‘Tis the Season to Transform: Turn a Kitchen Grater into a Christmas Angel

Upcycle a Goodwill-found kitchen grater into a festive & fun angel to welcome in the holiday season.  This super simple & oh-so-fun DIY project is one to capture the hearts of children of all ages, so consider gathering your family and friends to create them together.  

Building upon the reuse-repurposed theme, use custom jewelry, scrap paper, and more to make these angels—and your DIY talents—take flight!

Here’s how:

Step 1: Find your good & your “grate” by shopping at Goodwill

As you prepare for the holiday season, plan an excursion to your nearby Goodwill store to pick up a kitchen grater or two.  You are very likely to find many wonderful items for all those on your shopping lists.  

However, for this project, check out the Kitchen Wares section to score a grater to transform. You are on the lookout for those who can stand on their own to serve as your angel’s body/robe.

Step 2: Begin with some wings

If possible, use scrap paper to trace, cut, and glue wings to the back side of your grater/angel body. Old cards, out-of-date calendars, discarded magazines, and more are perfect for this step. 

As you can see from my trio of angels, one set of wings was clipped from sheet music, another was from a calendar (using the month of December), and the third was made from a fancy bordered card. 

Use care as you hot glue them in place.

Step 3: Add a head/face

To give your grater the impression of being a body/robe, your angel will need a head and/or face secured to the top part and on the handle.  Plastic Christmas ornaments and jingle bells are a perfect option—if you have them on hand.  In my stash of supplies, I had a small glass paperweight with a flat bottom that was used for this purpose.   My paper collection had artsy faces that were cut away and glued in place, too.

What items do you have at your fingertips to use for this step? Anything round or circular will work well.

Step 4: Place on a halo

There are three things needed to transform your grater into an angel: wings, a head, and…yes, a halo!  An old bracelet, a single gold earring, and a key ring with some bling were repurposed as halos for this project.  Each was glued partially on the headpiece and partially on the grater’s handle.

Step 5: Add awesome accessories

Now is the fun part, as you get to truly personalize each angel. One angel was given a songbook repurposed from a playing card. Another got a pretty pink flower to hold, which was formerly a pierced earring. Their robes got dressed up with greeting card parts, a small piece of chain, and paper butterflies.

Step 6:  Display with delight

This trio of transformed angels will look lovely as a set on your mantel, table, or bookcase. Use one as your tree topper. Place them with other shimmery ornaments and gifts. You can easily personalize them as gifts, which will be lovingly displayed during holiday seasons for years to come!


Similar Reads:

avatar

Tim Kime

Artist, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach

Tim Kime is an artist, life coach, and connector. He is the President of Kime Leadership Associates, offering executive coaching, meeting facilitating, and motivational speaking. He is also the Chief Creative Force of Transformation Junkies which upcycles furniture and other household items into functional works of art. He combined his two passions—unleashing the potential in people and transforming items with the launch of the Art of Possibilities Workshops. These workshops are part upcycling, part dreaming, and part goal setting.