# Toothbrush Feather Quill Pens
> Use an old toothbrush and a paper strip to paint realistic feathers, then cut them out and glue them to bamboo skewers. Kids dip the quills in liquid watercolor 'ink' to write and draw the old-fashioned way.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-and-crafting-a-quill-pen/
- Ages: 4+ · Difficulty: medium · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 20 min, activity 45 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: fine-motor, pre-writing, writing, art, history

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Cardstock paper cut into strips
- 1 sheet Cardstock paper for the feathers
- Paint for the feathers
- 1 piece Paper plate (paint palette) (household)
- 1 piece Old toothbrush (household)
- 4 piece Bamboo skewers
- Glue (household)
- 1 piece Scissors (household)
- Liquid watercolor paints
- 1 sheet Plain paper for writing and drawing (household)
- Pencils and rubber bands (or other fastening material) (optional) (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of bamboo skewers: Pencils (Attach the feathers with cute fastening material or an old rubber band to make pencil toppers.)

## Safety
- Bamboo skewer tips are sharp. Supervise closely while kids write, and consider having an adult snip off the very point.
- Liquid watercolors can stain hands, clothes and surfaces. Cover the table and use washable colors where possible.
- Keep the painting toothbrush for art only. Don't return it to the bathroom.
- An adult does the cutting for younger kids. The author cut out the feathers herself.

## Before you start
- Cut cardstock into strips (one per child).
- Squeeze paint onto paper plates, one plate per station.

## Steps
1. Place a strip of cardstock in the middle of a clean sheet of cardstock.
2. Dip the toothbrush in paint. Brush quick marks down the right side of the strip, top to bottom, at about a 30-45 degree angle.
3. Wait about 20 seconds. Move the strip to the right and make the same marks on the left side, leaving a tiny gap in the middle for the feather's shaft.
4. Make more feathers so you have one for each ink color.
5. Let the paint dry. Then cut out the feathers.
6. Glue a bamboo skewer to the back of each feather. Snip the edges for an extra touch.
7. Set the quills out with liquid watercolors as pretend ink and some paper.
8. Dip a quill in the ink and write or draw the old-fashioned way.

## Tips
- Don't press too hard, and make quick movements so the bristles don't flatten the image.
- Leave a tiny gap between the two sets of bristle marks. That's where the shaft of the feather (called the rachis) goes, and it makes the feather look more realistic.
- Make a feather in every color so there's a writing tool for all the colors.
- The painting part was a bit too much for my preschooler, soon to be a kindergartener, but she did NOT give up. She tried hard to get that angle right. There are so many ways to modify this based on your child's age and patience.
- I bet an older kid would really enjoy making realistic paper feathers.
- My older one was pretty psyched. She'd been talking about people writing with feathers forever, and that day SHE was writing with feathers!

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

This is art project for kids over 6 years old using an old toothbrush. There are so many ways you can modify this art project based on your child's age and patience. However we ended up making quill pens and invited the kids to create and write.

Use old toothbrushes to make [**rooster art**](https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-kids-rooster-art/) - great Thanksgiving craft idea

Use [**electronic toothbrushes**](https://www.funlittles.com/art-activities-for-a-lazy-day/) to make a self-painting robotic art I got this idea from one my school- age cousins who apparently saw this on a tv show. *EDIT: Use the tutorial below to use the paper feathers as turkey feathers. Paint with appropriate colors and use them in a fun Thanksgiving Craft.* At first I had planned to do this activity in 2 steps. The first part as an art activity with my 4-year-old and the second part as a craft and finally end it with a fun creating/writing prompt. While attempting this art activity I realized that the first part was a bit too much for my preschooler soon to be kindergartener. But that little girl did NOT give up! He tried hard to get that angle right. What angle? You will see what I mean. Materials

- **[Cardstock Paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006P1ER8O/?tag=blmemo-20)** cut into strips
- **[Cardstock Paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006P1ER8O/?tag=blmemo-20)** for the art itself
- **[Bamboo Skewers](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UJ0Z10/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- **[Liquid Watercolor Paints](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042SR5R2/?tag=blmemo-20)**
- Old Toothbrush

 **On to the "how-to" for the art activity.** You will need strips of a thick paper (card stock) and a another clean card stock paper for the art itself. Place a strip of thick paper in the middle of a clean thick paper and use your toothbrush to make bristle marks on the right side ( top to bottom) at an approximate 30-45 degrees angle. You will get something like the second picture below. Don't press too hard and make quick movements so that the bristles don't flatten the image. Give it 20 seconds and move the strip of paper to the right and make the same marks on the left. Make sure you leave a tiny gap between the sets which will make the feather more realistic. That gap is where the shaft of the feather ( called rachis ) will go.  This is how the toothbrush feathers will looks like.



I made another set so we can have a writing tool for all the colors.



Once the paint dried I cut the feathers and attached them to bamboo skewers.



Just glue the skewers to the back of the feathers. I snipped the edges for the extra touch.



Now your fun writing tools are ready. Ooh the colors look so inviting!



I set the feathers out with some liquid water colors. They are the pretend ink!



Invitation to write and create the old-fashioned way: with Quill Pens!



My older one was pretty psyched with this activity. She has been talking about people writing with feathers for ever and that day she was too excited that her talks became a reality and SHE was writing with feathers! You could take this one step ahead and actually make quill pens. Here is a [**tutorial**](https://www.instructables.com/Make-a-real-feather-writing-quill/) for that.



A beautiful rainbow that my preschooler made.



Another idea is to attach the feathers with some cute fastening material ( or use an old crummy rubber band ) and make pencil topper.



I sure think the quill pen art activity makes you travel back in time.

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