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Making a garland is one of the easiest ways to add some flair and color to your decor. I used the Cricut Cuttlebug die cutting machine to make these awesome faux leather feathers quickly and easily. In less than an hour, I had a cute faux leather feather garland to add some character to our wood accent wall.

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I will confess, I am late to the die cutting party. Even when I was scrapbooking regularly (I’m not these days) I did not have or use a die cut machine. I always wanted one. Somehow I just never got around to getting one. I am not the biggest paper crafter, but I’ve realized recently that you don’t have to be a paper crafter to use a die cutter! My friends at Cricut sent me their fun little Cuttlebug manual die cutting machine, and some awesome feather dies to check out and it’s so fun to use!

Usually, when I need to cut a shape I use my Cricut Explore Air machine. It’s also considered a die cutting machine, but I’ve never really thought of it that way. Sometimes I don’t want to go through the whole process of using the online design space on my computer to work up a simple shape for cutting. I love that this little manual machine doesn’t need power, a computer, or any special programs to run it. Just the metal die cut shapes and a little hand crank action. And you don’t have to cut just regular paper with it either! I used some really awesome Cricut faux leather for my feathers and it worked perfectly!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own Faux Leather Feather Garland:

This faux leather feather garland (say that ten times fast) was seriously so quick and easy to make! I love the little bit of texture and character it adds wherever I put it.

Step one:

Cut your faux leather into strips approx the size of your feather dies. It was easier to run through the die cut machine if the leather was almost the same size as the feather, and I wasted a lot less material if I wasn’t using full-size sheets.

Step two:

Follow the instructions on the machine with the plates, and run the feather through for cutting. I found that the die cut better if I put the faux leather back side down on the die. So the finished pebbled faux leather side was face up, with the metal die shape below.

Repeat this step until you have a good number of feathers. I used two full 12×12 sheets of the faux leather. The Copper and the Peacock colors from the awesome Patina Sample Pack look great together. There was also Black, Brown, and Blue to choose from in the sampler pack. I will find another project for those eventually because this faux leather is totally amazing.

Step three:

Thread a needle with a long piece of string. I used a few strands of white embroidery thread for my string. Stitch the thread through the top of each feather and pull them onto the string. The faux leather holds up amazing to the stitching, and even if tugged on the feathers don’t tear and come off!

Step four:

Space out your feathers so that they fill your full string and hang where desired!

You can tack it to a gallery wall for some added texture, or hang it from a shelf, or even over a mirror. The back of the faux leather doesn’t look bad like some imitation leathers I’ve used before. I love adding little personal touches like this around my home and since I love owls and feathers it matches perfectly. Changing the colors could change the whole look as well! I am thinking I will repeat the project but change out the pretty green Peacock colored leather for Black instead. The copper and Black together (or even just the black) would make a great Halloween decoration for the shelf where I keep my spooky Halloween owls and ravens!