Greeting Card Crafts--A Christmas Angel Ornament

 

Photos and original craft created  by Catherine Castle

 

Hi, everyone! It’s me, Catherine Castle, back with another greeting card craft. Today I'm going to show you how to make my angel ornaments with some of last year’s Christmas greeting cards, which I’m sure you saved, right? If not, shame on you, because these holiday greetings make wonderful crafts of all sorts. I'm always on the hunt for something new to do with this items. I dreamed these cuties up just for this Stitches Thru Time post when I couldn't find anything like it on the web.

Here’s what you’ll need to get this project started.

·       Greeting cards. You can choose a selection of a similar color, like this cute little angel above, or mix and match with contrasting colors. There’s no right or wrong here. Just have fun with it. Don’t worry about the picture on the card, either, because once they’re cut up, it won’t matter.

·       One  20mm (0.9 inch) Styrofoam ball for each angel’s head

·       A longish,  sturdy needle with a large eye

·       An awl and a piece of scrap wood

·       12 inches of 3.2mm x 9.14 mm satin ribbon, per angel you plan to make

·       Rubber cement or hot glue

·       Scissors

 

Directions:

1.     From the back of a greeting card, cut a 4 ¼” W x 2 ¾” H rectangle. Fold rectangle in half on the 4 ½ side and cut on the diagonal to create a triangle.

2.     Using the cardboard triangle as a template, cut three triangles from the cards of your choice.  If you wish to make a contrasting dress on your angel, then cut the triangles from different greeting cards of contrasting color. Most half sheet greeting cards should give you three triangles without any problem.

3.     Lay the 3 triangles in a stack to be sure they are the same size. If not, trim until they match. 

4.     Fold each triangle in half  to form a right triangle, matching the bottom and top points.

5.     Unfold the triangles, and stack them again. Use the awl to bore a hole through the apex of the triangle directly on the fold line. Don’t bore the hole too close to the top, because this is the hole that will be used to attach the angel’s head to her dress. You don’t want it to break through the edge of the cards when you thread the hanger ribbon.  Enlarge the holes a bit until you can get the needle, threaded with the ribbon, through the holes.

6.     Using the template, cut another triangle from the back side of the greeting card, or the inside, for the wings. Fold the triangle in half as with the dress triangles. On one of the angels below, I cut the verse section out and used it for the wings. On the other angel pictured below I used a contrasting color for the wings.

7.     Place the wings triangle in the opposite direction of the dress triangles.

 

8.     Then lower the wings a bit, and cut of the bottom of the triangle to match the bottom of the dress. The tip of the dress should be above the top edge of the wings.

9.     Using the rubber cement, hot glue (or stick glue if you’re working with your children, glue the back sides of the 3 triangles together, forming the angel’s dress.

10.  Glue the wings on the back side of the dress triangles, matching the bottom edges.

11.  Let the glue dry.

12.  Using one half of the ribbon only, stitch through the front of the dress where you made the holes earlier, going through all three triangles. Pull the ribbon up so the ends are even.

13.  With the awl, poke a hole all the way through the Styrofoam ball, making sure it’s large enough for the needle and two strands of ribbon to fit through.

14.  Thread one half of the ribbon through the opening in the head, then the other half.

15.  Put a drop of rubber cement or hot glue at the apex of the dress, then press the bottom opening of the head onto the tip of the dress triangles. Let dry.

16.  Tie a knot in the top of the ribbon.

17.  Hang your angel on the tree and enjoy

 

This angel also makes a darling bow for a special Christmas gift. The recipient gets a prettily wrapped gift and a keepsake ornament.

If you want to get extra fancy, you can make an angel with a fuller skirt and a seed bead necklace like the two shown above in the instructions. Instead of cutting 3 triangles for the dress, cut 5 triangles. Bore the hole in the apex of the triangle, as well as through the triangles at the top edge of the dress by the wings. Be sure to keep the holes away from the edges of the dress or they will tear when you thread the beads on. Fold the triangles, as with the other angel, but instead of gluing, stack all 5 dress triangles and the wings triangle (as shown above) , and staple the triangles and the wings in the center of the fold.  Working with one half of the ribbon, thread seed beads between the triangles, using an 18-inch section of ribbon. Pull the ribbon even, then thread the remainder of the ribbon through the head, as directed above. Glue the head to the apex of the triangles and tie off to create the ornament hanger.

I made my angels simple, but you can go crazy if you like, adding a wire halo, hair, eyes, or scallop their wings using paper scrapbooking corner cutters. Use any decorations you deem necessary. The sky’s the limit!

Don't forget to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for  Sapphire Secrets by Dawn Cahill! Winner announced in the Weekly Windup on November 21st. Check out all of our great prizes on the Prizes Galore page.
 

  

Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

 

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award.
Connect with her at her blog Facebook, or Twitter