Shabby Tattered Paper Angel Wings or Organdy Ribbon Angel Wing Tutorial

Make these shredded book page angel wings.....or

Make these gorgeous organdy ribbon angel wings!.....

(go to the bottom of this page for the adjustments and

instructions for the organdy wings.)



You asked so here it is....Now this is the first time I have ever done a tutorial, so, I hope you will be able to follow this to create your own pretty wings. If you have any questions, don't hesitate asking!

OH!!! I am no way a professional at this either lol. Here Goes!!!

This is a list of what I used to create the paper angel wings:

*Cardboard ~ (I used one of my packing boxes from moving.)

(This is for drawing your wings onto and cutting them out)

* Also 2  or more...Squares of Cardboard ~

(Cut large enough to use to press down the
hot glued strips of paper.)

This helps you from getting burned by the glue when pressing

down your strips of shredded paper on your card board wings.

I burnt the tar out of my hands doing the first set, EVEN with using the cardboard. No burns second time around....got smarter I guess!

*Burlap or any Fabric ~ (I cut a piece of burlap that was large

enough to cover the backside of the cardboard wings.)

*Modge Podge

*Scissors

*Sponge Brush

*Glue Gun

*Glue Sticks ~ (Several of them, takes quite a bit of glue.)

*Wire or Ribbon ~ (for hanging your wings.)

*2 Picture Hangers of Some Kind ~ (for attching your ribbon or wire for hanging)

*Paper Shredder ~ (Or see if you can nab a ton from some business that shreds everything!)

*Old Book Pages ~ (Lots and Lots and Lots of them :)

*Waste Basket ~ (For all your shredded paper)

*A Piece of Old Costume Jewelry ~ (or whatever you would like for the center of your wings.)

*Something hard, long, and narrow for bracing the back of your wings ~ (I used a wood dowel for the large wings. For the ones in this tutorial I made, which are smaller, I used a smaller wood skewer that I had on hand that we use for shish kabobs. (Whatever works hehe!)

*Find a comfortable place to create these and PLENTY of time!!!

It took me NINE hours to do the ones pictured above!  And!....not much less time making these much smaller ones! But I was taking pictures for this along the way too. But so worth it after they're finished...I totally love them!

OH!!!!  AND.....one more thing! Prepare for Messy LOL!!!!

Ok here we gooooooooooooo........

I have planted my little fanny on the floor sitting on a pillow in front of my tv....love to watch movies while I craft...(sitting on a hard floor so long kills my back hence the pillow!) and....I am going to be sitting for a few long hours making this baby! I also found that wax drippings are so much easier to get up from tile floors too! :)  Good THING!

First thing you will need to do is shred your book pages.....start with at least a large basket full!  For the first wings I did (first picture above), which are 20"W x 21 1/4"L, I used four 13 gallon size baskets full, And, I was pressing it down as I was shredding until it was to full to press down anymore! I told you, you will need alot of shredded book pages for this project depending on the size wings you decide to make. For the small we are making here for the tutorial, I only used three quarters of the basket. I need to go measure this little one, don't have the measurements yet of the cut out wings...sorry.

Take a handful of your shredded book pages and place it near your work area....be gentle because if you can keep it as close to how it falls into your basket as your shredding, the better! It's much easier to pick up a few that are all laying the same direction for gathering together. Otherwise it's picking them up one by one to lay them together in a bunch. THIS is what takes SO LONG!!!



Here is my shape of wings. You need to draw out on a piece of cardboard your angel wings any size you want.....just remember though larger means........SEVERAL HOURS to complete lol!  This one is much smaller than the first one I made. But it still took about the same amount of time....go figure!  Next~

Take whatever your going to use to give support and glue it on the back of your cardboard wings. Make sure you glue it on good!

Now take the piece of burlap you've cut large enough to fit over the entire piece of cardboard. Cover your cardboard including the brace with Modge Podge using your sponge brush. Once that dries, which doesn't take long, take your scissors, and tirm off all the over hang so it looks like this.

OK.....we are all done with the easy part!!! Now be prepared to sit awhile! :)

Now you are going to gather up about 10 to 12 pieces of shredded paper laying them one on top of the other and keeping the ends as even as possibly, doesn't have to be perfect.

I had about 20 here, but when I got done I had to thin it all out a little because, they came out really thick and fluffy, more than I wanted for these little wings... so 10 to 12 is good. You'll see why as we get further along. Just remember, the thicker each of the bunches of paper strips, the fluffier the wings will be.

Now take your glue gun and squeeze some glue on both sides of your strips of paper, and with the point of your gun there, dab the glue as well as you can so it gets a little bit of glue in between all the layers of paper. Dab a glob of glue on the top side and bottom side also. Make it so it's all around and inbetween. Does that make sense!?  Hope so! :) Again, doesn't have to be perfect.

Now take your square piece of cardboard and lay your strips even with the center of the tip of the wing and lay it about an inch up from the tip. With your cardboard square press down and press up away from you to smish all the pieces together and to the cardboard wings. Keep a good hold on the strips with your other hand or when your pressing up, it can pull your strips upward as well. You don't want that to happen. I do this a couple of times to make sure it is all flattened as much as possible. The glue dries fast so it can get sticky trying to press upward. Your square cardboard piece will get pretty gunky as you go along so just keep using all the edges of it until you can't use it so well, then use another piece. I have been able to use just two to do the whole glueing process, but you might want to use more. Just keep some cardboard available if you need it.

After you have applied the first strip set of strips, then go to the other side and place a set of strips there the exact same way and in the exact same place. By working up on both sides at the same time, you will be able to control the wings looking exactly the same thickness all the way through to the top. The layering will look the same also.....The next photo will show you what it should look like.

Doesn't have to be perfect! :) Just try to keep the placement on both sides even across.



Now to start your second row about an inch above the first row and do the same thing, starting on the edge and work across. Remember to ALWAYS hold firmly to the strip your laying and pressing, plus the ones you just laid and pressed because your cardboard can still stick to the previous ones until the glue has totally set and dried. This way you don't have to wait until it's completely dried so you can just keep on going. It takes LONG ENOUGH as it is to finish this! :) 

NOTE: The closer the rows, the fuller the wings! You can spread the rows out more in between if you don't want them real full. For example, put about two inches inbetween rows if you want.

Keep stacking your paper layers and glue and press on both sides until you are all the way to the top!

Really important note!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you are working along the curved part of the wings, when laying your strips......turn the strips more inward so it will follow the shape of the cardboard, not alot....just enough so the curved sides slant inward. Maybe I should have done a picture of that, but I didn't, sorry. You'll get it ok, no worries......It doesn't have to be perfect!!!  :)

Here we are about halfway done...I started this about 3:30ish AM...it's now 6:00AM....this is where I got some shut eye until Noon! I'm a tired baby!  OK note here how the strips were laid along the curves?   You can see how they are slightly turned in...Yea!!!  I did have a picture of it! :)

Here we are to the top finally!!!!!!  Yippee!!!!  But!.....we aren't done yet! :)

Now we are going to finish the center bar between the wings. You will take a stack of strips and lay them evenly together and tear them in half. Put a line of glue down the center of what I call the bar in between the wings, and center the strips using enough to cover all the cardboard. This set of wings took 3 layered strips sets to cover the bar. You might have to add more glue if it dries before you get it all laid down....just press and hold for a minute until it has stuck.

Now to finish the curved top of the wings to hide that ugly glue!

Stack a double amount of strips together more than you have been using through out....so if you were using 10 to 12 strips, double that to 20 or 22. Glue it all together and on your work station which I used a large piece of cardboard for that on my floor, take and press it down and together just like you have been doing on the wings, then pick it up and hold it until it is dry. Once it is dry so it is all held together, put a good dab of glue on the outside of your wing (I started with the left side of the wings),  and put that dab so it is about even with the top of your center bar in the middle of the wings, or down as far as you can see the ugly glue on your top row of strips. It should look like this picture does with the loose ends of the strips pointing up and away from you. Glue it right there!

Now turn the whole wings around and fan or spread out the strips. Make sure the glue has dried completely so it won't budge because now we are going to start turning, rolling, and twisting this entire strip to arch around the whole top of the wing to the center bar. If it doesn't go that far, just glue down the end of it, and make another set of strips exactly like you just did, and start it where the other left off and take it to the edge of the bar, glue it down and snip off any excess. 

Start rolling and twisting as close as possible to where you have glued down the one end. Keep rolling and twisting until you get to the end of it. Hold it tight, then run some glue all along the edge of the arch of the top of the wing, then press and hold down until it is set and won't move. Depending on how much ugly glue is showing at the top of your wings, you will do two to three rows of this.

This is how it looks with the first row done. On the very first set of wings I did, the large wings....I did two rows....on this small set, it took three rows to cover all the ugly glue. If you have any sticky uppy ends of paper sticking up, just tear it off or dab a little glue to keep it down. With your next row of the roll and twisted strip, run your glue gun right at the base of your top row, use a good healthy amount of glue, and lay your second tightly close to the first row. Try to avoid there being any gaps. Hold and press down and together to the one above it, until it is good and stuck! Do this on the other side too for a finished edge look.

WE ARE ALMOST DONE!!!!!

YIPPEE SKIPPY!!!!!

Aren't you just so EXCITED!!!!!

Now take some strips of your shredded paper and add some glue along the rough edges of your cardboard wings, and glue all along the edges to cover that up.....you can also use your burlap when applying it on the back to before cutting off. When covering the backside of your angel wings with the burlap, bring it up over to just the sides then trim it off. Remember to Modge Podge the sides of the cardboard too so it will adhere and let dry before trimming your burlap. I like the paper trim the best though...whatever your little heart desires!

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Now get your vintage brooch or whatever you want to use for the center bar of the wings and glue it on. My next set is going to have a small picture frame with a photo in it, I think it will be cute! You can also use a frame with words in it like "LOVE", "JOY", "MOM", etc. Anything you want for a decoration will work fine...Try a few differnt things before you get started, then if it's something you have to make it will be done. Now just put a good dab of glue in the center of the wing bar and glue it down...press until it sticks really snug and good.

  

Next flip your wings over to the backside, and on the center of each side of your wings, place your picture hangers and glue really good. Cut a piece of  your ribbon or lace or wire and run it from one side to the other and tie it off so you can hang them where ever you want.

NEXT AND LAST I PROMISE is to.....flip this baby back over to the front, and this is the fun part......grab and scrunch all your paper strips. Then kinda of smooth all the wrinkled up paper down a bit and shape it around. IF....you find your wings are a little too full for your liking, just lift up your strips, take a pair of scissors and do a thinning, just like thinning your hair! Fluff to get all the cut pieces out, then smooth it down again. If you want you can even trim up through the center if needed just like layering a hair cut, to keep the center open enough to see the shape better of your wings....I did all of this on both sets I've made. If you have any questions, just ask...I is always around! xoxo

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I think they are just so SWEET!!!  Don't you!? :)







 

  

Now You ARE FINISHED!!!!!

Congrats on a job well done!!!!

ENJOY!!!!

 

 NOW WHO would like to come clean up this mess! There are paper scraps from here all the way into the kitchen, to the bathroom, and up the stairs and into my office area. It stuck to me and every where I walked it fell off all over the place! Oh and don't wear black pants doing this....they are covered in paper DUST!!!!  Now.... I am tired!!!! Been up alnight for two nights doing the wings and this tutorial. I acutally fell asleep about 8:00 this morning sitting on the couch writing this tutorial with my lap top sitting on my lap....woke up at noon and finish the tutorial for you all. It's now 4:26PM....NAP TIME!!!!  :)

If you make these, please share......

I'd love to see them! :) 

Both set of wings I made....large and small.

The large set on my vintage mannequin....boy they really are big!

 Thanks so much for visiting!

OH!!! P.S.  I plead the fifth on any misspellings, or scrambled sentences! I'm just brain dead tired!!

Take Care.....God Bless.....TaTa Till Later!

HUGS AND STUFF!!!

Debi

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9/03/2014......P.S.S!!!!

Organdy Ribbon Angel Wings

This little beauty was made from this tutorial too!

I started with a cardboard box, several spools of organdy ribbon, some braided gimp, an old rhinestone earring for some bling, white craft paint, some fluffy feathers, and my trusty glue gun. I had everything I needed in my stash so they didn't cost me a thing. I loved them. They just look so heavenly! With Christmas right around the corner, I thought I would share. If you have about 5 hours to spare, you can make some for your Christmas tree this year!

This little girl took 70 yards of 1/2" white organdy ribbon cut into 6" strips! I drew out the shape of the wings I wanted on a piece of cardboard from a box I had in the garage.

I painted the cardboard white with craft paint. Then I sat and cut my 6" strips of white organdy ribbon. And, then I sat for several hours glueing 4 pieces of organdy ribbon on at a time starting from the bottom working towards the top. Because the ribbon pieces were curled from being wrapped on the spool, I place one curled down, then one curled up, then one curled down, and then one curled up, which gave me the four pieces I glued stacked on top of each other on the cardboard. That gave them this fluffy look.

I worked both sides at the same time laying each group of ribbon on the cardboard, so I could make sure they would be even on both sides by laying them exactly in the same place on the cardboard.

When I got to the top I took three long strips of the ribbon laying them on top of each other and twisted them around to frame the top. I added the braided gimp all the way around on the edge of the cardboard to cover the raw edges. I then added the feathers and the bling. I took one more single strip of the ribbon and made a loop to glue on the back to hang them on my tree.

I loved how the light reflects behind them on the Christmas tree at night! They were perfect!!!

The wing base (the cardboard) measured 10"W at the widest part of the wings x 8"L. The finished wings measure approximately 13"W x 12 1/2"L. From start to finish, it was about 5 hours.

The End!