Faerie Muse

This page is currently under construction, it'll be done soon!

Pictures are coming!

This tutorial is for making cellophane fairy wings, examples of which can be seen in my gallery.  This tutorial is not particularly recommended for fabric or nylon wings, there are lots of those elsewhere on the internet.  The pair whose construction I'm using to illustrate this tutorial is on the more complicated side, the tutorial is written (hopefully!) so that you can pick and choose the steps that you feel comfortable with, pursuing all of them to make a highly detailed pair of wings, or following the bare bones of the tutorial to make a beginner pair.  I'll try to call out which steps are required and which are optional.

This tutorial is written in tandem with the Design Tutorial, also featured on this site.  This page presumes that you already have a design and pattern for your wings, if you don't, check out the Design Tutorial for some ideas!

Galvanized Steel Wire  (I use 14 gauge, other folks use 12 or 16; what you need is based to a small extent on size, but mostly on personal preference)

Wire Cutters

Pliers

Work Gloves (these are optional; I don't use them, but you may want to)

Iron  (that you'd use with clothes; heat guns and heat embossers are also an option, if you have one or want to invest in one)

Newspaper/cheesecloth/towel  (Optional, I don't use it, but you may want to)

Floral Tape (this is found in the floral department of most craft stores and comes in many colors; other kinds of tape can be substituted--just keep in mind that it'll be visible!)

Craft Cellophane (look in the gift-wrap section of your craft or party stores, it's the sort of cellophane that you use for gift baskets)

Vinyl (this is optional, especially for sculpted frames; I highly recommend it for all wings, particularly open frames; gauge will depend on size and preference--I usually use the very thin kind and if I need to, I'll use two layers of it, thicker vinyl works just as well, though.  Experiment with small scale samples to see what you need and like.)

Basting spray or white glue (optional, but recommended)

Hot glue gun (optional; depending on style)

Incense and holder (optional)

Candle

Ribbon or Elastic

The colors of cellophane that you use will be entirely based on what you want your finished product to look like.  Know that you can layer different colors, which is one aspect of my example wings.  Iridescent cellophane is available almost everywhere giftwrap is sold, and is amazingly versatile, but colored cellophane is beautiful as well.  Don't be afraid to put a couple small samples of different colors together to see what you like and figure out what you want.  Also keep in mind that I almost always use clear vinyl.  Substituting a colored vinyl is perfectly acceptable and a very neat way of altering the look of your wings.  Using clear vinyl, no matter what color cellophane you use, will result in your wings being transparent, at least in the light.  Opaque vinyl will, naturally, make opaque wings.  Well done cellophane wings look like those of an insect, or stained glass.

The example wings, as I've said, are a more complicated design.  They use three colors of cellophane that coordinate with the colors of Mardi Gras, which is the theme of the wings.  The example wings also use techniques for both sculpted and open framework, which is why they're a great example.  You may find a lot of steps in this tutorial that don't affect your design because of the layering of the colors, and the finishing of those layers, as well as the edge finish, if you're doing wings that are entirely sculpted, or entirely open.  Don't be afraid to skip steps, or alter the methods to suit the materials you have, and the design you're working with.  And remember, just have fun and be creative!

Alright, let's get started.  Clear an area on the floor or a table that is the size of your wing frame, at least.  Take out your pattern that you created in the design tutorial and lay it flat on your surface.  Using it as a guide, start bending your wires, doing them one at a time, taking your time.  Using pliers and patience, you can convince your wire to do many neat and unusual things, though it will prefer rounded shapes and curves.  Feel free to cut your wire to its rough length and get your major bends and curves in place first.  Then go back and smooth out your shapes and trim any ends you need.  Also, don't be afraid to change your design if you feel the need or want (the gauge of wire you use may alter the number of wires you use, or the size of wings you make).  There's not a whole lot of advice I can give for this stage.  Simply consider your entire frame, what wires go where, and what function they serve.  If you need to, trace each wire individually, from start to finish, in your sketch.  This will help clarify what shapes you need to make.  And above all, take your time!  Be patient, and if you get frustrated, walk away and come back in a bit.

The alternative method to this, which is great for a design that you'll be making several copies of, is to make a jig.  Take a piece of plywood that is the size of one wing, or the whole frame.  Place your pattern flat on this board.  Pound nails into your pattern (leaving 1/2"-1" sticking out of the top), along your lines, creating the strategic points at which your wire needs to bend.  Use the nails as a guide to bend your wires around, forming the appropriate shapes.  I don't use this particular method, I freehand all of my bending, but it isn't uncommon.

As you bend each wire, place them in their appropriate configuration, either on your pattern (this gets cluttered) or on the side.  This will help you keep your pieces straight and organized.

Make sure your wires are the shape you want them!  After this step, bending with pliers is practically out of the question.  Okay, once you've got all of your wires bent, and the shape is something you're happy with, turn on the t.v.  Put on some music, or pop in that audio-book you've been meaning to listen to.  This next part takes little attention, but a lot of time.  You're going to take all of your wires and wrap them with that floral tape.  Not only does it give your wire a uniform appearance, it can also lessen any slight imperfections in the bending process, in addition to providing a lot of stability in the frame as a whole.  If you've never used floral tape before, you stretch a little bit of it out, then start wrapping from one end to the next (or from the center out, you'll probably use more than one piece of floral tape, so it doesn't particularly matter).  Make sure you completely wrap your ends so you don't have any sharp pointy bits.  You can also use floral tape to make any connections you have; I know it doesn't seem strong enough, but if you wrap it tightly, and have a strong design, the floral tape should do the trick.  If you're nervous, or have a lot of extraneous connections (bits that connect mid-wing, away from the back-brace, though I highly recommend having as many of your wires as possible coming back to your backbrace; it makes for stronger wings) you can make the connection in electrical tape, and then cover it with floral tape.

At the end of this step, you should have a complete frame.  If you have two individual wings that you're connecting to a back-brace that's not an integrated part of the frame (i.e., a backpack, a cardboard or plastic plate that you'll later cover, etc...--if you don't have any of these things, don't worry!  They're simply alternate methods of attaching wings that a lot of cosplayers use) make sure you have whatever bits you need to connect into that brace.  You're ready to cover your wings!  I always try to let my frame sit for a few days because good floral tape will actually harden over time, if it's in a cool, dry place.  Your frame, at this point, ought to be very sturdy.  If anything wobbles or pivots, fix it now!  If it's stable, good!  Bending any of the wires at this point will probably be extremely difficult to do by hand, and pliers will mar the floral tape.  If you find a change you absolutely have to make, wrap each side of your pliers in floral or masking tape, and bend gently.

Layering cellophane can lead to beautiful wings.  It's a way to incorporate many colors, or produce a graduated effect with one color.  You can also layer different colors of cellophane to achieve a new, unique color.  The sample pair uses three colors of cellophane in two layers.  The first part I tackled was the top half, which features two colors.  The shorter, inside color (green) is the first layer to apply.  Lay your towel down on your surface.  Make sure the area is clean and relatively free of dust (the cellophane will attract dust).  Cut a piece of cellophane large enough to cover the area it needs to cover, plus a little extra just in case.  I like to work with square or rectangular pieces of cellophane, since trying to cut out small, piecy parts from the roll will lead to tears.  Lay your cellophane out on your towel.  Now, at this point, you can do a couple of things.  Here's what I usually do:  Shake the basting spray, and lightly cover the entire sheet of cellophane with a mist.  Lay down your frame in the appropriate position.  Now cut another sheet of cellophane the same size as the first, and gently lay it over the frame, lining it up with the cellophane underneath (it doesn't have to be perfect, as long as the parts of your frame you hope to cover are covered on both sides.  Here's what else you can do:  Lay your cellophane as described above.  Instead of (or in addition to) using the basting spray, brush the appropriate part of your frame with white glue (or tacky glue, or whatever kind of clear-drying glue you prefer).  Let the glue dry to a tacky stage, then lay the frame out on your cellophane.  Apply the top layer as above.  This is mostly personal preference.  Wings that are going to experience a lot, or have a sculpted frame, generally perform better with the white glue application.  However, wings that aren't going to get bashed too much, and have an open frame don't absolutely need it, and can survive parties, festivals, and faires just fine (within reason).  Other alternatives are hot glue, which I've never had personal luck with, or wrapping the frame with double-sided scotch tape (this is what I did with half of my first pair; it actually worked really well, is completely transparent, and the wings have been knocked around a bit.  However, it's time-consuming, and can be frustrating).

Alright, with your cellophane attached, you're halfway there.  Heat up your iron to its lowest setting ***here's where your own judgement is vital:  I have an iron with a nylon setting, which is what I use, and I turn it off and on between uses, so it never gets too hot.  I apply my iron directly to the cellophane.  I do not use this iron on clothing.  If you have a temperamental iron, or are afraid of getting plastic on it [ironing wax paper can remove most gunk, but you still may not want to deal with that], place a piece of cheesecloth or newspaper over your cellophane!***  Iron!  Don't let your iron rest in one place for more than a second or two; move it constantly, making sure to get all of the nooks and crannies of your frame, particularly near the base.  Flip the frame, and iron the other side in the same manner.  ***Ironing makes for a wonderful crinkled affect over your cellophane, like insect wings; if you want a smooth finish, don't iron, use a heat gun instead***  Now you want to roughly trim away the excess; don't go down to your desired finished edge yet, leave some excess (1-3"), but cut away the rest of your cellophane.  (Since this step is for a higher difficulty level pair, I don't have images for this step.  This stage is similar to the Covering: Layer 2 step, however, and images are there if you'd like a reference.)

You should now have some cellophane on your frame, but it's probably not very pretty.  At this point, you want to finish this layer.  Trim to your desired edge (if you are making sculpted wings and want to leave your very outside edges long, you can, you'll finish your entire sculpted frame after you've added all your layers).  Now is when you want to add any spikey or rounded edges, consider using some of those fun scrapbooking scissors!  Remember that you can always remove more later, but you can't add any back.  Light your candle (I don't recommend a lighter; they heat up too quickly, and this takes a few minutes) and gently singe the edges you just cut.  If you're unsure of the effect this will have try it out on some of those scraps you cut off in the last stage.  This will give your edge a nicely finished appearance (this may affect the color of your cellophane a bit, particularly iridescent; if it does, and you don't want it to, use a stick of incense to achieve the same effect more gently.  Hold it tip down (so the smoke doesn't gather under the wing, and darken it) and very gently move it along your edge; you may have to re-light a couple of times.  If you like the burnt look, or don't find that the candle affects the color too much, experiment with burning different amounts, and build on your edge pattern if you want to!  Keep your incense lit (or light it!) and burn any holes you want.  You can pattern these, or add them randomly, or leave them out altogether.  Be creative and have fun!  Working with the flame can be tricky for some, so make sure to practice if you feel the need or want.  Also keep in mind any and all fire safety rules and procedures, don't burn your house down!  The image shows the finished first layer of the Mardi Gras wings.  I've burned a lacy pattern of holes both in the edges, and at the base, inside the loop that connects the three "arms".

Congratulations!  You have a beautiful section of your wings done.  You now want to add your second layer; for the Mardi Gras wings, this is the final layer of this section.  If you have more than two layers, just keep covering and finishing as in the last two steps, as your design specifies.  When you're finished, come back here!

Alright, once again clear your space, making sure it's clean and free of dust.  Lay down your towel.  Cut a sheet of cellophane big enough to cover your entire frame (or in the case of the Mardi Gras wings, the entire section of the frame that has two layers).  Lay your cellophane flat on your towel (if your frame is bigger than the towel, you can use multiple towels, a blanket, or just move your frame !gently! when you need to).  Spray the cellophane with your basting spray.  Gently lay your frame down in the appropriate position, and spray the existing layer(s) with the basting spray. Cut your vinyl (if you're using it; again, it's highly recommended!) to the same size as the cellophane and lay it out over your frame.  ***If you're using something other than clear vinyl, consider using two layers, and apply it to each side of your frame!  Clear vinyl won't have a visible affect, if it's just applied to one side of the frame.***  Spray the vinyl with your basting spray.  Cut your second sheet of cellophane and gently lay it over the frame.  If the cellophane is too big, and you're having trouble laying it smoothly, try folding it, laying it down on half the frame, and then unfold it out over the other half.  You can also leave the cellophane on the roll, unroll it out over the frame, and then cut it off.  Heat up your iron (see the note in the step Covering: Layer 1 about ironing!).  Iron carefully, as discussed earlier.  Don't let the iron rest for more than a second or two in any one place; make sure you pay attention to the corners, edges, and intersections.

You now want to trim away the excess cellophane.  Cut away to your desired edge.  What you do next will depend on your frame.  Skip ahead to whichever section(s) apply to you!

For a sculpted frame 2:  For a different appearance, and with a slightly higher difficulty level, you can trim your outside edge to roughly 1/4".  Either A) very gently pull apart your layers, and folding each one around the edge of your frame, carefully hot glue your edges down.  Or B) fold both edges in the same direction, and hot glue them down around the frame.  Hot glue can be very messy; you may want to run your iron back over these edges; the glue will stick to the iron--to clean it, iron over some wax paper.  (See sculpted part of below image)

For an open frame:  Trim your desired edge; this may be smooth, scalloped, spikey, or anything in between.  Using your candle or incense, lightly singe the edge you just cut.  This will be your final edge, so make it pretty!  You will probably find yourself re-lighting your incense a few times, it's normal.  (See open part of above)

For all frames:  Once you've gotten your desired edge finish, take your incense and add any more holes that you'd like.  You may also want to add glitter, flower petals, or gems; just keep in mind what adding something to one side will look like on the other, and consider doing it to both.

Congratulations!  We're almost done!

You may have noticed, I skipped going over finishing the purple part of the Mardi Gras wings; that's because the process is the exact same as the rest, and I didn't want to confuse anybody.  Also, I didn't discuss doing both sides of the wings, I like to do each stage to each side at the same time; however, if you're new to this, or if you're trying a new design, you'll probably want to finish one side completely first, then duplicate the process on the other side.  To fully finish the wings, lay the completed pair (Congratulations, again!) on the floor or a table.  Place your palm on the back brace, right next to one wing.  Lift that wing, bending the wires gently (make sure you're bending "out"!) so that when worn, the wings will look like they're springing from your shoulders.  Repeat on the other side.  (Alternatively, you can brace each wing, and bend from the brace; the size of the wings will probably affect this.  You can also use a book to hold the wings still, instead of just your hand.)

Alright!  Now all you have to do is attach straps to your back brace (you can sew or tie these, and they can be ribbon or elastic; it's all up to you!  I usually like to tie them on so that they can be removed and cleaned or changed), along with any other decoration you wish to add, and you're done!  You are now the proud design/maker/owner of a new pair of cellophane fairy wings!  Go spread fairy wishes and love!