It’s Spotlight National Craft Month and people all over New Zealand have been getting creative with help from the crafting experts at Spotlight stores around the country. I was super happy to work with Spotlight again and finally cross a project off my ever increasing, crafty wish-list!
Juju hats have been hot, hot hot in interiors over the past couple of seasons and with good reason. As a wall hanging they easily create texture, depth and warmth and are incredibly easy to hang and style as they are super light and available in almost any colour. Hailing from Cameroon, this traditional feathered headdress was once only worn by royal dancers yet is now an ‘on-trend’ interior decor piece found in homes around the world.
And I’ve always wanted to make my own!
There’s a pretty simple list of requirements for this crafty project and you can grab them all at your local Spotlight store.
Nixie really wanted to do some crafting together so I simplified things for him and picked up a Kaiserwood Monologue ‘N’ and a pack of multicoloured, mixed turkey feathers to decorate it with.
Glue the Ostrich feather boa around the diameter of the wooden placemat.
Before you start affixing your feature feathers, lay out your Eagle quills to ensure you get an even spread around the placemat. Glue on the first 4 feathers, dividing the placemat into quarters and infill from there.
If the exterior circle of feathers is looking a bit gappy, glue 2 turkey feathers onto each eagle quill to increase volume.
Working around in a circle, glue a layer of marabou trim onto the quills with the satin ribbon closest to the centre. Trim excess and set aside for step 10.
Apply a layer of Goose Negorie feathers followed by 1 pack of feather biot at intervals.
Working around in a circle, glue a layer of marabou trim onto the quills with the satin ribbon closest to the centre.
Working around in a circle, glue a layer of turkey feathers onto the satin ribbon trim to hide.
Keep the remaining 2 packs of feather biot bunched/tied as they come in the pack. Fan each pack out to form a half circle and glue in place with quills in the centre of the placemat.
Working around in a circle, glue the 2 packs of curled Negorie feathers with quills right in the centre – trim quills if necessary.
Using excess marabou trim, glue in a tight circle in the centre of the Juju hat, covering all remaining quills. Fluff feathers to finish. Use howlite beads in centre if desired to add a more ‘tribal’ feel to your finished piece.
The finished product is literally, light as a feather so I simply mounted mine with 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips – too easy! I’m in love with how my Juju hat looks mounted on the wall, the dipped imitation Eagle feathers were a great choice for our lounge and dining area – loving the little pop of inky jewel tones they give to the finished piece.
Check out the full video tutorial below, including the awesome little project that Nix worked on which meant we could enjoy crafting together.