How to Make African Angel Tree Ornaments

Creating handmade Christmas ornaments is part of the excitement and anticipation of the holiday season. These African Angel Tree Ornaments are perfect for Christmas, as well as for the avid angel collector to display throughout the year. Using some basic craft supplies, and about a half-hour's worth of work per angel, these can be made assembly line style and in volume. They are perfect for gifts, package toppers and fundraisers.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 doll head clothespin
• 2 coffee filters (basket style)
• Acrylic craft paint in brown (choose a shade of brown for skin)
• Red water color paint
• Gold glitter glue
• Black fine tip felt marker
• Scraps of yellow, light blue and brown (to match the skin) felt, cut into 2-inch squares
• Gold chenille stems
• Small multicolor beads
• Gold ribbon
• White craft glue
• Tape
• Paintbrush

1. Paint the top half of the clothespin with the shade of brown paint you've selected for the skin tone. Match this as closely as possible with the brown felt scraps, as these will be used for the hands.
   Dip one of the coffee filters in clean water and wring out. Set aside to dry.

2. Paint the second coffee filter with red water color paint until it turns pink. Lay flat to dry.
   Cut a hymnal from the blue felt. (Cut as though you were cutting a heart, then straighten the edges.) Mark "HYMNS" with the felt tip marker.

3. Cut two small circles from brown felt for the hands.
   Draw eyes, nose and mouth onto the round piece of the clothespin with the felt tip marker.
   Cut a 2-inch yellow felt piece into a teardrop shape. Glue to the back of the angel's head with the point of the teardrop facing down. Cut a piece of gold chenille stem to fit the shape and attach to the teardrop with glue to form a halo.

4. Brush gold glitter glue onto the dry white coffee filter. Lay the pink coffee filter open and apply glue around the circumference on the very edge. Place multicolored beads on the line of glue and press. Set both filters aside to dry.

5. Make a loop hanger from gold ribbon and glue in place on the back of the angel, near where her neck would be.
   Fold the dry white coffee filter in half, and then in half again. Snip off the point that forms the center. Be sure the hole is large enough for the angel's head to fit through. Twist the pink coffee filter and pinch it in the middle to form wings.
   Place the white filter over the angel's head and tie a belt at the waist made from gold ribbon. Glue the wings to the back of the angel. Glue hands to the front of the angel, at the height where she might hold a hymnal.
   Glue the hymnal to the hands. Hang your angel on the tree after two or three hours, once the glue has dried.

References

• ACMoore

Resources

• Michael's