Recycled Plastic Bottle Christmas Angel

If you love reusing and recycling materials for your crafting adventures, check out our helpful article on How to Prepare Recyclables for Crafting.

Materials:

• Empty 330ml plastic Coke bottle
• Round polystyrene ball with a diameter of 65mm
• 4.4” long straight flat wooden ice cream stick
• 14.4” X 8” unbleached linen
• 14.4” X 8” soft silver net fabric
• Curly brown synthetic doll hair
• Pair of 15mm pink wiggle eyes
• Three  6mm silver star-shaped rhinestones
• White economy paper plate
• Sheet of ordinary white printer paper
• Cup of sea sand
• Decorative silver hair pin
• Flesh acrylic paint
• Black, red and dark pink felt-tip pens
• Pilot silver marker pen
• Gray and cream thread
• Needle
• Standard scissors
• Paintbrush
• Polystyrene glue
• Quick-drying craft glue (such as Bostik Clear)
• Bostik Sew Simple fabric glue

Instructions:

1. Remove the label, wash the bottle and allow to dry upside down overnight. Tip: If necessary, use mineral turpentine to remove any glue residue from where the label was stuck.
    
2. Use the sand to add some weight to the bottle, so that the bottle will not fall over as easily. 
    
3. Push one end of the ice cream stick into the polystyrene ball to make a hole. Remove the ice cream stick from the hole and add polystyrene glue to the hole. Push the ice cream stick into the hole again and allow the glue to dry.
   
   
    
4. Push the stick into the bottle and use polystyrene glue to affix the ball to the bottle. Allow to dry thoroughly.
   
   
    
5. Paint the polystyrene ball with the flesh paint and allow to dry.

Make the angel’s dress:

1. Use the fabric glue to add seams to one of the long and both short sides of the piece of linen. Allow to dry thoroughly.
   
   
    
2. Make a fold at the top of the linen 1” from the edge of the lace, and use a running stitch to keep the fold in place. This will be the collar of the dress.
   
   
    
3. Gather the frills of the dress together and drape the dress around the bottle’s neck before ending the running stitch with a secure knot.
   
   
   
   
    
4. Glue the opening of the dress together at the back.
    
5. Use the gray thread and repeat steps b and c with the soft silver net fabric.

To finish the angel:

1. Glue the hair in place and use the scissors to shape her hair neatly.
   
   
    
2. Glue the wiggle eyes in place. Use the red felt-tip pen to add a mouth, the pink pen to add rosy cheeks, and the black pen to add nostrils; eyebrows and freckles.
   
   
    
3. Use the star shaped rhinestones to add three buttons to the front of the silver dress.
   
   
    
4. Cut the paper plate in half and use the one half to shape the wings.
   
   
    
5. Glue the printer paper to the back of the wings and cut the wings out again.
    
6. Use the silver pen to add a silver border all around the wings. Also add some detail to the wings, using the plate’s natural grooves as a guideline.
   
   
    
7. Glue the wings in place.

Make the crown:

1. Cut a border strip from the remaining half of the paper plate. Use the silver pen to color this strip on the front and back sides and allow to dry thoroughly.
    
2. Glue the crown to her head and push the decorative pin into her head just behind the paper crown, so that the jewel part of the pin will protrude above the paper crown.
   
   

Find even more earth-friendly craft project ideas for Christmas in our collection of 19 Recycled Christmas Decorations and Gift Ideas.