How to Make an Angel Tree Topper

I am on the most amazing sugar high right now. As everyone I'm sure knows, the day after halloween is when all the halloween candy goes on sale. I got 2 marshmallow pumpkins, a bag of gummy starbursts, and a bag of white chocolate candy corn m&m's. I had never heard of these white chocolate m&m's before but when I ate one I had a total "Oh my G-d Francine, these chocodiles, these chocodiles Francine, oh my G-d" moment. They taste like caramel. Seriously. It's so surprising. Go peruse your local discount candy for them. They're amazing!

No segue, sorry.

For a long time I've been looking for an angel tree topper for my christmas tree. I had 3 criteria: really wanted it to be an angel, really wanted it to look kinda artsy, really wanted it to be crafted well (aka: not cheap schlock). 

I haven't found one in over a year of searching so after making a HUGE bow (that almost ruined my marriage) for the top of the tree that looked way to "model home" and "martha stewart" for my taste, I decided this year I would not do that to myself. Seriously, for a whole week my husband came home to me, every day, in tears surrounded by craft wire and yards and yards of ribbon, throwing things and shouting obscenities.

This year I decided to make my own angel. I look online for some tutorials and I didn't find any I liked. They all involved things I didn't have readily at home which I hate. Like, who has doll hair just hanging out in their office? Yea, not me.

So, here are the supplies you need:
2 pages White construction paper/card stock                     Glue Gun/Hot glue
Knitting Needle/Short skinny dowel rod                             Glue/Modge Podge
Lace /other fabric for the dress           1 big bead for head, 1 or 2 smaller for the neck
Interfacing                                                                          Gold craft wire
Small Hoop

The Body
First Step: Roll 1 piece of cardstock into a cone. Make sure the bottom is big enough to fit your tree and make sure the hoop is big enough to fit the bottom. The small hoop I used it from an old cross stitch projet I decided not to finish. My tree is only 6' but yours might be bigger. Glue with regular glue the hoop into the bottom of the cone. I find the hoop makes it a lot more sturdy. You don't want the angel to be crushed the first time you accidentally sit on it do you? You will have extra paper outside of the cone that doesn't connect. Trim that off.

Second Step: Take your knitting needle or crochet hook or dowel rod and hot glue it to the ring around the bottom and the opening at the top of the cone. This is where the head will go. Make sure it's as tall as you want. This is what the inside will look like.

The Dress
Third Step: Lay out the fabric exactly how you want it. If you have lace double it over. I got my lace from a garage sale, a whole yard for 10 cents. I'm really loving the scalloped edges so I made those a bit longer than my straight underneath layer so they will hang off the bottom of her skirt a bit. Roll the cone alone the bottom of the fabric. When the fabric reaches all the way around cut it straight down and across.

Fourth Step: Hot glue 1/2" intervals along the bottom of the cone where you want the lace to go. Make sure to do a dot at the bottom of the back and the top of the back edge. Now you will have a little cylendar of lace around your cone. Take in one of four corners at a time and hot glue it. make sure you only have 4 pieces glued so far. Then take the remaining four corners and glue those in too. This creates a poofy empire dress for the angel.

Neck and Head
Fifth Step: I had these awesome beads that i never knew what to do with that I bought in a market in Egypt, but you can use whatever beads you want. Glue the neck pieces to each other end to end. Set them aside.

Sixth Step: Cut some gold craft wire with wire cutters or scissors that you want to never be able to use again except for this purpose. Twist about half of the wire into a circle with your finger and twist the end of it onto the straight part. You're making a halo. Designate where you want the "face" of the angel to be. Hot glue the halo onto the "back of the head." Hot glue the bottom of the bead bead to the top of the neck bead and place them on the stick you used for the body.

Wings
Seventh Step: Take a piece of scrap paper and draw one half of how you want the wings to look. When you have it perfect, fold it in half and cut it out. Now, lay it on top of the lace and cut out a square around it. Then lay the square on top of the interfacing and cut a square of the same size of interfacing. 'Twas my step-mom that got me onto interfacing. It's wonderful. It holds fabric together, makes it a little stiffer, it's good stuff. Iron the interfacing to the lace. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKAGE OF INTERFACING. I can't stress this enough. If you don't you can easily burn the interfacing and the lace. In my case, Put a damp cloth over the interfacing and iron lace side down. Press hard for 15 seconds but keep the iron moving. The reason we are using interfacing is so the wings will look softer instead of just looking like they were glues to paper. plus it will hold the edges of the lace together and they won't fray.

Eighth Step: Trace the paper wings onto the lace. Cut out the wings. Brush glue onto the back of the wings and press them onto cardstock. This way, they will not fold over on themselves and you can curl the paper back as I did. If you're using Modge Podge the paper will dry in just a few minutes. Cut it out and hot glue the middle of the wings where you want it on the cone or neck. Expirament with different heights to find the one you like.

Once you have the wings on you are done with basic construction. All that's left is for you to tart it up a bit how you want. I just put white and red satin ribbons down the front. Bonus points for my step-mom in the picture in the background. She looks so cute in that one.

Well, there you have it. If you have any questions let me know. If you make it send me pictures. Have Fun!