Angel Cats, Pom Pom Ornaments - Homemade Christmas Ornaments

I saw a cat magnet made of pompoms that I thought would make a cute Christmas ornament. I added a few things and came up with this Angel Cat. You can adapt the idea to create just about any kind of critter....cats, dogs, bunnies, mice, elephants, etc. Felt and pipe cleaners are some of the materials you can use to create the characteristics like ears, tails, and feet that are distinctive to the critter of your choice.

SUPPLIES

acrylic pompoms (for the cat I used the following but depending on the critter, you might select different sizes... no strict rules here)

body: two, 2" poms              tail: five, 1/2" poms
feet: four, 3/4" poms            footpads: four, 1/4" poms
muzzle: two, 1/2" poms        toes/nose: thirteen, 3mm poms

beads for eyes (beads with holes are easiest to apply)

white thread for whiskers

felt for ears

wired ribbon for wings (I used 1+1/2" width) or ready-made wings if preferred

gold or silver tinsel stem (aka pipe cleaner) for halo

ribbon for hanger and bow (1/8" and 1/4" widths)

low-temperature glue gun (mini size is best for this project) and low-temp glue sticks

tweezers (those pointy ones work well) and scissors

small bowl with water and ice cubes (trust me)

Supplies can be found in a craft store. Not all stores carry a large supply of pompoms and if you're just going to make a few of these, it can get expensive to buy bags of every size. I recommend getting a large mixed bag for multiple sizes and colors. Consider sharing or trading supplies with a fellow crafter who uses pompoms for their projects.

INSTRUCTIONS

Use one of those flexible cutting board mats to protect your work surface from the hot glue (which manages to drip no matter how careful you are). Dip fingers in the bowl with ice cubes and water for instant relief if you should get any glue on them. Even the low-temp glue gets to what seems to be the temperature of lava!

To begin, separate the fibers of the 2" poms with your fingers to expose the middle, add a dab of hot glue, and press poms together for a few seconds. Applying the glue this way will prevent poms from just being glued together at their surface and your finished project will be less "floppy."

Attach the wings next. For wired ribbon, estimate the length of the wings to extend about an inch or so beyond the sides of the critter and cut twice that amount plus an extra inch. Apply a small dab of glue to one end of the ribbon and join to the other end to form a circle, then flatten the loop. You can twist it in the middle (one full turn) to form a wing shape or simply scrunch the middle to get the same effect. Turn the critter over and glue the wings into the fur in the middle of the back.

Glue five of the 1/2" poms together for the tail. Glue tail into the bottom 2" pom, slightly toward the back.

Glue two of the 1/2" size together to create the cat's muzzle. Open a space in the fibers on the front of the top 2" pom (cat's head), then position and glue the muzzle where you want the face to be. Pick up beads with the tweezers, touch them to the tip of the glue gun for a tiny dab, and position above the muzzle for eyes. Glue the four 3/4" poms on the lower half of the body to represent feet. Glue a 1/4" pom to each of the feet for pads and, using the tweezers, glue three of the 3mm poms above each pad for toes. Cut two small triangles of felt for ears and nestle them in the "fur" with a dab of glue on each.

For whiskers, wrap thread around your four fingers about six or seven times. Slip the loops off and tie a knot in the center. Set a 3mm pom on the knot with a tiny dab of glue and then glue the whiskers/nose on the middle of the muzzle. Cut the whiskers to desired length.

Form a halo from the tinsel/pipe cleaner and leave a little stem of about 3/4". Fold the halo forward on the stem at a 90 degree angle. Cut a length of 1/8" ribbon for a hanger and glue the cut ends to the stem, then glue the halo+hanger stem down into the fluff of the head. Form a bow with the 1/4" ribbon and glue just under the muzzle.

Take a quick inventory to make sure you didn't miss any toes and you're done!