If you want to do it exactly like I did, you'll need the following, but for a lot of these, you could use something to substitute. I adapted as I went, so this is just the easiest way for me.
You'll need:
Styrofoam Balls (Preferably the smooth ones)
Xacto Knife
Gold Paint
Foam Paint Brushes
Regular Paint Brushes
White Feathers
Glue Gun/Glue Stick
Cups
Straws
Step One:
Smoothing: The foam balls that I got had an opening on one side and a protruding edge all the way around the middle. Originally, I had intended to cut the edge off, but found it far easier to just smooth it down with the Xacto Knife.
Step Two:
Painting: I found it a lot easier to pounce the first two coats of paint onto the balls with a foam paint brush since this gave it a thick coat to build a base upon. On the third coat, I used a regular paint brush to smooth the paint on.
Execution: Originally, I had started with painting only half the ball, letting it dry, painting the other half... this method is long, tedious, and unnecessary. I finally figured out that I could use straws in the hole already supplied in the ball and skewer them on.
Starting at the BOTTOM of the ball, paint your way up. You want to do this because the straw is not sturdy and the ball will pop off and get paint everywhere. So, use your finger to hold it down while you paint the bottom half and then paint the top.
When you're done, you can put the straw in a cup for it to dry. (If you use a plastic cup, make sure there is something inside it to keep the cup from tipping over. I suggest 4 to a cup until dry.
Tip: Do not store these in a place where they touch until 24 hours after. Just because it looks and feels dry does not mean it won't stick to the other balls and pull off the paint where they touched.
Painting: I found it a lot easier to pounce the first two coats of paint onto the balls with a foam paint brush since this gave it a thick coat to build a base upon. On the third coat, I used a regular paint brush to smooth the paint on.
Execution: Originally, I had started with painting only half the ball, letting it dry, painting the other half... this method is long, tedious, and unnecessary. I finally figured out that I could use straws in the hole already supplied in the ball and skewer them on.
Starting at the BOTTOM of the ball, paint your way up. You want to do this because the straw is not sturdy and the ball will pop off and get paint everywhere. So, use your finger to hold it down while you paint the bottom half and then paint the top.
When you're done, you can put the straw in a cup for it to dry. (If you use a plastic cup, make sure there is something inside it to keep the cup from tipping over. I suggest 4 to a cup until dry.
Tip: Do not store these in a place where they touch until 24 hours after. Just because it looks and feels dry does not mean it won't stick to the other balls and pull off the paint where they touched.
Step Three:
Flight: Since there was already one hole in the ball, I used that for one side of the wings and it made it easy to keep them even as a I just popped the other wing into the other side.
Match up your feathers first. There is nothing more frustrating than feathers that are extremely different sizes or ones that turn two different ways. Use something sharp to pop a hole in the side that doesn't have one (I used needle nose pliers, just using the one side, not both together) and then pop your feather in. It's a tight enough fit that you don't need to use any glue.
On the other side, you'll need to put glue into the cavity and then put the matching feather in while the glue is hot.
Flight: Since there was already one hole in the ball, I used that for one side of the wings and it made it easy to keep them even as a I just popped the other wing into the other side.
Match up your feathers first. There is nothing more frustrating than feathers that are extremely different sizes or ones that turn two different ways. Use something sharp to pop a hole in the side that doesn't have one (I used needle nose pliers, just using the one side, not both together) and then pop your feather in. It's a tight enough fit that you don't need to use any glue.
On the other side, you'll need to put glue into the cavity and then put the matching feather in while the glue is hot.
Step Four:
Enjoy! You can put them on your shelves, give them to friends, or do what I'm thinking of doing and turning them into a mobile. :)
Enjoy! You can put them on your shelves, give them to friends, or do what I'm thinking of doing and turning them into a mobile. :)
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