Well, I actually clipped the feathers short. I was having the same problem with the ends lifting up. I also realized to keep the spread out it was easier to put a thin coat of mod podge down and stick the feather to it, then apply mod podge over it. I holding the feather on and just mod lodging on top, but it just didn't fan out as pretty. I was also thinking of placing the tip of the feather that pulls up some at the hole so that it would be covered by the bead cap. I haven't tried that yet but I will let you know how it turns out.