Spring !

I'm so happy Spring is here ! I actually have flowers in bloom and it's so pleasant outside. I actually took the time to clean my studio and when i started on the closet i discovered an old pair of fairy wings crumpled on the bottom. I knew I made them sturdy but I had no idea they would survive being all balled up at the bottom of an overstuffed closet !

here's a ic of it bent into a shape

They're made from tissue paper if you can believe that ! I love them and I figured I could share the technique here. I'll post the tutorial in two parts because while it's easy it is a very labor intensive project .

Part One

Materials
matt acrylic medium ,not the gel kind !
Black annealed / rebar /bailing wire {you'll find this at the hardware store ,it comes in a big coil and is sometimes wrapped in oily paper. It's super cheap ! }
Wax paper
large soft paint brushes
Tissue paper ,I get mine at the dollar store.. you know the kind you wrap presents in

step one - Lay out the wax paper as a work surface and cut a piece of wire and bend it into the shape you want. If your making wings that have a seperate bottom do this as well . To make the other side I use the finished form as a template. Don't stress out if they're not perfect !

step two - take the top and bottom wing and using the excess wire wrap them together . Your wing should look kinda like this

Step three- tear tissue paper in the shape of each wing. You want it to be larger than the wings as you'll be folding it over. Tear not cut ! if you cute you'll have lot of straight lines in your wings.

Step four- I work on each section one at a time. Take the piece of tissue paper and laying it against the wax paper brush the medium all over it. lay the wiire for over the tissue paper and gently pick up the edges and fold it over. I also roll the little folds that occur over the wire. If it tares don't panic ! just use a scrap piece of tissue paper to cover any holes. The goal is to cover the wire . Let it dry for a moment then gently peel the form tissue and all of the wax paper. Do this to all the pieces .

step five- repeat this process on the other side of the wing. Keep flipping sides and after four coats let it dry. Ones it's dry brush a coat of the medium all over the wings .

And this is the end of part one. tomorrow I'll show you how to attach both halves together and make the wings ever stronger then we get to paint them.

These wings are not limited by size ! I've made doll sized one as well as the pink ones being people sized

Comments

[odd dotty]

Oooo...thanks for the tutorial. I have always wanted to make a pair of wings, but when I have tried other techniques they have failed me. I think I shall try yours and hope for better success. I look forward to part two of the tute! Nice work!

[Sarah]

it's not that hard. Just go slow. The tissue is super fragile while wet. Once you have at least two layers it'll go alot smoother.