Angel Wing Tutorial

I have always loved the look of antique, carved and gilded angel wings.  I have photos from magazines that are over 15 years old, even before they became trendy!

The cost was prohibitive, to say the least.  The price of large antique wings hovered near $2,000 and up...waaaaay up!

While perusing ebay a fews years back I entered large gold wings into the search engine...finally!  A pair of wings I could afford...with a hitch...

I used a pair of adult size plastic angel wings.  I purchased mine from Sun Dog Imports on ebay several years ago for about $15.  Each is 33" tall x 13" wide.  They are very, very lightweight plastic.  There was no way to hang them.  Even if could hang them they would have gone all cattywampus because they are so flimsy.  I decided to use cotton quilt batting to line the insides. It made the wings more sturdy and opaque. I layered the batting with Tacky Glue until I felt like they were sturdy enough.  Be certain to line every inch!  I used lots of glue!  Almost two 16oz bottles! What I really like about these wings is the convex shape.  I considered using them as a mold for papier mache but decided against it for now.  I have another (white) pair in the basement that I might attempt use in that fashion.
*Please note the Kravet Starburst fabric I recently purched from a lovely woman named Edwina on Craigslist.  Her house is so beautiful I didn't want to leave!

When the glue dried...I gave it two days, I secured wooden dowels with glue.  You can see that I made a "T" shape near the top and glued a shorter dowel on the wing's edge. (I hope this makes sense!) This helped make them much more sturdy.

When the glue holding the dowels in place dried I turned the wing over and gave it a thick coat of Annie Sloan Dark Wax.  I allowed the wax to dry, then used picture wire (wrapped around the "T" of the dowels) to form a hanging loop.

The wings are still very lightweight but now they are sturdy.

If I wasn't clear enough just send an email and I will try to clarify my instructions.  

I am currently on the lookout for a cardboard refrigerator box to make a ginormous pair of angel wings!