Today I want to show you how to make cheap and easy DIY christmas ornament angels made with twine and ribbon.
I wanted to come up with my own idea for an angel for a while now, so we wouldn’t only have stars and snowflakes in our christmas tree (’cause I don’t know about you, but I find the angels you can buy in the store mostly too kitschy).
And since I am not the most religious person, I wanted them to be low-key.
But of course they would have to fit in with my other decoration and be sparkly (not sure that is a word, either…but you know what I mean). And not to mention, I didn’t want to spend too much money on the material.
So I experimented a little bit with twine, cords, wires, yarn, ribbons (lots of not satisfying results as you can imagine) until I found a cheap and simple way…a craftchen way.
I think it goes particularly well with a farmhouse-style christmas tree. But since you can make it in any color you like, it really goes well with anything :).
As always, I don’t display any ads for a better viewing experience, but I will include affiliate links to the products, so feel free to click on them. (*check my Site Policies for more information)
If you like this post, every click, comment and repin is deeply encouraged and highly appreciated! Enjoy!
Also, check out my other ideas for DIY Christmas Ornaments, like the Origami Stars or the cute little DIY Bells!
Material
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what you need: |
So let’s get started. I recommend that you cut your pieces before starting the instructions. That way you will have everything handy once you need it.
You will need to cut:
– a cardboard piece: 8x8cm ,
– transparent cord: a 25cm piece,
– wire: a 12.5cm piece,
– ribbon: about 15cm.
*if you need the pictures to be bigger, you can go to this gallery that you can click through. The pictures have instructions so you can just take it pic by pic.
And now, let’s have fun 🙂
Instructions
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1. cut your cardboard to a piece of 8×8 cm and at 2 cm make a slight cut on each side | 2. Take a 25cm piece of your transparent cord and tuck it in where you cut the edges of your cardboard piece |
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3. take your twine and wrap it around the cardboard Tip: leave a little twine at the beginning |
4. now wrap the twine tightly and neatly around the cardboard, about 10 times Tip: leave a little at the end again |
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5. hold the twine in position and untuck the transparent cord | 6. hold the twine in place and move the transparent cord to the top Tip: get a good grip on it |
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7. hold on tight to the cord with one hand while bending the cardboard with the other Tip: let the twine arrange itself while you grip the transparent cord tighter (the outer twine will get on top of the other, that’s what you want) |
8. remove the cardboard and tie a knot in the transparent cord |
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9. make sure the knot is tight and centered by pulling the cord | 10. cut your wire to a 5cm length, then grab your twine from the top so you are holding around 3cm |
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11. wrap the wire around the 3 cm you are holding (this will be the “head”) and close it in the back | 12. cut the wire where it splits open and tuck the twisted end to the side |
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13. cut the twine you left at the beginning and end to the length of the rest of the “body” | 14. push the “head” down to make it rounder |
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and tadaaa…you already made the “body” of your String Angel | 15. cut a 15cm piece of ribbon Tip: I found that a ribbon of 1.5cm width works the best, and not too thick but check out some of my other designs for inspiration |
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16. center the piece of ribbon and tie it around the “neck” where your wire is Tip: Fold the ribbon a couple of times to make it smaller in the front (*just looks nicer) |
17. then tie a knot and pull the ribbon straight Tip: adjust and pull the ribbon so it comes out straight (you might have to experiment a little ;)) |
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18. last, cut the “wings” to a 3.5cm length on both sides Tip: I folded the ribbon in half and cut a diagonal line |
…and there you go! Isn’t it adorable? |
Of course you can make them with any ribbon you like, and any decoration you like. As you can see throughout the post I used a couple of different ribbons and experimented a little.
What do you think? Do you like the idea? Do you have questions or comments? Which design do you like best?
Also, did you already check out my other ideas for DIY Christmas Ornaments?):
P.S.: to make it a little easier for you, I found most of what you will need on Amazon, so here is a shopping list* for you:
Silvia
Charming! Bravo!
Majka
Thank you! <3
Mena
Simple but very impressive against a green background ! Lovely, indeed !
Majka
Thank you! 🙂
Sheila
Love these. What additional material did you use for the wings on the other angels in the picture?
Majka
oh, thank you!
I used a variety of ribbons I had at home, mostly from Michaels or Walmart. On one of them I added the golden wire (you use to form the “head”) and shaped that into wings.
I searched more online to find my ribbons and added some new items to the shopping list. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the exact bronze cord one, but I found one that is the same size and material, so it should work as well.
Let me know, if that clears it up sufficiently 😉 Thanks for your question!
carpathia
Good daʏ! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
Ι’m definitely enjоying youг blog and look forward to new posts.
Majka
Hi. Thank you. I’m planning new blog posts and hope you will enjoy them! I don’t use Twitter. But you can follow me on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/mycraftchens) or sign up for the newsletter, though! ♥
Joan
I added silver wire halos and used ready made bows for some. my 4-Hers enjoyed making theirs with personal touches.
Majka
that sounds great! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Donna
I love them and getting the supplies to make some today!
Majka
Thank you! That is fantastic. Let us know how it went! ♥
Sue Hardman
I love these! How do you fasten the wire and bigger ribbon “wings” to the angel?
Majka
Hello Sue, thank you for your post. It was in spam so I didn’t see it earlier. Sorry about that.
I attached the wires and bigger ribbons with a glue gun.
I hope you have fun creating them!