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 (3x3in)
– transparent cord: a 25cm (10in) piece,
– wire: a 12.5cm (5in) piece,
– ribbon: about 15cm (6in).
*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 (3x3in) and at 2 cm (0.8in) make a slight cut on each side | 2. Take a 25cm (10in) 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 12.5cm (5in) length, then grab your twine from the top so you are holding around 3cm (1in) |
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11. wrap the wire around the 3 cm (1in) 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 (6in) piece of ribbon Tip: I found that a ribbon of 1.5cm (0.6in) 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 (1.4in) 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:
Rho-Nan Florio
I love these. They are so cute and I want to make some for next year.
Majka
Thank you ♥
Jo Ellen
they are cute. My grandmother loved making angels. As little girl we made some out of Readers digest, 35mm flim covers. Keep up the good work.
Majka
That sounds fun! Thank you for sharing your memory and for the comment!
Victoria L. Rodriguez
I love the Twine Angels and would like to make them. I wish the measurements were in inches.
Victoria L. Rodriguez
I love the Twine Angels and would like to make them. I wish the measurements were in inches.
Majka
Hi Victoria. I love that you love the project ♥! Thanks for the comment. I took your suggestion and added measurements in inches throughout the instruction. I hope it helps!
Mermaid
I love these !!! I want to make them for Christmas in July!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Majka
so sweet. Thank you!
Dottie
I love these twine Angels. So simple and easy to make it appears. Thanks for showing us the way to do so…..God bless…..Dottie
Majka
Thank you so much, Dottie!
Paula
How were the mesh wings made for the angel.
Thank You, Paula
Majka
Hi Paula. Thank you for your comment.
For the mesh wings I used a special ribbon (check the shopping list at the bottom of the post), which I folded, tweaked in the middle and then attached with my hot glue gun.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more clarification. I think that one is my favorite angel, it looked gorgeous on the christmas tree.
Judy Butz
Love these angels will be tring these. Thanks for sharing
Majka
Thank you! post a pic on Pinterest, if you try ♥
Nancy
I just made one of these cuties . I made the wire a bit longer to fashion into gentle wings and added the ribbon to cover the wire around neck. I made this for a friend who is going in for heart surgery next week.
Majka
Oh, that sounds great. do you have pictures or Pinterest? I would love to see them! Thank you for your comment!
Geema Auten
I just made one of these cuties . I used dental floss instead of clear cord for the hanger. I made the wire a bit longer to fashion into gentle wings and added the ribbon to cover the wire around neck. I made this for a friend who is going in for heart surgery next week.
Christine Moreno
Thank you so much for this post! My mom-in law has a tradition of buying her grandkids each an angle ornament every year for them to hang on their Christmas at home. She’s now in her mid 80’s and heartbroken thatshe can no longer go out and shop for them. This year I found this post and am so happy that u can help her by making these for the grandkids! We love their sweet simplicity and country charm! They’re a sweet little blessing!! Thank you!!
Majka
That is such a sweet tradition. Thank you so much for sharing it! You really made my day ♥ Have a great Christmas time!
Kyra
These are adorable! I really like the angels with the metallic rope wings. How did you attach them?