Friday, September 2

Mannequin Rehab!

A few weeks ago I scored some vintage mannequin torsos off of craigslist & finally had the guts to tear one apart & give it a new life! It was covered in a knit fabric that had lots of gross discolorations (mold?). I thought about just painting right over the fabric but my gut said to wait & look closer at the mannequin. I'm glad did because it was wicked easy to remove the fabric & to paint!


Here's what I did with my assistant, Ruby!





Mannequin Before



Removing the fabric





Slowly Removing the Fabric (I was nervous I would ruin it!)





Ruby Practicing Her Brushstrokes






SNACK TIME! What a great assistant to get us a refreshment before we started the next step--PAINTING!!!
(And yes we are potty training..."to be continued" is my motto with this toddler stage!)





I used 2 coats of gesso--goes on really thick & hides blemishes well!



Final Critique--Ruby checked our finished product to make sure we didn't miss a spot! She was very thorough and confirmed 1000x that we were painting "boobies". OMG! I tried so hard not to laugh each time she said it and to discuss what "breasts" are and why we should love ours! Gotta love 2 year olds.






And Viola! My new female mannequin torso...more to come soon!


Chelsea


PS Now I can use the old fabric to make a pattern for future mannequin slip covers--genius!
















1 comment:

Melinda Orr - BANDANA GIRL said...

Great idea...shared with a few friends that have been looking for mannequin torsos....love the pics of Ruby!