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Sunday, December 16, 2018

Angel Ornaments

Each year I try to make a special little ornament for my sister who has a table top Christmas tree that she sets up.  This year I made a bunch so she could choose the one she likes best.  These were relatively simple to make and I hope I inspire you to step out of the box and make some decorations or gifts yourself!
This is a long post, so settle in with a cup and relax!



What I Used to Make my Angel Ornaments:
Ranger Glossy Accents
Retro Art Cafe' Coffee Break Designs BASIC Fairy Shrine
Retro Art Cafe' Coffee Break Designs ANGEL Shrine
Retro Art Cafe' Coffee Break Design SWEETHEART Style 4
Retro Art Cafe' Tiny Fairy Doll Head Paper Cuts - 1 pk
Dresden Wings, Small Gold
From my Stash: Tiny Red Fabric Heart, Pink Heart Shaped Stone, Iridescent Star, Tiny Gems, Die Cut Waste, Scrap Paper
Stickles in Gold, Iridescent and Platinum
Jump Rings, 4 Medium
Lindy's Gang Embossing Powder in Raspberry Lemonade, Imperial Crown Purple Gold, Midnight Teal and Bougainvillea Red Teal
Ranger Embossing Powder in Rich Red {unavailable but any dark red will do!}
E6000 adhesive {you probably have some}
Krylon Leafing Pens in Silver and Gold

I love Retro Art Cafe' and the cool products they carry; seriously I could spend an absolute fortune there! When I was a brand new crafter making shrines was THE thing {besides cards and scrapbooks - I don't think there was ever a time when those 2 paper crafts weren't popular}to make.  Mixed media was just born, Suze Weinberg was the Embossing Powder Queen {do a google search or check out You Tube} and Ranger Ink was still in it's infancy.  Collages, canvases, altered books and so much more were being made at breakneck speed.  That's when I found Retro Art Cafe' and I still shop there; most likely I will until one of us is done!  When I was brainstorming for this years ornament I knew if I went there and browsed around I'd find something awesome to spark my imagination and Retro Art did not let me down {plus, they have awesome sales!}.  I saw the Inspirational Fairies and I knew that was what I needed to use this year, so I bought a bunch of kits, matching heads and Dresden wings. I actually wasn't sure what wings would fit the shrines so I emailed Kristin and asked what she thought and she was kind enough to recommend the small Dresden wings.  Once I got my goodies I got to work.
This what was left of mine;
Saving them - you never know!

Each pack of Shrines has four pieces in it so you can make 2 double figures or 4; it's up to you and your design. The set includes 2 solid pieces and two shrine pieces {the shrine pieces have a hole in them to make a small window}. For these I used two pieces for each, one solid piece and one shrine piece.  The first step I took was sandwiching a jump ring in between the two pieces so I could attach an ornament hanger, piece of string or ribbon or even put them on a necklace if I wanted.  I first tried to stick them together with regular glue because I was all out of E6000 - no luck; the jump rings were so loose I could pull them out.  So once I got a new tube of E6000 I glued the rings back in and used binder clips to keep the pieces together while they dried.  I let them dry for  few days to ensure they'd be
The Blue Angel 
sturdy.  I also sandwiched the wings I used between the layers on one of the ornaments; my intent was to do that to all of them, but then I decided since I was going to be decorating them with who knows what that I'd attached the wings to the other three when I was done.  They also come with teeny little pieces of product that you can mount them on so they will stand up.  As well as crowns!


The Red Angel

I wanted a super shiny, almost enamel look on the bodies so I embossed them.  I embossed them so many times I lost count using all the delicious colors from Lindy's Gang as referenced above.  I used my fingernail {something I am SO guilty of - I know I shouldn't use them, but they are so accessible and I often find myself using them without even thinking.  However, I don't recommend it!}  to remove the embossing powder, while it was still warm, on the Red ornament to try and keep the heart shape.  Once all of them were embossed, I coated each with Glossy Accents, except for the head area, and again, on the Red one where the heart design wasn't.  Let them sit again for a few days as I
The Pink Angel
had plenty of projects to finish.  I edged each one with a Krylon Leafing Pen {I've had these pens for YEARS - another throwback to the beginning of my paper crafting.  We used them for everything, mostly to edge paper and to do the original Polished Stone technique with alcohol inks} and used the pens to cover the wings.  Turns out the wings I had attached between the two parts at the beginning took a beating with all the embossing and stuff so I wanted to jazz them up a bit and bring the wings to life.  I also used a leafing pen to color the gold wings silver.  Once the wings dried I layered some matching Stickles on them to make them shine even more; the leafing pen can have a dull finish.  I embellished my angels with bits and bobs I've had in my stash for years and attached the doll head cut outs so they could have faces.  Lastly, I painted one crown silver {with the Leafing Pen} that I gave to the Blue angel, and added some gold dots of Stickles to the Purple angel's crown that was a part of her head.

The Purple Angel

Then I was done.  I find waiting for things to dry the most annoying part of making art and this was a study in patience for sure!  But it felt really good to make something 3D, something fun and out of the box.  I hope my angels inspire you to get some older art supplies {or, buy some new goodies at Retro Art Cafe'!} and have some messy fun.  I really had no idea how these babies were going to turn out so this entire project was an experiment for me.  On that note I'm glad I bought more than one set of the Angel Shrines because I have LOTS more ideas for these!  I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and are having a safe, healthy and artful holiday! Fondly, Christi

I am entering my Angel Ornaments in the following challenges:
Altered Eclectics - M, Anything MM Goes
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - M, {running til Feb} Anything MM Goes
More Mixed Media Challenge - Anything MM Goes
The Three Amigos - Winter
Bleeding Art - M, Shiny & Sparkly
An Inky Mess - Anything MM Goes
CHNC - #416, Anything Christmas Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Christmas
Moo-Mania - Angels
Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge - Anything MM Goes
Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes OPTION: Christmas Ornaments
Lindy's Gang - M, Color Challenge
HLS Mixed Media Challenge - Fantasy

22 comments:

  1. I like your angel ornaments, Christi! They are so cool and unusual! These were a lot of work and it's obvious you put a lot of love into making them! I know your sister will have a hard time choosing her favourite - maybe she'll want them all! Beautiful gift!

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    1. You are so sweet Karen - thank you for the lovely comment & it is so good to see you! Happy Holidays to you, the hubby & the kitties <3

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  2. I love these - and Retro Art Cafe`! Thanks for joining us at Bleeding Art!

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  3. These are delightful. I bet your sister had a hard time choosing. Thank you for linking to Rhedd's Creative Spirit Challenge.

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    1. Hi Julie! So good to see you my friend <3 I'm now debating if I am even going to give her a choice - LOL - I'm keeping the blue one, I gifted the purple, so I may just give her the red one ~ Happy Christmas to you & yours!

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  4. These ornaments are simply AMAZING! So happy to see you linking to us over at Moo Mania & More ! Much appreciated! Merry Christmas!
    Susi
    from Austria

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  5. These are gorgeous.

    Thank you for joining us at MOO MANIA & MORE

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  6. The ornaments are fantastic... happy MooMania! And of course Merry Christmas to you.
    Greetings by Heidrun

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  7. A fabulous looking set of ornaments. Lovely details and wonderful techniques.
    Thank you for joining in with our December challenge "Anything Mixed Media Goes" at Creative Artiste Mixed Media. Good luck x

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  8. Love your ladies. Gorgeous. Thank you for joining us at Rhedd's Creative Spirit this month. Hope to see you gorgeous artwork back here again when we return in February. Happy Holidays. Judy DT

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  9. Here I am with another hat on. Love the altered bottles. Thank you for joining us at Altered Eclectics this month. Hope to see your gorgeous artwork back here again when we return in February. Happy Holidays. Judy DT

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  10. This is wonderful, loving the sparkle which is ideal for our challenge over at Bleeding Art.
    Hugs
    Linda xxx
    Bleeding Art DT

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  11. Lovely work, Thank you for Joining us at Happy Little stampers and waiting to see next time.

    Hugs
    Meena HLS DT

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  12. Truly awesome project! Thank you for playing with us on Lindy's Gang challenge! Hugs, Asia

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  13. Oh these are awesome and beautiful!! Would love to try these sometime. Thanks so much for inspiration and for playing along over at Three Amigos!

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  14. Thank you so much for entering our challenge at Crafter's Castle
    Love how your ornaments turned out, so pretty!

    Hugs... Mike
    DT
    Crafter's Castle
    crafterscastle.blogspot.com

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  15. If you were my sister I'd have asked for all of them..they are fabulous...
    Thank you for joining in with our challenge at Rhedd's Creative Spirit..x

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  16. Lovely work. Thank you for joining the challenge at More Mixed Media. Hope to see you again next time.

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  17. These are fabulous. Thank you for joining us at the Bleeding Art Challenge

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  18. Wonderful and shining artwork! Thanks for joining us at Rhedd's Creative Spirit challenge!

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Thank you so much for your comments! I read each and every one :)