the fan

Sounds like I'm talking about my neighborhood, but I'm not. The fan I'm referring to is the one I made as a Christmas gift for Arlie, featured in the photos here. Above is a detail of the feathers used. They were primarily peacock, but there were some pheasant feathers around the lower parts.

The back:

The blown-glass bead:

Feather detail:

The fan in all its glory:

This took me a few hours to make. I started with a base I thrifted that was roughly the shape of the fan. I attached a 3-ply jute to the back in a spiral. I also glued the jute along the edges, and attached the bead to the bottom edge with it. On the front, I layered feathers upon feathers upon feathers. I wish I had taken progress/process pictures, but I was too busy trying to fight the cats off the feathers and finish while the baby was happy and/or asleep.

The best part about this gift was the wrapping. I didn't have/couldn't find a box or bag big enough to put it in, so I thought I'd sandwich it between two large pieces of cardboard to protect it, tape them together, and then wrap it. I didn't have any cardboard on hand (I threw out the huge box from the high chair I had just gotten the day before like an idiot) so I ventured out to the Dollar Tree. There I found some Nascar posters, backed by cardboard and wrapped in plastic. I bought them, intending to throw the posters out and only use the cardboard. Instead, I left the posters on, facing outwards, with the fan hidden between them. The look on Arlie's face when she tore back the wrapping to find Jeff Gordan and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was priceless. The obvious relief she felt when seeing the fan was even better. Merry Christmas, Arlie!