Wings For My Angel

E is going to be six months old this Wednesday, and it had been too long since we had her pictures taken. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I figured a cherub-theme would be appropriate and adorable. I am lucky enough to have a photographer in my family. My very talented niece, Leah, of Leah Catherine Photography (leahcatherinephotography.blogspot.com.) She's become our official family photographer. After she worked us in to her schedule, I set about making some props. I happened across some fairy wings at Goodwill for only .99! I knew I could re-work them into angel wings for almost nothing. Here's how everything came together.

Sparkly, purple fairy wings. Definitely well-loved in their previous life, but the perfect  frame for new angel wings

First I cut off all the old purple fabric, then I made covers for the larger set of wings from an old t-shirt.

I stitched around the edges, leaving space to turn them. Just like a pillow.

Then I bent the wire so I could slide them on  like a sock.

I molded the wings into a more angelic shape. 

Time to angelify! I used two small packages of marabou trim for the smaller wings and a  feather boa for the larger wings. With coupons, this cost about $8 at JoAnn Fabrics.

Using my trusty glue gun, I secured the trim to the top of the smaller wings.

Then I just wrapped the trim around the wire, using more glue when I reached the end. 

I also covered the purple felt at the top.

On to the larger wings. I cut the boa in half and then wound it around  the wings securing each end with glue.  I added a little more glue in the middle of the wings, fastening them directly to the t-shirt fabric.

Complete!

For the bow and arrow, I grabbed some chopsticks, felt, some random red electrical wire we had in the garage, and my glue gun. I cut two little hearts out of some polka dot felt and hand-stitched them together leaving a little room at the top to slide on the chopstick. I added a little glue before I put it on so the heart wouldn't end up in E's mouth. Then I cut two rectangles of pink felt for the top of the arrow, glued them on, and cut some fringe in. For the bow, I simply put some hot glue on either end of the chopstick and wound the wire over it.

If I hadn't found these fairy wings, I probably would have used either a wire coat hanger or some cardboard to make the wings. I would have just added two pieces of elastic to slide over E's arms like the fairy wings had. If I wasn't lucky enough to have Leah as my photographer, I would have set up some sheets in natural light and tried my best to capture E's cuteness myself. Leah did a much better job than I could ever do, of course. I am so happy with how everything turned out. E makes such a good little Cupid!

Here they are on my angel!