ANGEL WING SCULPTURE

Salt Dough Angel Wing Sculpture...

Angel wing sculpture added to a wreath

     I had just finished the salt dough ornaments for the Children's Christmas party in December and was curious as to what else I could make using this dough recipe.  I have a lot of Christian friends and like to give gifts that honor their chosen religion.  Like most people, I love angels.  I find their wings particularly beautiful. I've seen sculptures that are absolutely stunning but have an equally stunning price to go along with them. So I was curious to see what I could do with the relatively cheap salt dough.  I made a (1) 1/2 recipe of the dough I used for the ornaments, split the dough in half and rolled out one of the balls.  I then took a knife and cut out an outline of the wings.  I just eyed it and didn't use a template.  I combined the unused dough with the remaining ball.  I then began forming tear drop shapes and layering them on the flat piece of dough, occasionally using my palm to lightly flatten them together without losing the texture.  I continued until the base dough was completely covered.  This task took about an hour and a half.  I occasionally moistened my fingers and then reworked the dough to keep it from getting crumbly.  Then I baked my sculpture.

     The result was better then I expected.  They looked rustic, particularly because of the wheat dough I added.  I couldn't wait to finish them.  I added some water to cream acrylic paint and did a light paint wash over the wings.  I then added gold highlights, alternating with the cream until I was happy with the result.  I cut out a thick cardboard backing and glued it on the back of my sculpture for added support since I planned on hanging it on a wreath and knew it might get banged around quite a bit.  I finished it with an archival spray in satin finish to bring out a sheen.  Below are the complete directions for what I did...

What you'll need:

For dough: (Wings)

3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour (half white/half wheat flour)

1 1/2 Cups Salt (I used Morton's for this project)

1 1/4 Cups of Water (Start with One cup and add only what you need)

Flat baking sheet

Pam for Baking (or equivalent)

For Finishing:

Acrylic paint: Cream and Gold
Paint brush
Water
Small container to mix paint and water in
Archival Finishing Spray or equivalent in Satin Finish
Thick Cardboard as a backer (if needed)
Craft Glue
Jute or twine if you plan on hanging

1.  Combine Salt, Flour and Water (as needed dough should be neither crumbly or sticky) Half dough & separate into 2 balls.

2.  Knead dough well.
3.  Spray Pam on Flat Baking Sheet
4.  Use one ball of dough and roll out onto baking sheet.
5.  Cut out Angel wings with butter knife.  Combine excess dough with remaining dough.
6.  With extra dough, start making tear drop shapes and layering on angel wing cut out.
7.  Occasionally use your flat palm to press tear drops onto angel wings (not too hard. you don't want to lose texture)
8.  Cover entire surface
9.  Use a straw to make holes (if you plan on hanging)
10.  Bake in 200 degree oven for one hour.
11.  Lower temperature to 170 degrees and check every 20 minutes until sculpture is dry enough to carefully turn over by sandwiching between two pans.
Don't rush this step or sculpture will crack!!
12.  Bake face down until sculpture feels dry to the touch and can be easily picked up without bending.
13.  Turn off oven and leave in oven until completely cool.
14.  Let air dry for 24-48 hours.
15.  You are now ready to paint or you can leave it natural and seal with a spray sealer or varnish.
16.  If painting...dilute cream paint with water and dry brush paint your wings.
17.  Add Gold highlights.
18.  Use cream paint/water mixture again to blend.
19.  Seal with archival sealer in a satin finish.
20.  Trace wings onto cardboard and cut out. Don't forget to cut holes for hanging.
21.  Glue to back of wings. Let dry.
22.  Hang with Jute, twine or ribbon.

Note: Wings are not recommended for outdoor use! #angelwings #saltdough #wreaths #christmascrafts #holidaycrafts

Wings are not recommended for outdoor use!


I hope you enjoyed this post!

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