What do you do with a mannequin when you don't sew?

www.corsetlacedmannequins.co.uk

Yesterday while blogging, 

I ended up on this

site from the United Kingdom 

that sells beautiful mannequins 

that can be ordered with the standard tan fabric 

or with patterned fabrics added to them

depending on your purpose 

and where you plan

to display it.

Union Jackie :)

Isn't it funny how distracting

blogging can be?

Never know where you may end

up once you start clicking on things!

Hours later...... here I was.

They reminded me

of a mannequin I bought

last year for the shop.

She was an old and dirty

vintage gal and needed a little 

"makeover"

before she went to the shop.

Didn't want to strip her

of her original purpose,

so rather than ruining her 

fabric body I decided to

make a plastic wrap base

before transforming her.

Here is what she looked like:

Since our shop is called 

"Blue Cardinal"

I decided to use some old vintage

bird prints, the pages of an old

large coffee table book on birds,

and some wrapping paper that had 

hand-written script on it

to decoupage this old gal.

I cannot find all the pics

I took through the process,

but here is how she turned out.

My daughter named her "Robin" and this was Robin standing near the shop's entrance.

Here is a close-up of the "ruffled " collar I made for her adding an antique French ribbon and nest necklace.

The back of Miss Robin was kind of boring,

so I decided to cut the paper mache'

wrapping that I had made 

and then hole punch it

so I could thread a silk ribbon through it.

Here is how it turned out.

We liked her so much

after her transformation 

we decided she could just stand

as our little shop mascot.

So of course,

anything that you do not price

sparks questions from the management

on the price of the piece.

I priced her high so she

wouldn't sell, but one day she

must have "flown away"

 and went home with someone.

I guess Miss Robin ended up in someone's nest,

but she was a fun addition

to the shop while she was there!

:)