A trumpeting angel figures largely in my childhood memories of Christmas.
We, as a family, celebrated the spritual gift of Christmas as much as the modern day commercial one, and my clever Mother always had lots of almost zero cost, meaningful activities to keep us occupied close to the Festive Season.
One of the activities we planned each and every year, was the manufacture of a large trumpeting angel silhouette, to stick on the family room wall.
Sometimes our angel was made from shiny silver or gold project cardboard or bits of a box covered with alfoil. Sometimes she was made from fabric remnants, and one year, she was just made from newspaper and decorated with some leftover paint from a wardrobe prettifying project Mum had just completed, and sprinkled with glitter. Perhaps that was a particularly tough year for us, or perhaps she was just being creative and using what we had.
Strangely, she is the angel I loved best. Pink and pretty, bits of newsprint showing through the paint, and sparkling with flecks of silver :)
Mum had an elaborate system of silhouette pieces for our trumpeting angel, ensuring that each of the seven siblings had a piece of angel to work upon. I've forgotten how she got so many pieces. Perhaps it was hair, head, upper and lower body, arms and hands, trumpet and wings. That sounds about right.
Newspaper, butchers paper, fabric, carpet remnants, felted wool, and even wire shapes wrapped with tinsel, all make very effective angel materials. In fact, a newspaper angel or two, with a newspaper nativity silhouette or papier mache` nativity would be considered the height of fashion in Shabby Chic, Primitive or Rustic decor lovers circles, so be creative and challenge yourself to spend as little as possible on this project. Remember to keep your angel a size that will fit the space you have on the wall for her. You can also put the pieces closer together or further apart to alter her size.
The interesting thing here, is that I couldn't tell you what we got for Christmas each year. I don't remember. But I do remember making our Angel silhouette, our plasticine nativity scene, our twisted accordion style crepe paper streamers and popcorn made in a saucepan, with lots of pink sugar sprinkled over it.
It's a lesson in what's important at Christmas.
I'm off to make ours with DD now. I'll post a photo soon.
I'd love to see your Trumpeting Angels too :)
