Recycled Plastic milk cartons are the basis of these white Christmas designs.
After completing my Angels scrollsaw projects, I made a variation to the designs by adding wings, halos and hymn sheet cut from the plastic. It gives a delicate and slightly transparent effect.
A heat gun is used to shape the cut out pieces, either by hand (with thick gloves!) or by bending the warmed plastic around a piece of dowel.
One of the biggest challenges of working with plastic milk cartons is that food grade 2 plastic is virtually impervious to gluing. After many experiments with different glues, a hot glue gun was the most successful, however, the slight transparency of the plastic means that any glue used can be seen.
With this in mind I created two designs that slot together, rather than glue.
1. An entire “heavenly host” of small angels for table decoration. The heads are cut from pine. These require just one dob of glue to join the head / body / wings.
2. A slice-form Christmas tree, no glue at all!
Both of these decorations ‘glow’ as they stand above flameless tea lights.
