Monday, December 9, 2013

Angel Projects to make



I understand individuals place different items on top of Christmas tree; but, I was brought up with an angel on top. So a long with this theme here are some angels to make.


Angel for the tree


 
Materials: About 2 yards of unbleached muslin, Raffia, Styrofoam ball (about 8 or 9 inches around), Christmassy embellishments, i.e. holly, poinsettia, ribbons, etc., and Glue gun

Directions:
Rip strips of muslin roughly 45 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. These will be looped over the Styrofoam ball to make the head and body, so periodically check your strips against the head to gauge whether or not you have enough strips.
Start looping the strips tightly over the ball(it should rest in the "middle" of the strips) to cover the head and make a smooth "face".
Using a scrap of muslin, tie the strips together tightly under the head to form a "neck".
Next are the arms. Rip strips of muslin about 25 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Line them up together neatly and fold so that each end meets in the middle. The ends should overlap about an inch or so. With a thin scrap strip, tie the strips together in the middle.
Holding the body, separate the hanging strips equally into 2 bunches and place the arms between the 2, up close against the neck.



Now tie strips together below the arms with a scrap strip and voila! There's your waist and arms. The body is complete.
Decorate your angel by using your glue gun to make a holly wreath for her head, a poinsettia belt at her waist, or whatever else you like.
Make a large bow with long pieces of raffia and hot glue to the back of your angel.
Tie a strip of muslin to the back of your angel in a loop to be used for hanging.

Paper Doily Angel



Materials:  paper doilies, a wooden bead, cotton thread, thin metal thread, scissors, double-sided tape and nylon thread

Directions:
Fold a paper doily double.
Make a cut through the doily on the side.  Make a cut through the doily on the side. Cut away part of the doily for the arms. Cut it a tiny little bit towards the middle on both sides.















Cut a piece of double-sided tape and attach it to one 'arm'.  Fold the part with the double-sides tape over the other part.  Do the same on the other side.
Cut some cotton thread about 8/10cm long.  Cut a piece of thin metal thread.  Make a loop on the metal thread and twist it a few times.
Put the cotton thread in between the 2 metal threads & twist it again.














String a wooden bead on the metal thread. String the doily on the metal thread.  Twist around the metal thread a few times so that the upper part can't come loose.
Cut a piece of double-sided tape.  Tape it in between the doily.  Press firmly.
Draw a little face on the wooden bead.


Antique Angel Ornament



 

Materials:  1 sheet 18" x 12" x 1/2"STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam, Faux finishes: iron; rust, wire-edged metallic bronze ribbon, 1/2" x 1/2 yd., Water-based acrylic primer, Water-based acrylic sealer (optional), Fine-line black permanent marker,     Pencil with dull point, Ruler, Scissors, Utility knife and several new blades or serrated knife, Old candle, Disposable palette or paper plate, Water basin,     Paper towels, Stiff-bristled paintbrush, Disposable sponge brush, Low-temp glue gun and glue sticks, and Pattern

Directions:
Use marker to trace pattern outlines onto foam sheet; details will be added later. Carefully cut along traced lines with sharp utility knife or serrated knife. Wax the knife blade first with an old candle for smooth, easy cutting. Note: When cutting around a tight curve, first make several cuts from traced line out to edge of foam sheet; continue cutting along curve, removing small foam sections one at a time. Sand rough edges with a scrap piece of foam.
Use pencil tip and medium pressure to indent line that separates wings. Use pencil eraser or fingers to gently indent foam in area inside crook of arm.
Use stiff brush to apply one coat primer to front and edges of angel. Let dry.
Use disposable brush to apply two to three generous coats of iron finish to all primed surfaces. Follow manufacturer's instructions for drying time.
When dry, use disposable brush to apply one to three coats of rust finish over iron finish. More coats result in more "rust"; apply as many as needed to achieve desired effect. Follow manufacturer's instructions for drying time.
If desired, use disposable brush to apply one coat sealer to angel. Let dry completely. Note: Sealer will change color of final finish; model pictured did not use sealer.
Knot center of ribbon and glue knot to top center back of angel. Tie ribbon ends in a bow as shown.


Ruffled Angel Statue





Materials:  Wire cutters, Flat nose pliers, Gold wire, 4 nail head wires, 4 pearls,     Styrofoam egg,  Holiday stems, 2” wide pearl edge ribbon, 12” Styrofoam cone,     16” square of fleece or felt, Glue gun, Sewing notions, 6” X 45” of ivory, stretchy , ruffled fabric, and Template

Directions:
Download and print out the body template. Use it to cut out a piece of fleece or felt. You may notice the shape of the fleece is slightly wider than the width of the cone at the bottom. This is deliberate and adds a little more fullness to the angel shape.
The Body
Cut four strips of ruffles. A strip includes three ruffles plus the margin above the first ruffle. Two strips should measure 13” in length, one should measure 12”, and one 15”. Attach little pieces of painters tape to one end of the strips with the marked measurement on it so you can tell them apart later.
With a basting stitch, gather the ruffles starting at 3.25” in from the end and ending at 3.25” from the other end. The purpose of gathering the strips is to ease fabric to fit the curve of the fleece.
Sew a 13” ruffle strip at the top of the fleece with the edge of the margin matching the curve of the neck. Adjust the gathering to allow 3.25” non-gathered tails on each end.
Sew the next 13” strip onto the fleece with the bottom edge of the previous ruffle completely overlapping the margin of the new strip. The tails on each side should measure 2.25”.
The next strip to attach is the 12”. The last will be the 15”. These two strips do not have tails. The end of the strip should match the edge of the fleece. Trim if necessary.
Cut one more strip of only one ruffle plus the margin, to measure 13” long. Gather it as you did the other ruffles. Attach it to the neck sewing the margin to the wrong side of the fleece. The ruffle creates a collar at the neck when flipped to the right side.
Connect the lower back seam by moving the ruffles aside and overlapping the bottom 3” of fleece. Hot glue together.

Easy Angel Carolers



Materials:  a pattern template, batting fabric, some sheet music, tacky glue, 2-3 inch Styrofoam ball, flesh colored acrylic paint, pink acrylic paint, some garland, a white pipe cleaner,  a fine sharpie, some white cardstock or poster board, and some sequins or embellishments


Directions:

First you need to paint your Styrofoam ball.  We also added some glitter for a bit of sparkle.
After it has dried use your fine sharpie and put in the eyes (closed) and the mouth.  Now you could paint these in if you wanted but I find young kids have more control with the sharpie.
Take your pink acrylic paint and using the end of a pencil dot the cheeks.
Take the pattern and trace and cut out of poster board, cardstock, or manila tag.
Cut the same pattern out of the batting fabric. But this time do not cut out the notch in the center.
Staple your poster board cone together.
Put glue all around the edges of your fabric on the wrong side. (non-sparkle side).
Cover the cone and just tuck in the fabric in the center.
Take your white pipe cleaner and make a loop at each end for the hands.
Cut a piece of batting fabric 3"x7", lay your pipe cleaner in the center, put glue along one edge of the fabric, fold in half.
Take a 8 inch length of garland and wrap into a circle.
Glue onto the head of your angel.
Put some glue on the center of your cone and secure the head.
You may have to hold for just a minute while the glue sets up.....
Put some glue on the center of your arms.
Attach to your angel.  Try to make them come from the shoulder area...I find kids often want to have the arms coming out of the waist.
You can decorate your angel a bit with extra garland, sequins, snowflakes......
Cut out a strip of music about 3 inches long and the width of the bars.
Glue into place. Have the music facing out but you can also glue 2 strips together so you can see it from both sides.
If you want wings you can cut some from a gold or silver doily or even 2 petals from an artificial flower.
Secure on the back of your angel.



Share your ideas on this or anything here on the blog either here or e-mail me at stipple@verizon.net.  I look forward to hearing from you!



No comments:

Post a Comment