Turns out it's really not as hard to catch a snitch as our favorite Seeker makes it out to be. All you need to do is make it yourself! This project turned out to be a lot easier than I had anticipated. I'm not 100% certain how I'll incorporate the snitches into my party decorations yet but I'm making 24 of them. However many you decide to make is up to you, but below is a pretty simple tutorial.
What you'll need:
Styrofoam ball (or similar)
Gold paint & paintbrush
White feathers*
Scissors
Glue
Fishing line or thread (optional)
Gold paint & paintbrush
White feathers*
Scissors
Glue
Fishing line or thread (optional)
How to:
First thing you'll want to do is paint your snitch gold - In the supplies list I've linked to both the paint and styrofoam balls I used. Using these I was required to do 3 layers and a touch up before they were the solid gold I was looking for - different materials might require more or fewer layers. Either way, this is the most labor intensive part.
If your snitches have a clear top like mine did (a hole on one end) now's the time to note that and place them all right side up because
next up are the wings. I used goose feathers but really any white feathers will work. Pick two similar sized feathers then trim them down to the size you think looks best (you'll probably want to pull off some of the feathers at the bottom to create a stem of sorts). If your styrofoam is easily punctured you can just jam the feathers right in. Mine were a lot firmer than I thought they'd be so I just made small holes with a pin on either side of the snitch and stuck the feathers in. The feathers should be added on either side a little above the center line of the ball (example below).
next up are the wings. I used goose feathers but really any white feathers will work. Pick two similar sized feathers then trim them down to the size you think looks best (you'll probably want to pull off some of the feathers at the bottom to create a stem of sorts). If your styrofoam is easily punctured you can just jam the feathers right in. Mine were a lot firmer than I thought they'd be so I just made small holes with a pin on either side of the snitch and stuck the feathers in. The feathers should be added on either side a little above the center line of the ball (example below).
If the feather is a little loose you can dab it with a little glue before inserting it to make it more secure.
If your snitches are just going to be sitting on something you're all done! But if you're like me and want to hang them, all you need to do is attach your fishing line or thread. As I mentioned above my styrofoam balls had holes on one end and I decided to use those as the top. All I did was fill the hole up with glue then put the fishing line into the glue. If yours don't have the same handy hole, just dab some glue on to the top of the snitch in the center and put the ends of the line into it (you'll probably need to hold it in until the glue dries).
And with that you're all done! Now all you need to do is decide where to hang them!
*Note: If you don't want to use real feathers in this project for any reason you can easily substitute feathers with paper cutouts. Paper cutouts will actually give you more control over the shape and size of the wings. Instead of inserting the feather stem into the styrofoam all you'd need to do to attach the wings is a dab of glue on the outside!