoy the fresh and pluck pluck pluck. Wheat, nuts, grasses, corn stalks, leaves of every hue. And what you can’t find? Supplement at Hobby Lobby. Everything is on clearance now, too!

Pheasant feathers (like these) – Real or faux pheasant feathers will work equally well.

Mod Podge – If you are using real leaves, it’s best to seal them using a paint brush and Mod Podge. The Modge Podge strengthens the leaves and gives them a little sheen.

Matte sealer (like this) – When working with dried, natural elements, I highly recommend using a sealer when finished.. Not only does it protect your masterpiece, but it gives it a slight glossy glow. Aleene’s is easy to apply, goes on evenly and will help your wreath last several seasons of wear-and-tear.

Start with the frame

It’s the frame of the wreath that gives you a solid base to build the rest of the wreath.

You have a lot of choice, but as a general rule, indoor wreaths require less durability and outdoor wreaths must be sturdier to withstand the elements.

Either way, if you plan on decorating your wreath with heavier adornments, choose a sturdy frame to support them.

Many wreath frustrations are the result of a weak base!

Wire wreaths are cheap, widely available and come in all shapes and sizes but may not be able to handle super heavy material. Plus, they are ugly so you want to make sure your add-ons cover up it up so none of it is exposed.

I like grapevine wreaths. They are attractive, have a natural flare, go with any season and are sturdy enough to support just about any added material.

Another advantage to using a grapevine wreath is that you don’t have to fuss about covering every square inch of it with materials as you would with a wire wreath which you’d never want exposed.

Grapevine is natural and will look fine if bits of it are showing when your wreath is complete.

Finding materials

The best wreaths will incorporate both natural and man-made materials as both can be equally aesthetically pleasing. Combining the two gives you the best of both worlds.

If you can’t find the natural element to a piece you want to incorporate, you can always head to Hobby Lobby and see what they have in stock. And likely, it’s going to be 40% or more off at the end of the season.

Historically, harvest wreaths used crops in the circle with braided stalks, grains, dried fruits and berries, nuts, dried mini pumpkins or small gourds all representing the bounty of the harvest.

But go with what you can find! I used lotus pods (like this) to set the stage for my wreath and be a focal point.

Cattails were also weaved into the design. Hopefully you know someone with a pond, but if you don’t (these) would work, too.

Tom and Esther were gung-ho on using leaves from our yard including maple, oak and cherry. If you do the same, you should seal them with Mod Podge.

The girls had a blast scurrying about the yard collecting leaves in every hue for this project.

Just use a paint brush and paint the entire leaf back and front then lay out to dry. Skipping this step may mean your wreath is not long for this world.

Attaching materials to your fall pheasant feather wreath

This is where it gets tricky because the hardest part of DIY wreath-making is getting your materials to stay on your wreath.

Your best bets are hot glue and wire to make this process go smoother.

This is where that grapevine wreath comes in handy again~ it’s vital to have a broad surface for the glue to stick to.

Tom and I kicked it up a notch and used leaves as a base covering up the grapevine giving a strong fall flare!

For the leaves, we only used hot glue as the wire would have caused them to crumble and break. But we did use a bit of wire in places that required a little extra security.

Whether you use wire or glue, always try to be sparing. Less is best. You simply don’t want to see either more of them than absolutely necessary! This is the best way to get the more natural looking wreath possible.

If you use wire, never wrap too tightly as you don’t want to squish your adornments.

Step-by-step instructions to make a fall pheasant feather wreath

1.) Start by laying out all the materials you have on the ground asking yourself this vital question: What looks good? Do I want to group elements together in bunches of 3-4? What end result are you going for? A big, full luscious wreath? Or a more simple one. You decide!

Will you have a base or no? Will the grapevine be your base? We decided to use leaves as the base and weave in the other natural elements fittingly.

2.) Once you have a goal, you can start attaching materials to the wreath. We decided to hot gun glue first and use wire as extra security.

3.) If you are using fake leaves, you can glue directly on the wreath as they won’t crack and break. But we used real leaves that we dried from our yard which is trickier as they are so fragile.

Tom created a mini frame out of cardboard that we glued the leaves on first. Not only did this provide structure, but it elevated our base just enough to give it an even more full appearance.

Overall, glue the leaves in the same direction after you snip off their stems.

Tuck them in as you add your layers. As a general rule, when you add elements tuck them in to cover up.

Adding more elements step-by-step to the fall pheasant feather wreath…

4.) Once you have your base established, you are ready to incorporate other elements to your wreath.

Since this is a fall pheasant feather wreath, we adding the pheasant feathers first. This was a larger 18″ inch wreath so we used 30 pheasant feathers grouped in bunches of 3 for a dramatic effect.

All Tom did was group them together and hot glue them to the grapevine base. I love their vibrant spikes!

5.) Next, I created bunches with my wheat and cattails carefully tying them together with wire. Tom hot glued them on the wreath then used another dried leaf to cover up the hot glue.

6.) Last, Tom added the four lotus pods to give the wreath some visual circular motion. I confess, I love these on all wreaths!

7.) As a final step, spray your entire wreath outside with a matte sealer. Not only does this step give the wreath a nice sheen but it help preserve it for the long haul.

Finishing touches

Some wreaths don’t look complete without a bow of some sort on top. Others seems to require one on the side or bottom.

Sometimes, you replace the much needed bough with a grouping, such as three lotus pods that give the same effect.

Ultimately, I decided to space out 4 lotus pods somewhat haphazardly around the wreath and was pleasant with the result.

Another thought is to use a sign with words. Maybe a wood one that says “Thankful” or “Blessed”. Maybe a sign that says “Fall” or “Harvest” would be equally compelling!

But regardless, you do need a focal point. Some catchy focal point that grabs your attention and makes you go “oh wow…gorgeous. I love this wreath.”

Have you ever attempted to make a DIY wreath before?

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