Recycled Christmas Card Angel Ornaments

Because everyone knows I recycled stuff into art, I often get all kinds of things "given" to me.  "Here's a bunch of crap I was going to throw out.  I know you'll do something artsy fartsy with it," is what I usually hear.  My studio is bulging at the seams because of these well-meaning souls (and because I can't say no very easily).  These recycled angel ornaments are a result of such an influx of old Christmas cards that were just too lovely to throw out.

I made an angel template out of cardstock and cut two mirror images of the angel out for each ornament.  They are about four inches in height.  The key to making them three dimensional (which doesn't show up well in the photos but the arms can be folded gently forward for a 3D effect) is to slit one of the images from the bottom to the middle vertically, and the other from the top to the middle vertically and then slot the two pieces together, glueing in strategic places to hold them together.

These are fun little ornaments to make because you never really know how they are going to turn out until you slot them together.  Shimmery, shiny, sparkly Christmas cards are perfect for this but you could use any card or very heavy paper (cardstock is preferred for the 3D effect). 

The fun part comes next when you get to embellish your angel as you'd like.  I've used handmade face cabochons, decorative ribbon, rhinestones, foiling, punches, old jewelry pieces, bottlecaps, vintage images and all kind of other things to doll 'em up!  A delicate gold or silver thread is glued to the back of the head to make it hangable.  If you don't use a face cabochon (which is a bit bulky), these are ideal little gifts to enclose in a Christmas card because they lay flat and add no extra postage costs.  Another fun idea is to take Christmas cards from specific friends or family and make them an ornament from that card and send it back to them.  You won't believe the looks on their faces when they see their handwriting on the back of the angel!

If you think you'd like to try making these for yourself and need more details, send me a message!