Okay, so today, I wanna talk about my latest project. I call it “Brick and Feather” and it was quite the adventure, let me tell you.
It all started when I decided our backyard needed a little, you know, something extra. I’ve always been into DIY stuff, so I thought, why not build a decorative wall? But not just any wall – I wanted something with a bit of flair. And that’s where the feathers come in.


First thing I did was gather my tools. I got my trowel, a jointer, some other stuff. And bricks, obviously, lots of them. The idea was to build a small, sturdy wall and then somehow incorporate feathers into the design. Sounds simple enough, right? Ha!
Building the wall was, well, it was a learning experience. I started with the corners, like you’re supposed to, and tried to keep everything level. Let me tell you, it’s trickier than it looks. The bricks kept sliding around, and I had to redo a few sections more times than I’d like to admit. It’s all about getting the right amount of mortar and not smushing the bricks down too hard. And catching that extra mortar that squishes out? Yeah, that’s a must.
The mortar mix, oh boy, that was another thing. I ended up going with a 3:1 ratio, which seemed to do the trick. I also tried, for the part where I was gonna stick the feathers, a 1:4 ratio for the mortar. It took a few tries to get the consistency right, but I eventually got there.
After, like, a whole weekend, I finally had a decent-looking wall. It wasn’t perfect, but hey, it was standing! Now for the feathers. This was the fun part, and the most frustrating. I had these beautiful, colorful feathers that I wanted to embed into the mortar while it was still wet.
- First attempt: Disaster. The feathers just wouldn’t stay put. They kept falling out or getting covered in mortar.
- Second attempt: Slightly better. I tried making little indentations in the mortar first, but it still wasn’t great.
- Third attempt: Success! I finally figured out that I needed to let the mortar dry just a little bit before sticking the feathers in. Not too dry, though, or they wouldn’t stick at all. It was a fine line.
I ended up creating this sort of mosaic pattern with the feathers, and it looked pretty cool, if I do say so myself. It was definitely a unique touch. I played around with different patterns and colors, and it was a lot of fun. There was a lot of trial and error involved. It was messy, it was time-consuming, but in the end, it was totally worth it.
So, there you have it. My “Brick and Feather” project. It was a wild ride, but I learned a ton, and now I have a one-of-a-kind wall in my backyard. Not bad for a weekend project, huh? If you’re thinking of trying something like this, just be prepared for a bit of a challenge. But hey, that’s half the fun, right? And don’t be afraid to get creative! You might surprise yourself with what you can come up with.

