Accessories Challenge · Feather Fan

The Accessories Challenge for November was fans, which happened to fit in quite nicely with my Reformation Day project!  The painting features the older sister holding a feather fan, so this was a perfect excuse to make a frivolous fan. ;-) 

 My first plan for the handle was to buy some wooden spindle pieces the approximate shape and glue those together.  Spindles the correct shape proved to be surprisingly difficult to obtain, so we wandered Hobby Lobby looking for a suitable alternative.  Inspiration struck in the Christmas isle- we could use a similarly shaped ornament!  

 Hobby Lobby and JoAnns didn't have anything quite right, but we found a great ornament at Jeffrey Alans; I was so thrilled that we found something so very similar and the right proportions!! 

Before- flat and sad.  After- fluffy!

I found very inexpensive ostrich feathers on eBay, which was a "must" since I ended up using 20!  They were rather flattened, so I lightly curled them with a curling iron to give them a little body.

 Cutting off the top of the glass ornament was rather nerve-wracking, but using a Dremel tool worked very well, and with no shattering. :-)  I taped all the feathers together with black tape.  I spray-painted it with a semi-gloss black, and then stuck the feathers in!

I'm super pleased with how well the project came together successfully!  Stay tuned for the reveal of the complete Reformation Day outfits next week! :-)

The Accessory: Feather Fan

Historical Period:  1550s

Outfit It Accessorizes:  My Sofonisba Anguissola dress for Reformation Day, 2013

Materials Used: Glass Christmas ornament, Dremel tool, Black spray paint, Black ostrich feathers, Curling iron, Hot glue

Techniques Used: Glass cutting, spray-painting