Here are the clothes pins with paint. Holes have been drilled into the clothes pin front.
The heads hole is filled with wood filler (plastic kind) and then a cut bamboo piece is inserted
into it and the filler tamped down so it holds it in the center. Then that is left to dry. You can see the side view with the head, the piece and into the clothes pin. When the angle is getting to the last stages, the bamboo stick will be cut even smaller and sanded off and inserted into the hole, and then super glue dropped on it so it is firm in it. That has to dry a bit too, before you put the hair on.
The way I make the 'skirt's: First cut a bunch of the wired ribbon to the length that I want it, then pull out the wire from one side of it. Then I find the closest colored thread to match each one and then make stitches in that top with edge folded in. It is a 'gathering' stitch. Then I pull it as tight as I can, and tie off that end. Then put the skirt onto the clothespin and run the needle and thread back and forth, tightening it real good and then tieing that off. I usually make a bunch at once, in a production line.
then I make the Wings from wired ribbon. I cut them all to the length I want and fold it over, edges overlapping and again using thread that matches, sew a 'gathering stitch' through them and then pull it real tight and wind over a few times and tie it off, but don't cut it off.
I use several types of feathers, sometimes one, sometimes another. The christmas angels have white flat turkey feathers and another whispy type feather to go over those. I continue using the thread and tie the feathers on top of the wired ribbon, winding over them again a few times then tieing that off in the back. The feathers will have to be cut to the right length also so they overlap each other a bit. Then I take some gold ribbon and make a bow and sew that to the front with the gold thread. Sometimes I add some other decor at that point too.
Making the stand
I created the stand with photo shop, with clouds, and mirroring each other and had them printed off. I had revised the old stands as they were not sturdy enough to hold up the angels for long. After having them printed, I cut around the tops of the clouds and glued the matching pieces together like this.
then I used clothes pins to clamp the sides together while they dried
this is what it looks like afterwards
This folds outwards at the point where the cloud is
cut out ends. Each side so it flares out front and back to stand up.
Page 4, putting the angels together
Christmas Angels for Sale Page
pictures of past Angels
pictures of some Valentine's Day Angels
