![[Laser cut and engrave] Angel Tree Topper / Decoration](https://storage-us.atomm.com/resource/xtool/community/attachment/xtool-community/61500bf8-8b47-4565-8c05-56193b5439d5.png?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_1200,h_900,limit_0/interlace,1/format,webp/auto-orient,1)
Angel Tree Topper / Decoration
Information
Some memories from childhood stay with us, glowing softly like lights on a tree. For me, it was the holiday traditions my family held dear—especially at Christmas. Every year, the final touch to our tree was a beautiful angel placed at the very top, her elegance and grace watching over us. She wasn’t just decoration; she was legacy. Passed down from my great-grandmother to my grandfather, then to my mother, and now my brother, who continues the tradition faithfully.
I always wanted an angel of my own, one that captured the magic and nostalgia of those early years. But nothing ever felt quite right. So for many seasons, I settled for the classic star.
Then, just a few weeks ago, a friend asked if I could make a tree-top angel using my laser machine. I hesitated, then thought—why not? Maybe I could create something that felt like home.
And I did.
Using AIMake, I started with a simple geometric design. After refining the details and playing with the descriptions, I landed on an angel that stirred something deep—a quiet echo of the one from my childhood.
Now, I share the plans to make her with you. May she bring a touch of wonder to your tree, just as I am sure she will do for mine this year.
Included with this project:
XCS Studio Plans
SVG Plans
Full Instructions
Instruction
Step1: Berfore you begin
I started this project on a recommendation from a friend and as I made it, I recalled so much about my childhood. It became a passion project and I finished it just this evening. To tell you how I did this would be a monumental undertaking as it was a lot of steps but I will give you the bare bones.
As you can see by the photos attached to this step, I used AIMake to create the basic angel in geometric form. Then I adjusted it with addtional instructions until finally I had an angel I felt good about. I took this into Studio and edited it to remove the background and any lines or parts I did not want. The the real work began. I disected it to make it a layered piece. I could have done about 10 layers in total but I settled on 6 and was still able to capture what I wanted. After the layers were done, I went in and, using the shapes included with Studio, I adjusted and manipulated them until I had the eyes, nose, mouth and feather veins in place.
Now to create the “skirt” of the angel, I had to do something I had never done before and that was create a circle base with evenly spaced slots for the skirt pieces to fit into and then a disc that would hold them together at the top. After a lot of playing around with the circular array function and figuring out measurements, I ended up creating exactly what I wanted. To create the skirt pieces, I added in one of the angled shapes and through node manipulation, adjusted it to get the shape I wanted and then made copies of it.
I decided to use glow in the dark acrylic as I had a few pieces and thought it would look great - which it did - but I had originally planned to do this with regular transparent acrylic or translucent white acrylic. I imagine this could also be done with wood and so, theoretically, this could be done on any machine that can cut out these pieces. However, if doing acrylic, you will need a CO2 machine like the P2, P2S or the new P3.
Keep in mind that I did not use any liquid adhesive as the tabs fit extremely snug. However, if you desire or if they do not fit as snug for you either through using a different material and/or a different machine, you could use your adhesive of choice to keep things together. I did use Dualtite Double sided adhesive to put the angel body together. More on that in step 4.
The plans have 5 different colors. Black is engrave, Red and Orange are Cut lines, Green and purple are informative items and set to ignore. The settings provided in these instructions are for the glow in the dark acrylic I used on the P2. Should you use a different machine/material, you will need to use your own tested settings.
Step2: Prep and Cut your pieces
If doing this as I did, you will use 3 to 4 sheets of acrylic 12x12. One of the sheets will have Dualtite on it. Cut your material using the settings provided or your own settings. Keep in mind that I had different cut settings for the sheet with Dualtite as it needed the slightly slower speed to cut through. Even after cutting, I still had a few pieces that I had to snap out. I wanted it this way to make sure that the cuts were as smooth as possible.
When done, you will have a total of 24 pieces.
A round base with 16 slots
A smaller round disc with 16 cutouts on the edge and a rectangular cutout in the center.
16 skirt pieces
6 angel body pieces - 2 will have tabs on the bottom.
Step3: Optional, Paint Fill the Face and Halo
This step is optional but it does help to draw out a few features. I wanted the Halo and the face to show and being that I was engraving on a slightly translucent white material, the engrave was not showing very well so I paint filled the face with black acrylic and the halo lines with gold acrylic. I used a silicone brush and a small dab of each paint and after applying, I let it sit for about 15 - 20 minutes then wiped it cleaned with a wet cloth. If paint gets in the crevices like around the halo, be sure to remove it with a thin wet wipe to maintain appearance.
Step4: Assemble the Angel Body
This is a pretty easy step as it is just layering each part of the angel, from largest to smallest after removing the adhesive paper. (The back, or largest part of the angel, will not have adhesive paper on it). For the first 4 pieces, you are wanting to ensure that the bottom lines up evenly. The tabs of the back piece and the 3rd piece should line up as well.
When assembling the head parts (the last two pieces) be sure the face piece goes on first and the hair piece on top of that.
Finally, place the angel body in the disc with the notches cut out of the edges. The tabs should fit snug into the center rectangle. The important part here is that you note the front edge of the back part of the angle aligns with the edge of a notch on either side. (See the last photo in this step). If it does not, remove the angel from the disc and flip it around and it should line up.
Step5: Assemble the Skirt
This is the most difficult part of the assembly.
I recommend putting a skirt piece into every other tab hold around the base. The tabs should fit snug. Next, take the disc with the angel (having the angel on it makes this much easier) and line it up with a skirt piece and then ease in the pieces all the way around into the tab cutouts of the disc.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT PUSH THE DISC ALL THE WAY DOWN. Just rest each skirt piece into the tab cutouts. If you push it all the way down, then, when adding the last skirt pieces, it will make it impossible to put together fully.
After you get the center disc connected to the 9 skirt pieces you have, go back around and add in the other skirt pieces so that all are in place. Once you have all the pieces in place and lined up, with each skirt piece fully inserted at the bottom, press down on the disc while squeezing in on the skirt pieces around the edge.
With this step complete, you are done with your angel. Should you need to add adhesive, now is the time to do it.
Step6: Final thoughts
I absolutely loved how this turned out and was so pleased. I went through a good bit of material figuring things out but with the final result being as it did, I was not upset at the material loss. I hope you like this as much as I do and look forward to seeing your own angel in the comments.
Let me know what you think. And should you like this project and want to check out my other projects, you can by following the link below. I have a few premium plans but most of what I offer is free to download and use.
https://www.atomm.com/profile/15190?utm_source=Social_Share
Happy Crafting!
