white fireplace with black brick surround decorated for christmas with a 4 foot tall folded giant paper angel made of brown kraft paper. Along the bottom of the angel and fanning out on the sides of her dress are fifty paper snowflakes made from white paper and brown kraft paper. Hanging under the mantel are two white and blue christmas stockings. There's a brass ash bucket in front of the fireplace and a brass fire tool set on the right hand side in front of the fireplace.
holidays

Giant Paper Angel – Christmas Mantel Decor

December 15, 2025 /

I’ve watched creators making paper angel ornaments for a few years, and I wondered if the idea would scale. Could I make a giant paper angel using brown kraft paper?

Spoiler alert. I could, and I did.

Here she is in all of her glory. No word on if the heavens declare her amazing, but I do!

white fireplace with black brick surround decorated for christmas with a 4 foot tall folded giant paper angel made of brown kraft paper. Along the bottom of the angel and fanning out on the sides of her dress are fifty paper snowflakes made from white paper and brown kraft paper. Hanging under the mantel are two white and blue christmas stockings. There's a brass ash bucket in front of the fireplace and a brass fire tool set on the right hand side in front of the fireplace. There's a Christmas tree decorated in blue and green ornaments to the left of the fireplace. In front of the fireplace is a round blue coffee table with six mini Christmas trees sitting on it. Two of the tree are copper, one is white ceramic, one is blue flocked, two are made from green leather.

For reference, our mantel is 7 feet across. The angel is just shy of 4 feet tall.

As you can see, I couldn’t leave well enough alone with just the angel. Not me. My holiday fireplace decorating always escalates. (See here and here for evidence.)

The paper angel looked lonely up there. She needed something else. My first instinct was to add greenery in the form of a garland, but I didn’t have any, and making a fresh garland didn’t sound like fun at the time.

white fireplace with black brick surround decorated for christmas with a 4 foot tall folded giant paper angel made of brown kraft paper. Along the bottom of the angel and fanning out on the sides of her dress are fifty paper snowflakes made from white paper and brown kraft paper. Hanging under the mantel are two white and blue christmas stockings.

Instead, I added paper snowflakes just to the giant paper angel’s dress.

That was cute, but the decorating forecast called for a blizzard, not flurries.

I had already gone big with the giant paper angel; there was no need to exercise restraint.

Armed with a tape dispenser and a Christmas music playlist, I fanned more paper snowflakes out in a layered manner across the overmantel.

(The overmantel is the architectural term for the wall above the horizontal mantel.)

paper snowflakes of varying sizes made from white computer paper and brown kraft paper taped to an overmantel, the spot above a fireplace mantel, to decorate a giant paper angel.

I’ll be delighted if you think I’m completely extra, but just know that I made the paper snowflakes a couple of years ago to decorate a holiday fireplace. (This one.)

The giant paper angel craft was a whim.

Making fifty paper snowflakes was not. I have my limits. Ha!

Thank heavens I saved the snowflakes. They turned out to be a godsend.

white fireplace with black brick surround decorated for christmas with a 4 foot tall folded giant paper angel made of brown kraft paper. Along the bottom of the angel and fanning out on the sides of her dress are fifty paper snowflakes made from white paper and brown kraft paper. Hanging under the mantel are two white and blue christmas stockings. There's a brass ash bucket in front of the fireplace and a brass fire tool set on the right hand side in front of the fireplace. There's a Christmas tree decorated in blue and green ornaments to the left of the fireplace. In front of the fireplace is a round blue coffee table with six mini Christmas trees sitting on it. Two of the tree are copper, one is white ceramic, one is blue flocked, two are made from green leather.

If you want to make a giant paper angel, you’re in luck. Here are the directions:

How To Make a Giant Paper Angel:

Supplies Needed:

48″ brown kraft paper roll (36″ roll could work, depending on how wide you want the skirt to fan)
scissors
hot glue and hot glue gun
twine
optional: stapler, paperclips, thin cardboard
optional: something to make a halo, such as gold pipe cleaners

Step 1: Cut Your Paper

Determine how large you want your paper angel to be. I had 48 inches of vertical space above my mantel, so my angel’s total height (body and head) could not be taller than that. My roll of kraft paper was 48 inches wide, and I cut my sheet of paper 48 inches long.

You’ll need two sheets of the same-sized paper plus extra paper to make the head.

Step 2: Fold the Paper Accordion Style to Make the Angel’s Body

Fold the paper accordion-style so that it resembles a paper fan. A large sheet of kraft paper is a bit unwieldy, so I found it most helpful to start by folding the paper in half. Then fold each side in half, and continue that pattern until the accordion folds are your desired width.

(If you’d like a video tutorial, this one was helpful.)

Step 3: Fold the Arm

Once you have one of your paper sheets folded accordion style, find the one-third point on your folded paper. Fold the entire thing over at that mark to create the arm. You’re basically making your folded paper look like the number seven.

Step 4: Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the Second Side of the Angel

You’ve made one side of the angel, now you get to do it again for the other side. Keep in mind that the angel’s arm will need to fold the opposite way of the first arm you folded, so that she has a left and right side.

Step 5: Secure the Two Sides Together and Create a Hanging Loop

Either hot glue or staple the two sides of your angel together. You can reinforce it with a strategically placed paperclip or two, as well. Leave room (meaning don’t fully secure it yet) at the top for a hanging loop. Tie a length of twine together to make a loop. Then, hot glue your loop in between the two halves of the angel. Make sure to position the loop in between the halves as close to the back or wall side of the angel as possible. (See photo below for reference.)

Now, you have a way to hang the body of the angel on a wall hook.

how to make a giant paper angel out of kraft paper. image shows a hanging loop made from twine hot glued in between two halve of the folded paper angel

Step 7: Fold a Pleated Paper Angel Head.

Cut 3 or 4 squares of brown kraft paper. My dimensions were 13 inches x 13 inches to be proportionate with the body of my giant paper angel. Your dimensions will be custom to your project.

Fold each square of paper accordion style as you did for the body of the angel. Fold each completed folded square in half, so that it looks like a compact paper fan. Hot glue each of these “fans” together until they form a circle.

Hot glue a hanging loop made from string or twine on the back of the pleated circle.

Step 8: (Optional) Secure the Angel Body So It Stays Fanned Out

Kraft paper is lightweight, so the paper folds tend to collapse on themselves when the angel, at least one this large, is hung vertically. There are at least two ways you can keep the dress of the angel “fanned out” or expanded. If you come up with a third way, let me know!

First, cut strips of thin cardboard from a cereal box and hot glue them to the pleats on the back of the angel. You’ll need to carefully position the angel exactly how you want it, and not bump it out of position while applying the glue. It’s doable, but a little maddening.

how to make a giant paper angel and keep the pleated skirt of the angel's dress fanned out by hot glueing thin strips of cardboard to the back of the dress

Second, try cutting small cardboard rectangles or squares, folding them in half, and then positioning one near the top in each of the pleats you want to hold open.

This works best on the angel’s arms.

how to make giant paper angel and keep the arms and dress of the folded pleats fanned out by inserting folded over pieces of cardboard in the pleats

Step 9: Hang the Angel On the Wall

Use the hanging loops on the angel’s body and head to secure each piece on a hook on the wall. Mine are hanging from the same hook.

If you’re hanging the giant paper angel above a fireplace, you can add any other embellishments you want to decorate the space. I added paper snowflakes, but a collection of small Christmas trees, garland, flameless candles, etc., would also look lovely.

If you want to add a halo, now is the time to attach it.

Step 10: Celebrate Your Handiwork

Time to take a bow! You made a giant paper angel. I’ll bet it looks heavenly!

white fireplace with black brick surround decorated for christmas with a 4 foot tall folded giant paper angel made of brown kraft paper. Along the bottom of the angel and fanning out on the sides of her dress are fifty paper snowflakes made from white paper and brown kraft paper. Hanging under the mantel are two white and blue christmas stockings. There's a brass ash bucket in front of the fireplace and a brass fire tool set on the right hand side in front of the fireplace. There's a Christmas tree decorated in blue and green ornaments to the left of the fireplace. In front of the fireplace is a round blue coffee table with six mini Christmas trees sitting on it. Two of the tree are copper, one is white ceramic, one is blue flocked, two are made from green leather.

What do you think of the giant paper angel? Do you have any other ideas on what I can make with my giant roll of brown kraft paper?

Let me know! You can comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook.

Happy Christmas!

P.S. I know many of you thought my angel needed a halo. I’m neutral on that topic. I did try to craft one, but I didn’t land on any designs that looked quite right. Maybe next time.

Living Room Sources:

Rug (Chris Loves Julia x Loloi)

Sofa (similar)

Everything else is thrifted, handmade, or really old. Unhelpful, I know.

As always, thank you for spending a small portion of your day here with me. If you’d like another blog post to read before you go, try one of these.

The Details On My Coffee Table (It’s a Mash Up!)

Why I Kept the Ruby Glass Chandelier

All About My 2025 Christmas Tree

 

*affiliate links in this blog post*

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