Texas Renaissance Festival season is upon us, and while I have many costume options to wear during most of their themed weekends, I’ve never attended during 1001 Dreams (think: fairies and fae folk) nor do I own a single pair of wings. With not enough time to make a set of dragonfly wings, I decided to go as a dryad or tree nymph. I do have my pine cone dress that I love, and although I made a witchy hat for it last year, it seemed appropriate for a dryad as well. So I ordered a few supplies and dug into my craft stash to make a pine dryad headdress…
[Related: Costuming a Loblolly Pine Witch]
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I knew I wanted horns but didn’t want to be a satyr or newly popular deer, so I chose a silver headband with tiny deer antlers to use as a base. I also bought a flower crown with branchy horns and lovely wine colored flowers that I scrapped for its parts. The rest of the supplies came from my craft supplies stash and holiday decor.
Antler headband: Arsimus Metal Deer Antlers Headband (Silver)
Velvet ribbon: Chenkou Craft 30 Yards 3/8″ Velvet Ribbon Total 30 Colors Assorted Lots Bulk
Feathers: Sowder Rooster Hackle Feather Fringe Trim 5-7″ in Width Pack of 5 Yards(Black) and Celine lin 10PCS Natural Pheasant Feathers Pheasant Tails 14-16inch(35-40CM)
Flowers: SHINE-CO LIGHTING Fake Peony Silk Flowers Bouquet Glorious Moral for Home Office Parties and Wedding (toffee) and Shine-Co Artificial Peony Silk Flowers Bouquet Glorious Moral for Home Office Decoration and Weddings (light pink)
Using the silver headband as the foundation piece, I wrapped the band in velvet ribbon to prevent slipping. I would highly recommend not skipping this step if you ever use a metal headband. The velvet ribbon is also a good medium for hot glue to stick to, so it’s a win win. I deconstructed the flower crown and attached the branches to the headband, using more velvet ribbon to secure the bases. And then I added feathers, pine needles that I cut from my holiday wreath, and a lot of flowers and pine cones. It went so fast I didn’t stop to take progress pictures!
[Related: Flower Crowns: Not Just for Hippies and Hipsters (DIY)]
front 
back
And in less than an hour, it was done! I wanted the pine cones to be highly visible so those went up front, and lovely pops of color with the flowers in the front and the back. The black rooster feathers are chaotic and I love that. And I curled one pheasant feather with my fingernail and glued it on one side as kind of a horn feature. I usually strive for symmetry but embraced asymmetry this time. I love it!
fit test 
faire parking lot selfie
We enjoyed our day at the faire, and our adorable niece Brittany dressed up in my mushroom costume. We made quite a pair! The headdress stayed on very well all day and was really comfortable, and we both got a lot of compliments on our costumes (not my husband in his Adidas tracksuit, that’s a whole other story entirely).
[Related: Fantasia Inspired Boho Toadstool Mushroom Costume]
It was a good costume upgrade to my pine cone dress and one I will wear again in future years…maybe I’ll eventually add those dragonfly wings!
More costumes made and worn by me here:
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