Dress Form Re-do

Here at rhubarb reign, we rarely meet a dress form that we don't like. However, the inspiration for this particular project was actually a nifty antique wire skirt hoop, which we bought from our pals, the Iowa Junk Gypsies, at a recent Kane County Flea Market. We thought it would make an excellent accessory for the next dress form that came our way.

Fortunately, a candidate presented itself that very afternoon, in the form of this English "Venus" form, looking a little like an android here, after we removed its plushy blue velour exterior.

To give the form a more "period" feel, we decoupaged its exterior, using turn-of-the-century ledger pages. First we shredded the pages, then affixed them to the form using Formula 77 spray adhesive.

To complete the transformation, we covered the form with several coats of Mod Podge, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. We also spray-painted the top-knot black before gluing it back into place.

Once the form was finished, we decided that we actually liked it better without the wire hoop, so we sold that separately. The finished mannequin was instead mounted on a vintage lamp base. She went happily to a new home at the recent Lake Forest show. Yeah! For more great re-dos, check out the other projects posted on Transformation Thursday. Just click the button on our sidebar! xo