From idea to finished product, these hanging fairies took me a LONG time to finesse. Granted, I am an obnoxious perfectionist, but I was also creating them for my Etsy shop customers, so they needed to be perfect. Everything from their fingers to their little noses was drawn and re-drawn so many times my hands aged in the process.
But now finally, I am happy with them and happier to be able to share them with you. These are lovely hung in a little girl’s room or over a table at a fairy-themed party. If you do make these I would love to see how you use them!
Visit our SVG Files Shop to purchase our selection of hanging fairy SVG files.
Materials:
Cutting Machine
Cardstock Paper
Bone folder tool
Ruler
Double Sided Tape with Lining
White Glue
Small Paintbrush
Clear String
Here’s the thing, nobody really “needs” a cutting machine. Everything a cutting machine cuts, you can probably do by hand. Obviously it would take longer, and your cuts may not be as smooth, but you could get the job done. So if you don’t have a cutting machine and you really want to make these fairies, I say go for it.
You may want to use regular text weight paper because it would be easier to hand-cut than cardstock. Your fairy will be more flimsy but it should be ok if you’re just making these for yourself. If you do try the text weight paper I would love to hear from you about how it turns out.
You can also use your own fairy design. I had a blast drawing my fairies! My favorite part was designing the wings. I could sit for hours and hours drawing wings.
And at the end of the day, these fairies will be hung up, so any imperfections in the cutting will not be obvious. So if you don’t have a cutting machine like the rest of us hardcore crafters, don’t despair! Just follow along with my instructions and where ever I mention a cutting machine, just know that’s you.
Step 1: Cut fairies
Cut two fairies out with cutting machine along with a hanging notch. You will need two of the same fairy design for each hanging fairy. If you’re drawing your own fairies, you should also design a hanging notch similar to mine (where string will attach) and cut that out of the same paper.
Step 2: Create fold lines for fairy wings
Create a fold line in each fairy wing. I use a bone folder tool but another tool I’ve discovered that’s great for fold lines are metal knitting needles!
In my fairy designs it should be obvious where to create the fold lines, basically where the wings meet the fairy’s back. Keep this line in mind if you are designing your own fairies.
Step 3: Attach hanging notch
Flip one fairy over to the side opposite of where the fold line is. Put hanging notch in place* and tape down with double-sided tape. Keep the lining on the tape.
*The location of the hanging notch is very important as it will determine the angle at which your fairies hang.
If you are using your own fairy design, you should experiment to figure out the best location for your notch. You can do this by using removable double-sided tape to tape the hanging notch and the two fairies together, then hang to see how the fairy balances.
If you want your fairy to hang with it’s head higher, move the notch towards the head. For a fairy that hangs more horizontally, move the notch towards the fairy’s feet. The opening of the wings also determine the fairy’s balance. Experiment with this to see what you like.
If your fairy is not hanging well, try opening up the wings more and make sure both wings are opened equally. You may need to go back to the drawing board if it absolutely refuses to balance. As I mentioned before, I spent a lot of time designing these fairies, and part of that time was spent on perfecting how they each balanced when hung up.
If you are using my fairy designs you will see a guide on where to place the notch in the PDF file with your purchase.
Step 4: Align two fairies
Align second fairy on top of the first one, with the fold line facing upwards. This part may take some micro-maneuvering. I like to make sure all fingers and toes are perfectly aligned so it looks neater.
Step 5: Tape fairies together
Here is why I like to use tape with the lining: you will be taping the two fairies together, and with the lining in place you have the freedom to move the top fairy around until it aligns with the bottom fairy.
Once you’re happy with the alignment, hold down the fairies with one hand and with your free hand lift up one side to get access to the double sided tape. Remove the tape lining—I use an x-acto knife to peel the lining off. Make sure you are still holding the top fairy in place, then press down the top fairy onto the tape underneath.
At this point, you have two options: you can move on to the next step where we GLUE the two fairies together or you can save time and simply add more double-sided tape to different parts of the fairy to keep the parts together. I like the glue method because it’s a cleaner look, but the tape method works fine. Especially if you need these done quickly. The glue method takes a little more time.
Step 6: Glue fairies together
Using a small paintbrush, glue both fairies together.
Optional: after fairies are glued together, place it between wax paper and let dry between two heavy books to flatten.
Step 6: Attach clear string to notch
Tie clear string to notch and hang. These are so light they will hang by taping the string to the ceiling with scotch tape. You can also create a loop at the end of the string and hang these on a hook.
And your lovely fairy is done!
Please share your fairies and tag us on instagram at @chaivdesign. We love to see them!
