...And we're back!! As suspected I was able to get a TON of stuff done over the long 4th of July weekend! You could say I kicked my to-do list's ass...that's what I would say! I think I even have a few posts up my sleeve for upcoming weeks...which is a very good feeling!
But let's talk about today's project! I have been in need of a better way to display scarves and cowls in the craft fair booth. Dressmaker's mannequins are expensive and unruly to travel with. Same for store mannequins if you can find them, and many of them offer another downside of having nipples awkwardly sculpted on them...why do mannequins need nipples?? I have a plastic torso that can hang, but hanging sometimes isn't an option...and it is plagued with the nipple problem. I have to put two shirts on it just so it isn't scandalous to children and elderly ladies!
But let's talk about today's project! I have been in need of a better way to display scarves and cowls in the craft fair booth. Dressmaker's mannequins are expensive and unruly to travel with. Same for store mannequins if you can find them, and many of them offer another downside of having nipples awkwardly sculpted on them...why do mannequins need nipples?? I have a plastic torso that can hang, but hanging sometimes isn't an option...and it is plagued with the nipple problem. I have to put two shirts on it just so it isn't scandalous to children and elderly ladies!
|
My friend and fellow crochet enthusiast, Kendra, suggested to me the option she has been employing: she and her fella made the torso you see to the right (and a few others)! This is a thin plywood structure with an easel back. She has covered it with aged sheet music and it looks really great in her booth, the style goes perfectly with her aesthetic! Don't judge her by this photo, it was a quick phone shot to send me as a suggestion!
|
|
|
Of course my aesthetic is a bit different, so I needed a different look! Additionally, the workshop at my house doesn't currently have many options for cutting at a curve. The photo to the left is the design I came up with and my husband cut out for me! I was going for the pointy, angular, stylized look of 80s mannequins...I think it got pretty close to the vision in my head!
|
|
Here is an action shot! I tried to make it tall enough that fringe would be displayed properly and as close to the size of an actual human torso (albeit a very skinny one) as possible. I was also trying to keep it within an area that could fit on a 2'x2' square because that was the size of the plywood squares I found at Lowes. You might also be wondering "what the heck is this new awesome cowl!?" This is my new "Bandana Fringe Cowl" and you're going to be hearing more about her I promise!!
|
|
I did a lot of back and forth about how the finish should look. I decided straight away that decoupage was out for me. Too many steps mean I just won't do it! I finally decided I wanted them to be a white so shiny that it would look lacquered or still wet. I bought the most high gloss paint I could find at Lowes, primed these bad boys, and then...when I opened the can...it was black. I very much needed these to be white. I was soooooo mad at myself for not looking more closely! I could have gone back, tried to find the paint in white, all that jazz...but ultimately, I was in a hurry to get these done! I had 2 cans of gloss white spray paint on my shelf, so that's what I went with! They are not quite the "holy wow" shiny I was looking for, but they are still pretty glossy so I'm ok with the outcome.
All lined up they look a bit like creepy weird crosses don't they? I glued cheap hinges to the back to connect the easel stands with E6000 and wah-lah! Because these hinges didn't have any sort of a stop on them to keep them from just opening all the way up and making the whole thing fall down I attached a little ribbon to the bottom to keep them from going to far. I just used hot glue on that...less toxic, faster drying! Even without the ribbon they seemed to stay up on their own pretty well and passed my very scientific stability tests (shaking a table and pulling at cowls while they were on them)!
I am so excited to get to road testing these guys! I hope to have some cowls ready to photograph on them soon!
RSS Feed