Cupid…. a traditional Valentine figure. A sweet cherub with a bow and arrow. I’ve always found ways to incorporate cherubs into my Gothic Valentine decor …. did you see the Napkin Rings I made for Valentine’s Day two years ago, or the Cake Stand I made last year? What I have always overlooked was that arrow! You certainly must know me well enough by now to know that Red Arrows with little Heart Arrowheads is not what I mean. Instead… Gothic Black Feathered Valentine Arrows… I immediately envisioned a vase full of them, and I went to work.
I wanted to maintain some of the traditional elements of a real arrow, but with some gothic flare. After all, these arrows were purely for aesthetics! To create these Gothic Cupid Arrows… I used all black (or painted black) materials. I attached black feathers at the tail to create both a whimsical yet Fallen Angel kind of vibe. I chose a black suede cord to secure and finish the feathers to the dowel. At the arrow head, I used a far less traditional material to wrap the arrowhead and dowel. I chose a black velvet wired ribbon. At first, I tested out the suede cord. I thought using a consistent material for the wrapping of both ends would make sense, but once I had created my test subject, it seemed like something was missing. The suede cord was almost too plain for the arrowhead. The wheels started turning , and I decided the arrow could use some black velvet.
Yes, this project is a simple one, but decorating is all in the details. And these arrows make for perfectly subtle Valentine Decor with a Gothy-Witchy Twist of course. Prop a single arrow next to a Gothic looking cherub, or place an entire vessel full of them on a table as part of a vignette or as a centerpiece.
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What you’ll need:
- Wooden Dowel
- Wooden Arrowhead Cutouts
- Dremel – I have Dremel 3000
- Cutting Bit
- Sanding Bit
- Black Paint
- Feathers
- Suede Cording
- Wired Velvet Ribbon – I used one from my ribbon stash, but here’s another 2 1/2″ Black Wired Velvet Ribbon
- E6000 in Black
It is not as easy as one would think to find a simple arrowhead to use for this project. Ultimately, after a lot of searching, I ended up with a wooden cutout of an arrow. The only problem with this particular find, is that the stem of the arrow cutout is wider than the dowel I was going to be attaching it to, and I didn’t love the way they looked when layered together. So, using a Dremel, I trimmed the cutout, narrowing the stem until it better mirrored the width of my dowels. The edges were cleaned up using the Dremel Sanding tool.
Paint the Dowels and the Arrowhead black
Once dry, run a line of E6000 along the center of the arrowhead, and attach the dowel. I usually allow E6000 to dry overnight.
Next, attach the feathers. I used three large black feathers for each arrow.
At the end of the dowel, run a line of E6000 the length of a feather stem, along the dowel. Lay the stem in the line of glue, and find a creative way to prop up your feather (or lay on it’s side) so that the stem is resting completely against the dowel, and in the glue. Allow to dry. Yes, you have to glue the feathers one at a time… but, if you’re making more than one arrow, it’s pretty easy to assembly line them all!
Once the first feather is securely attached, run another line of glue and repeat process for the second, and third feathers.
You don’t want to see the stems glued to the dowel, so to finish the end off, use the suede cord to wrap around it. To do this, I ran a bead of glue vertically next to one of the stems, and then dabbed glue here and there around the dowel end and feather stems. I laid the cord directly in the vertical line of glue (end towards the feathers) Hold in place with one finger, while wrapping the string around the dowel towards the feathered end. Once you get toward the base of the stems, simply trim the cording and use the glue to secure it back in place.
At the arrow head, wrap with wired velvet ribbon… I cut a length 1 1/2″ long out of 2 1/2″ wide ribbon. May not seem like much, but it gives you enough ribbon to wrap one single layer around the dowel. Start at the back side of the arrow, and glue one edge of the ribbon down. Once set, wrap the ribbon around and glue the other edge. I used binder clips to hold the ribbon in place.
Once the last of the glue dries, your arrows are all set.
I was intentionally going for an All-Black look with these arrows, but if you felt compelled to add a touch of traditional Valentine red to your arrow, I feel like a thin red ribbon or string, wrapped around the dowel, centered on the velvet ribbon, and tied in a small bow could look cute. Another way to add a touch of red is to keep everything black, but paint just the arrowhead a bold red.
I absolutely love this set of black arrows, Alexandra! I don’t really decorate for Valentine’s but these could be used for other special days or for every day decor. My daughter has a fascination with archery so she will love it too! Thanks for a terrific tutorial.
Your welcome Lynne! So glad you like them!! These really will be perfect for someone who loves archery!!