Twisted Paper Angels

It’s time for another link up with my blogging friends! This month, we’re the Jolly Jinglers! Lots to learn from some wonderful bloggers.

 

Many years ago, when we lived in Texas, my mom went on this crafting spree and made the most beautiful angels out of twisted paper. We call them her “twisted paper angels.” She made one for each of her siblings, her parents, and who knows who else. I was lucky enough to inherit one to have in my house. Until it just got squished by bad handling, I brought it out each Christmas to decorate my house.

Here are a few examples of what mom has made and held on to for all of these years (and I really mean it — like, 20+ years).

Aren’t they gorgeous? And they show the variety of styles you can use!

This year, I decided it was time to bring these angels back. To my surprise, searching on Pinterest didn’t bring these up. And looking at the craft store for the twisted paper was shockingly difficult! (I did find the paper at Hobby Lobby for $.99/4.5 yards and on Amazon for differing prices).

So, let’s get to it.

Materials Needed

• Color of choice twisted paper cut into 1 yard strips – approximately 13 strips (if you’re choosing to make the skirt in two colors, you’ll basically half those numbers for each!)
• Flesh colored (whichever color you want) twisted paper – approximately 1 foot (I’d go a little longer!)
• Ribbon – 1 yard strips (This varies based on what you want to do. If you want your ribbon to be the same as your wings, you’ll need to have the ribbon as part of the 13 strips as listed above. You’ll also need another yard for the wings. Otherwise, you’ll just need 1 yard for wings.)
• 11″-12″ styrofoam cone
• styrofoam ball
• floral wire
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• crafting moss
• decorative pick or flowers

Process

First, unravel the flesh colored twisted paper and smooth it out as much as you can. Wrap the paper around the styrofoam ball and use the floral wire to attach (wrap it around the flesh color to be sure it’s tight). Be certain that you center the styrofoam ball so that you have even left over paper on each side. This will be your angel’s arms.

Next, unravel each of the colored twisted paper strips. Smooth them, but be careful to not rip them. It’s not the easiest, and it will take you some time. Settle in and get comfortable. Turn on the TV. Listen to some music.

Once your paper is unraveled, you’re going to start to layer the skirt. You’ll do the colors in twos. So, if you’re using red and green, two reds (one to the left, one to the right) over the “shoulders” of the angel, then two greens (one to the left, one to the right). Keep doing this, and mix in the colors as you feel comfortable. I’m very relaxed when it comes to crafting, and I don’t usually follow directions too closely.

Once you have the skirt created, you will work on getting the styrofoam cone set in place. You’ll need to tie your 1 yard for the wings around the “waist” of the angel. Don’t make it too tight until you’ve made sure that everything is on the way you want it. Once everything is situated the way you like it, you’ll tighten the bodice/wings. I’ve actually used the hot glue at this point to attach the top of the styrofoam cone to the underside of the skirt.

From here, you need to decide how you want the wings to look. I liked the idea of making mine look like a bow. To make sure that worked well, I used hot glue to make sure they stood up.

The next step is the moss for the hair. Make sure you’re over a trashcan as you work to create a moss “nest.” You want the nest to be large enough to cover the back of the neck (so you don’t see any of the floral wire). Use the hot glue to attach it!

Lastly, decide which pick you want to put in her arms. Notice the pictures above: you have lots of different ways to decorate her arms. I like to “tie” her arms into a sort of knot. This makes it look like she’s holding the flowers.

To add one more finishing touch, use a pencil to curl her skirt. You don’t have to be too tight with the curl – it’ll stay pretty easily.

And that’s it! Once you have her all set up, you may want to “fluff” her here and there. I loved the blend of the ribbon into the twisted paper. What do you think?

Be sure to check out the posts from my buddies below in the linky. If you have a post to share, link up!

 

Tags: bloggingwithfriends, diy, jollyjinglers, twisted paper