Christmas_tree_angels

Jeff Green | Dec 21, 2006

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Small Tree Angels

Thank you to Lake District Realty for providing us with their first place design from the festival of trees. Now everyone can have these elegant little angels on their trees.

Muslin Fabric Stiffener OR Sugar/Water mixture 1-inch Styrofoam ball for head Gold spray paint Spanish Moss or Excelsior for hair Ass’t Ribbons, Sparkles for decorating Fabric Glue/White Glue, Glue Gun Fine cord for hanging Braided cord for halo

GETTING STARTED: Cut out a 9-inch circle from your material. If using a fabric stiffener, lay the fabric out on a piece of waxed paper and with a paint brush saturate one side of the fabric, turn the fabric over and brush on more stiffener making sure all surfaces are covered. If using a sugar/water mixture, heat 1 cup each of water and white sugar until sugar is dissolved. If the mixture boils too long your angels will become very heavy as the sugar starts to candy. Once the sugar is dissolved, place your fabric circle into the solution and wet the entire piece. Remove very carefully, it will be hot, and place on waxed paper.

SHAPING: The process from here on will be the same whether you’ve used fabric stiffener or sugar/water. Smooth out the fabric and make a slight hem around the circle, this will give your angel a more finished look but it doesn’t have to be perfect. Place the styrofoam ball in the middle of your circle and lift the fabric so that it drapes over the ball. Tie a piece of dental floss or fishing line around the Styrofoam ball, creating a head and body. This is easier if you have a second pair of hands to help. Once your angel has hardened, cut away the floss. Your angel should be firm enough to stand on its own. Shape the gown of the angel. If you decide to put arms on your angels, cut a strip of muslin wide enough that you can fold each side to the middle and then in half and long enough that it will drape around the angel. Trimming can be done later. Stiffen the fabric, make folds and drape on your angel. Take a pencil and insert into the ends of the arms making a small opening. Once happy with your creation, leave overnight to thoroughly dry.

DECORATING THE ANGEL: Once the angels have dried, you can spray them lightly with a gold paint. Allow this to dry, it doesn’t take long. You’re now ready to start putting on the hair, wings, halo and decorative finishes. The hair is glued on with either white glue or fabric glue and consists of finely chopped pieces of Spanish moss, excelsior or doll hair. The wings can be made from muslin using the same process as for the angel body or you can use a fine gold netting with pieces of toile. Patterns for wings can be found on the internet. Halos are made from heavier ribbon than what is used to decorate your angel and are glued together using the glue gun. Attach your hanging cord to the halo and glue gun this to the back of the head. Finish your angel with ribbons, sparkles or whatever you wish to use.

We hope you enjoy creating your angels as much as we did! Good Luck!