When I was fairly young and wanted a dog, my parents compromised by getting me a hamster, which was very cute and snuggly if a bit boring. (I think they reasoned that a hamster would require a less onerous care routine than a dog, and also if it happened to die on my watch, it would be less traumatic for everyone involved than the death of a larger animal.) When I got a little older and kept demanding a dog (after hamster 1, Tassy, and hamster 2, Milky Way, had passed on to that great hamster wheel in the sky), they, continuing in the questionable-but-generally-accepted-smaller-size-equals-less-trauma vein of reasoning, let me get a bird.
She was a cockatiel named Fruna, because I had a habit of naming my pets after candy. (Frunas are like Starburst, but they’re from Peru and less extreme-tasting and come in pastel flavors like pear and blackberry.)

I was obsessed with her feathers. Every time one fell out or she molted, I would save it in a little jewelry box, and eventually (no shame) made a little pillow with them as a keepsake of her. (Once a DIY dork, always a DIY dork.) She was joined by Stretch, a differently-abled lovebird, whose feathers were carefully sorted into their own box. (Tangent: Stretch hated my mother but loved her curly hair, so she would awkwardly climb up my mom’s clothes to nest in her hair, and then violently bite mom whenever she tried to pet her. Very bloodthirsty, for a lovebird. And conflicted.)

Well, here I am, almost 30 and still obsessed with feathers. I’ve been pining after a pair of massive feather earrings (or even just one feathered earring, which I prefer) for a while, but the real statement pieces tend to be prohibitively expensive. Given that you can pick up a bag of feathers for a few bucks at any craft store, there’s no reason not to make your own pair. (Unless you’re vegan. These are definitely not vegan.) Unlike a lot of accessories, these operate under the “more is more” rule of aesthetics. Which isn’t to say that a single feather wouldn’t make a tasteful earring, but really, go big or go home.
One earring will run about $5, depending on how many feathers you want to use and what you already have on hand. For it, you’ll need:
- A bunch of longish, narrow feathers of your choice (pheasant works well for this).
- Four inches of narrow ribbon or bias tape.
- Another six or so inches of ribbon or leather cord.
- An earring clip or hook, and a jumpring (which is what those little rings that hold the ornament to the clip or hook are called).
- Tweezers.
- Fabric glue or rubber cement.
Thread the short length of ribbon or bias tape through your jumpring and glue the two ends together to form a tab, making sure you leave the open side of the jumpring exposed.
While the glue dries, sort the feathers on your work surface from greatest to smallest length. Cover one side of the tab in glue and stick the feathers on it, starting with the longest ones at the end and staggering the shorter ones over them as you move closer to the jumpring.
Once the glue has set, do the same thing to the other side of the tab. Again, let the glue set. (Completely, otherwise you’ll have a mess on your hands.)
Now thread the longer piece of ribbon or leather cord through the jumpring and glue one end in place at the top of the feathers; twist it back up and wrap it around the feathers a few time until the ends are completely hidden.
Glue the end in place neatly, since this bit will be exposed. Finally, use the tweezers to nudge the ends of the jumpring apart and hook it onto the earring hardware.
Pinch the ends back in place with the tweezers, and then turn the ring gently so the open end is inside the ribbon tab. And you’re done!