This was my very first angel I created in 2017.

In 2017 I decided it was time to clean out a lot of my craft items and hoarded objects. I had collected a few boxes of vintage jewelry over the years and it was time to get rid of it or use it for something. I had a few of those angel pins that people wore back in the 80’s. As I was trying to decide what to do with them the idea popped up in my head that maybe I could put together objects such as jewelry and make angels.  The picture above was my first one.  I showed the angels to my sister in law and she wanted to buy them. So that’s how it all started. This all happened around the time of our first craft market at our church which got me to thinking how much I’ve always wanted to do a booth with crafts.   So right then I decided I would make angels and other crafts and save them for the following year’s market. 

This was in 2018 at the Holly Jolly Market. I went a little crazy but I did use up a lot of my craft supplies and had so much fun doing my first market.

This was at the 2019 Holly Jolly Market.

The angels put on vintage door lock plates are the most popular. (The lock plates are hard to find & sometimes pricey)  I get lucky every now & then.

These are ones made on wooden plaques.  I like to decoupage a background on many of my angel plaques. These angels had compasses so I put maps and added “Enjoy the Journey” with cricut vinyl lettering.

The pink bead board has a ballerina angel. The wings are handmade with plaster wrap and then decorated with  jewels. The one that looks like a bird has the saying, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” The body is made with vintage bakelite.  I kept this one and have it hanging in my bathroom.

These are made on canvas and all have heads made with watches. The one on the bottom left was made for my sister and I used her watch to make it. I always like it when I can use something personal on my creation for the person it goes to. I recently made one for our nephew’s wife after we attended their wedding at the beach. I used shells found at the wedding and a Costa Rica charm and put a map of important places that had to do with their relationship as the background. We gave it to her for Christmas.

This shows a variety of angels. As you can see there are endless ways of making them. Sometimes I have a theme such as the Girl Scout one. I was able to use some of my memorabilia from my Girl Scout days. Two of these (top left and bottom right) were gifts for my sister in laws after our trip to Venice. Pieces of Murano glass were used for the center. The angel on the bottom left has homemade wings made with modeling compound in a rubber mold.  Some wings are homemade, some are purchased from a craft store, and some are made with objects or jewelry that look like wings. Some of the angels have parts that move such as beaded hair or shimmering gold pieces such as on the angel to the bottom left. Some have hair, halos, crowns, or hats. Each one is unique!

Another collection of Angels

I love making angels out of old rusty hardware, springs, screws, keys, – whatever I can find that can be put together on a plaque. The one on the left a friend bought for her camp. (I added the name of the camp on it and added the fish) The center part is an old door plate. The one on the right is on an old rusty tray.

I always put a handmade tag with my angels that have a saying on it that goes with the angel.  Sometimes I have a saying or Bible verse on the actual plaque or as part of the angel on a charm. I want my angels to brighten someone’s day or give a person hope. Many of my angels have gone to people who are experiencing hard times such as going through chemo or grieving over a lost loved one. I feel like the creations are inspired by God.  I also feel like my dad is looking down on me and smiling from heaven. He was a self made artist and he created figurines out of balsa wood or modeling clay.  He knew so well how to do the features on people and the body proportions. I certainly can’t carve like he did but I’ve always had the desire to make 3 dimensional art and mixed media art in some way. I was always drawn to collages made with old things.  I love making them as gifts for people and to sell at the market & my shop.  It  is at least a 3 or 4 day process & I  do about 8 at a time. It takes a lot of work with many rooms of my house taken over with craft stuff but thankfully my husband is patient with the mess and he even helps at times with the process of making wooden plaques or using his tools to take jewels apart or make something a different shape. At this point in my life this is a great craft to do because it helps keep my mind active, it does involve a lot of movement because I have to get up and look through many containers, boxes, bags, etc. to find just the right piece I need and it’s fun which of course helps relieve stress. 

Sorry about this post being so long but wanted to share about my angel making and how it all came about.  I’ve been wanting to post about this for 2 years now and it took a quarantine to give me the incentive to get it done.  I would love to hear feedback/ comments. Let me know if you’ve ever created something with jewelry.