How to Make Christmas Ornaments: Christmas Angels from Beautiful Paper

Beautiful paper has always fascinated me. We have a store in town with just shelf after shelf of beautiful stationery-quality papers of all sorts, sizes, and uses. When I go in there, I am overwhelmed with ideas for using these beautiful papers. Paper is one of the most economical craft materials you can use!

These Christmas ornaments can be crafted out of any paper you would like to use. You could even use computer paper, if you wanted. Or if this is a kids craft project, you might want to use computer paper because it is easier to fold and manipulate than most decorative paper. That is what I used when I did a whole flock of Christmas angels for my mother's tree. You might want to practice on computer printer paper before you use your intended decorative sheets.

What really makes these ornaments special is when you incorporate a photograph as the face of the Christmas Angel. Everyone loves photo gifts, especially grandparents! Many of us are making handmade gifts due to economic reasons, and these are well-received, especially if photographs are used.

Materials needed:

Paper: 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" ( This is the size of a folded piece of computer paper.)
photo or cutout of face from greeting card
glue
gold cord or sequins
paper clip

Instructions:

1. Cut out paper.

2, Starting at the short end, make small pleats, like you are folding a fan.

3. Snip the center fold down about 1 1/4". See Illustration 2.

4. Bend these sections down to form wings. See Illustration 3

5. Staple around 1/4" down from the top, See Illustration 4.

6. Spread out the pleats to form the skirt and wings. See Illustration 5.

7. Cut out a face from a photograph or other picture to fit the scale of the angel. Glue on.

8. Form a halo from cord or sequins, and glue on. I have used 1/8" ribbon, also.

9. Open a paper clip to form a hook, inserting one curved end into the folds on the back, securing with glue.