Make snowman- and angel-shaped suncatcher ornaments for Christmas. These suncatchers can be hung in a window, given as gifts, made into a mobile, or used as tree ornaments. They also look cute as the featured element on a Christmas card—a card and a gift in one!
Suncatchers are easy to make and are a great vehicle for creativity. Make them in a variety of colors and add embellishments to dress them up.
Choose
the pattern for the suncatcher you want to make. There are large-
and small-size patterns for each suncatcher, along with black & white and colored
options for each pattern. Download the pattern and print it on
white or colored computer paper. White paper works well for both the
snowman and angel, and the angels work with just about any
color you like! Keep in mind that it takes two frames to make a suncatcher.
Note: The snowman ornaments are easier to make than the angels. Children may find cutting out the insides of the angel's wings difficult.
Bonus patterns: There are colored angel and snowman patterns for making waxed clings. The clings are a super-easy alternative to suncatchers. They can be stuck to your windows or used as decorations on presents. The angel and snowman cling patterns come in two sizes, and each pattern sheet has multiple clings. See the Tips section for more details on making window clings.
Patterns are Adobe PDF files. The Adobe Reader is available for free.
All of Aunt Annie's Crafts project patterns are designed to be printed on standard letter-size paper (8.5"x11" or A4). When printing from Adobe Reader, you may need to select Auto-Rotate and Center or Choose paper source by PDF page size to ensure the best fit.
Color the suncatcher frames, or leave them white. You could color the snowman's top hat black, red, or green, and leave the body white. Color the snowman's scarf red, green, or add stripes. Color the angel's holly red and green.
Tip: Do not color the frame centers, since they will be cut out.
Cut out each pattern piece on the box outline around it. Make the cuts straight and the corners square.
Tip: Each snowman has two frames and a scarf. Each angel has two frames and two holly decorations. You will need one tissue paper pattern for each type of suncatcher.
Fold each box/rectangle in half on the dashed line. Cut around each pattern piece on the solid black line. Do not cut along the fold. Cut out the centers of the frames. Now, open each piece flat. You may find it easier to cut the angel's wing centers after unfolding the frame.
Tip: You may find it easier to cut the centers of the angel's wings with a craft knife. Be careful! Craft knifes are sharp and should only be used by adults.
Put the tissue pattern face-up on a piece of tissue paper. Trace around the pattern with a pencil. Remove the pattern. Cut the tissue paper on the line you traced. The tissue paper pattern for the snowman can be traced onto a single piece of tissue paper, or the pattern can be cut into two parts (hat and snowman) and traced onto two different colors of tissue paper. The angel's tissue pattern can be cut into separate pieces (face, body and wings) and traced onto two or three colors of tissue paper.
Tip: White tissue paper works well for the snowman, while blue or pink tissue paper is nice for the angel. You can also use tracing paper, foil, vellum, or cellophane instead of tissue paper. Most craft stores carry a variety of colored vellum and cellophane.
Glue the tissue paper to the back of a snowman or angel suncatcher frame. Glue another frame on top, with back sides together. In other words, glue the tissue paper between the two frames. To keep things neat, you may want to cover the table with a piece of waxed paper before gluing the tissue paper—sometimes the glue goes through the tissue paper and makes a sticky mess.
For the snowman: Fold the scarf in half and glue it around the snowman's neck.
For the angel: Glue the holly to each side of the angel. Be sure to line them up evenly.
The suncatchers can be decorated or left plain. Come up with your own ideas or try one of these:
Decide how you want to use your suncatcher. You may or may not want to add a hanger. To make a simple hanger, tape a loop of string or yarn to the top of the suncatcher.
Tip: Another way of making a hanger is with needle and thread. Thread the needle with a doubled strand of thread about 12" (30 cm) long. Punch a hole with the needle in the center, top of the suncatcher. Pull the thread through the hole. Remove the needle. Put the tail through the loop and pull tight. Knot the two ends of the tail together.
That's it! Your suncatcher
ornaments are done!
Tip: Use markers to decorate suncatchers. On the snowmen, use a black marker to add a face and buttons.
Bonus patterns: Use the angel and snowman cling patterns to make super-easy decorations for you windows, Christmas cards or presents. Just print the patterns on white paper, cut out the clings using the "Fold and Cut" technique in this craft project, then wax the clings following the instructions in the Waxing Paper craft project. Dab a bit of repositionable/temporary glue to the back of the clings and stick them to windows, greeting cards or presents.
Be sure to glue the unwaxed scarf to each snowman cling and the holly cutouts to the large angels.
Tip: The centers of the suncatchers can be made of other materials, like the red cellophane used above.
Tip: Print the patterns on white paper and use colored markers to add details like this striped scarf.
