The other day I was playing around with paper circles and making flower embellishments for bookmaking and scrapbooking. I kept playing with the paper circles, experimenting with different sizes, patterns and arrangements…until wahlah! There amongst my scraps of paper appeared a beautiful, cute little angel! I think it’s the coolest thing…although I’m sure somewhere this has probably been done. However, I’m still in awe of how simple and easy it can be to create cute little decorations.
You can see from my prototypes that by varying the size, paper patterns and arrangement I can end up with a sort of ghost angel or super cute holiday angel… the possibilities are endless! So here’s how you create these cuties. Cut out a bunch of paper circles – although I image you could probably do this with fabric as well! I used my die cutting machine to cut lots of circles, but you could use a paper punch or even freehand it, because I’m sure the variation will end up looking shabby chic cool.
You will need 3 circles to create the body and wings of your angel, plus a smaller one for the halo and another even smaller one for the face. Of course, as you vary the sizing your angel will develop his/her own personality and unique features 🙂 To create the body you simple fold the circles in half and then open up and fold half the other way.
I suppose it’s a common origami move, but with the two folds, you take your circle and sort of squish it with your fingers to create the quarter-circle triangle shape.
If you have trouble doing the squishy move, you can fold your circle a few more times to create those extra fold lines…but you’ll end up with the fold in the center of your quarter-circle triangle shape, which you might not like. I think a little practicing with a few circles will do the trick.
After folding all 3 of my circles, you simple glue them together to form the body and wings of your angel. I keep the center piece as the body and resting on top…then glue in the wings on the two sides sort of interlocking with the body piece…probably easier to just look at the photo to understand.
Then you just add the halo circle on the back and the face on the front…you can draw different expressions – singing, sleepy, smiley…
I played around and created a few of them as you can see and the one with smaller circles for the wings only creates a more proportional angel. You see that by experimenting a big, you can create really unique and pretty angels for your holiday decorations.
I like to put them on my pens and pencils, just hanging around! However, they would make lovely Christmas decorations, a beautiful garland or maybe even on the front of a handmade card or book/journal cover. Lots of ideas flying through my head!
Also, as I was experimenting I realized there are many more things you can create with just paper circles…for example, if you stacked a bunch of the folded circles together in varying size…it could look like Christmas trees…hmm… gotta go experiment some more now. Have fun and thanks for stopping by for this tutorial! Share you links and comments below!
So I saw the videos about the box flower and ornate version from the Cosmo Cricket blog and realized…hey, if I just played a bit with a bunch of circles, I’m sure to create my own paper flowers to use as embellishments. Since I now have a Big Shot it was easy to cut out a whole bunch of circles in various sizes with my nestabilities dies. Actually, if you have circle punches it would be super easy as well. I started by making the box flower…but then just started folding and connecting however I felt like. It was really fun to just play around!
I actually like to flatten everything out instead of puffing up flowers, because my scrapbook pages go in an album and I don’t like too much bulk. However, the more 3D versions can go on the cover of minibooks and such – suddenly ideas were spewing all over and I didn’t have enough circles to play with. Here’s what I’ve created so far and I think they are super cute… maybe this is old news for everyone else?
Who would have thought it really was that easy…if you use pretty pattern paper that you like, the results are bound to be lovely. I’ve never been a buyer of lots of embellishments because it’s odd to use the same item multiple times, unless it’s brads or simple elements. I tend to just buy the basics and try to combine elements to make it my own. One thing I’ve noticed is that I admire so many designs by other folks, especially when looking over the gallery at Two Peas In A Bucket…but I wouldn’t want to do it myself even if I think it’s pretty. Sometimes I look at a layout and just think…hey that’s xyz brand or line all over it and not even getting into the story or photos…which is bizarre because I want my photos to be the focus. I suppose some designers are just showing off their product…and I do love looking at those kinds of projects and admiring them…I just can’t get myself to create in that way. Sometimes I think my work can be a bit bland or boring in comparison, but I soon realize that adding more just because will make it like marketing for scrapbooking product – which is not my job 🙂 Anyway…just random thoughts there on scrapbooking!
Anyway, back to paper flowers…I’m happy to have played a little with paper and still amazed at how a tiny change like different buttons can give you so many different looks. I realize there are only 24 hours in a day, but since I’ve been working on a lot of digital stuff I am missing the paper side of things, too.
Wow, I am always so thankful for all the wonderful people out there who devote their own time to spreading knowledge to others. I just came across this cool website thevirtualinstructor.com and specifically the youtube page for thevirtualinstructor. It’s full of free art lessons…videos of how to use watercolor pencils or mixing paint to create skin tones and composition theory. I believe that Matt is a high school art teacher and illustrator, just sharing information with all of us! It’s so wonderful to be able to learn something new, whether fundamentals or not…it’s always helpful to review for any creative person. Either way, it’s just fun to learn!
I find his way of explanation very easy to understand and follow. Not only is this helpful for adults who want to learn a bit about art…it would be great for homeschoolers as well – he offers free lesson plans. There’s a lot more material on the website than on the youtube channel, so definitely check it out and follow the blog. I guess other art teachers can use the info too… very cool. Hope you learn something new and get inspired this lovely Monday!
Here’s another scrapbooking freebie as I journey along as a digital designer. I really love to draw and experiment with shapes in Illustrator, so I end up with a lot of variations and experiments of just shapes. I’ve realized they are great to compile into clipping masks…so here’s my scalloped borders freebie. You can add borders and accents to your work using the materials you already have. I find that often, just changing up the shape and combination of elements creates a brand new look. Enjoy!
In addition, in celebration of Hoot Fest 2010 with Owl Tree Studio…you can get bonus points regarding this bonus freebie. Lots to play with, so go and participate – read this post for full details about Hoot Fest 2010. Ciao ciao!
Hi folks! I’m practicing with my Wacom tablet and actually using it solely, instead of reverting back to the mouse… causing a bit of sore-arms but I am drawing a lot more digistamps as a result 🙂 Here’s a quick doodle of a casual lady that I thought would be nice to share with you all. Great for mom cards or girlfriend themed cards, I think…enjoy!
Looking for a quick and easy Halloween party invite template that you can print at home? Download this cute skulls design notecards and start promoting your get together!
I thought it would be nice to have a host and hostess as part of the design, hence the two skulls, partners in life! And the blank lined area underneath lets you write in whatever details or text that applies to you.
Originally I thought of this as a party invite, but it can certainly be a journaling card, decoration in your planner or just something to print for the kids to color up and write about Halloween this year. Can actually be for All Saints Day as well with the skulls! Maybe you can decorate and draw over them with sugar skull designs? The sky is the limit.
Need to label your Halloween treats in a cute way? Download this free treats only printable!
The other day, I doodled up a little Halloween girl and wrote “Treats Only, please!” because I do like the treat part, not so much the trick part of this holiday. I remember being scared wayyyy too much in childhood, because our neighborhood had a thing for haunted houses and “trials” before you actually get a candy. Well, no more of that…I embrace just having treats!
After finishing up my art journal page of this illustration, I thought it would be really cute attached to the Halloween treats handed out…so here we have a new freebie printable! Pretty cute labels, no?
I suppose you can use these as toppers for bags as well or labels on candy bars…anything in the Halloween spirit having to do with treats! Yay! Enjoy and feel free to spread the word and share a link to this post! Thank you and have fun!
Looking For More FREE Printables?
If you enjoyed this printable freebie, you might also enjoy the other digital downloads I have posted. Happy downloading and happy printing!
I’ve been busy designing on the computer, working on official stuff, scrapbooking kits and some personal projects as well.
After playing around here and there, I actually created these label strips for myself to use in a project. In the end, they didn’t fit with the particular booklet project, so they were sadly thrown to the side, to be forgotten…
I thought it would be better to share them as a free printable with all of you… so I hope you can use these label strips somehow. There are blank versions and the days of the week version as well. Enjoy!
It’s been a while since I’ve offered up a stationery set for download, so I thought it would be nice to have something in the Halloween or ghoulish theme for the upcoming holiday. I used my little sleepy ghost pattern to create this printable stationery set…sort of funky looking and not your normal cutesy design. The cool thing about printable stationery is that you can print as many pages as you need and really use it for lots of different things. A casual note stuck into a lunchbox, a long letter to a dear friend or just using the design for decoration around the house. This little guy is either sleepy or grumpy…maybe both!
Hope you enjoy this free printable and let me know if there’s anything in particular you are ever looking for. I’m always up for the challenge and like to do little design exercises and doodle away as a form of practice. The results always ends up being a freebie on my blogs. I’m all about sharing…if someone can use it and be happy! Until tomorrow…ciao ciao!
Wow! I found a huge resource for drawing and illustration and wanted to share with all of you as inspiration today! Andrew Loomis has out of print books that are now PDFs for free download. Amazing, true and so darn useful. You should definitely check them out and see if they will help with your illustration, whether you want to be a professional or drawing just for fun – it’s always good to learn and grow as a person. The “Fun With A Pencil” one was written first and it’s a pretty darn funny read in itself.
Andrew Loomis was an illustrator in the 1930s-50s and his work has influenced many artists even today. Since his books are still being circulated, you can be sure they are of value. Thanks to Escape From Illustration Island for posting about it and he has linked and credited the lovely people who make it all available. Thank you to all and thank you to the internet. I love how resources can be easily spread to people all over the world and we can share with each other. Happy Monday and enjoy!
Angel policy: All free printables posted are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Feel free to share as long as you link back to this website. Thank you for spreading the love!
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