Sunday, December 8, 2013

Every time a bell rings ...

... an angel gets her wings. I always loved that line from "It's a Wonderful Life," although the actual line is "his wings," rather than "hers." But, for the sake of today's blog post, I've changed it to "hers."

"Her" is in reference to my daughter Hayden, who, like myself, has been noticeably absent from this blog for the last few months. We just needed a break, and in the process, I opted to make her not quite as visible on the site. She's growing up, and it is time to give her some privacy (my decision, instead of hers; she still begs to do Eco Emi videos when the monthly boxes arrive).

I will let you know that we are doing well and plan to check in every once in a while, when inspired to do as such. For example, I was so happy with our latest angel wing DIY that I thought it would be nice to share it with you. Much like many other little girls this holiday season, Hayden needed to be an angel in her Christmas program. Rather than buying her a pair of wings, we utilized what we already had at home. Here's how I made them:


To start, I found two wire hangers in the back of the closet that I shaped into wings and attached together with the handles. I wrapped packing tape around the handles to hold them in place, as shown.


Next, I selected some white lace fabric from our scrap fabric box (thank goodness I save what's leftover from various sewing projects, etc.). I taped it to one of the hanger wings to hold it in place.


Then, I carefully cut out the lace around the first wire hanger wing, leaving a little extra lace to wrap around the wire frame.

I wrapped the lace material around the frame, as I hand-sewed it with gold thread for a special touch.

I continued stitching all around the first wing.

Then, I repeated the steps with the other wing.

Once both wings were covered in the lace fabric, I opted to incorporate some of the scalloped edge. I cut just enough to fit the bottom of both wings ...

... and attached them to the wings by sewing them on with white thread.

Lastly, I wrapped some thick gold ribbon around the center of the wings to hide the hanger handles and tape, threaded the ends of the ribbon through the sides to hold it in place, and brainstormed an idea to attach them to my little angel.

I simply decided to drape the ribbon handles over her shoulders, and then bring them under her arms and around her back. I tied the ribbon in a bow to hold them in place. Here is how it looks from the back ...

... and here is a front view. I was lucky enough to be able to use clothing from Hayden's wardrobe, rather than having to make or buy something special for the event.

As for the halo, Hayden loves to have her hair braided into different styles, so we opted to braid a halo into her golden hair, as shown.

Speaking of Hayden, she's begging me right now to play in the snow (yes, we have snow). Gotta go. Happy holidays!