Thursday, June 19, 2008

Antiquating for dummies...



Hi!!!
Eventually I couldn't resist her: at a price of 17,50 euro's (usd 26), this taylor dummy that has been altered by a lot of bloggers. Some used the coffee or tea stain method as described in Heather Bullards blog. Elizabeth has altered her Mme Claudette very clever with pieces of linen. I wanted to do something that would change the look of the dummy as if she wasn't made yesterday in the far east, but at least 60 years ago here in Western Europe.



I bought linen at the market (2,50 a meter) and cut it diagonally so I could stretch it and I pinned it on the doll. This isn't easy, it takes a lot of strength actually. Then I have sewn the linen on the doll. First the back, that went really well and afterwards the front;


And as you see I have made the white wooden parts very dark gray.



When I was done, I wanted to stamp something in the neck of the mannequin, but I was afraid that a stamp would ruin it all (not the stamp, but me stamping too hard, too soft etc.) So I took a stick-on alphabet and made these characters black (they were pink) and sticked them up Mademoiselle LiLi's lovely neck.
I wasn't totally happy, because no matter how hard I tried the front stayed a little wrinkly:

Which isn't that bad as I'm going to use her as an inspiration pinboard!
Here she is in my almost reorganized craft room. The dead line has been postponed to July 10th, so you have to be patient a little longer.

I'll end with a garden picture; the blooming Astrantia.
In Dutch 'Zeeuws knoopje' which means 'button from Zealand' in English.
And I happen to have such a button:


I have to say that the flower is maintenance free, the silver button should be polished once in a while...So I'm off...cleaning and polishing, as always hehehe!
Hugs LiLi M. (the living one!)

24 comments:

casa nostra said...

dat heb je weer mooi gemaakt zeg. je herkent haar echt niet meer. leuk idee ook om het als een 'prikbord' te gebruiken. de stof is ook erg mooi en dat voor maar 2,50. nu ben ik toch wel erg benieuwd naar je knutselkamer, maar moet nog wat langer geduld hebben lees ik. de mijne is nog een en al zooi, na de vakantie ga ik daar ook maar eens aan de slag.

Beth Leintz said...

Your dress form looks like a million dollars! Love how you antiquated and personalized her.

Anja said...

Am I running behind or are you going so fast? Tsjonge, wat een creativiteit weer. En het blogje met cadeaus van Wil had ik dus ook gemist. Erg leuk. De paspop ook. Knap gedaan! Verder all's well aan de andere kant van de rivier?

GrUtz!

vosgesparis said...

dat is nog eens iets anders dan zomaar in een hoekje zetten ;)

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

I have one that I have been meaning to redo, now you make me want to even more after seeing how yours turned out!

María Elena said...

Lili,I want a mannequin! Two years ago I found one at the fair, but its price went out of my budget, I have not found another yet. Congratulations for your mannequin!
Hugs.

Heather ~Pretty Petals said...

oh wow!!!! your dress form looks SO pretty, you did such a nice job of remaking her. :)))

xoxo Heather

Lori said...

LiLi, your mannequin turned out lovely!!! i like the idea of using her as an inspiration board too, very clever of you:) that plant is gorgeous, i have never seen that before, but it looks similar to some masterwort that i have...LOVE the pretty button!!!

cherished*vintage said...

Oh my gosh Lili, your mannequin is fabulous! I have the same one, but have yet to try to fix her up. I just need to go for it. What a clever inspiration board she is! You're so clever. Can't wait til July 10 now. :o)
-Karoline

Reflections from the Stone Nest said...

I think I left you comments, but they got lost in bloggerland, but either way, love the mannequin as an inspiration board! Great idea!

Kitty

Heleen said...

Whauw, you know just how to do this. the mannequin looks like she came from an expensive antiek shop!

rochambeau said...

Very nice LiLi M. Nice new "Judy" (this is what they call dress mannequins in design school).
Like how you added your name in the little black letters at the top!
Great price you got!
xox
Happy Saturday!
Constance

marga said...

Goh zeg......dat ziet er héél anders uit zo. Wat mooi. En een leuk idee ook om het als een prikbord te gebruiken....leuk.
Word nou wel heel benieuwd naar je knutselkamer.
Fijn weekend.

linnea-maria said...

You are so talent! Your dummy turned to a real antique, lovely. Its midnight now and the sun is not setting, its just going down below the treetops and then up again. In a couple of ours there will be morning sun again. Thats swedish midsummer. The craze is that you never get tired this time of year (on the contrary in winter). Have a lovely weekend /linnea-maria

Jeanette said...

wat een orgineel idee weer van je om een pop als prikbord te gebruiken, zou ik nou niet opgekomen zijn, je hebt haar erg leuk gepimt, en een mooie stempel gegeven, leuk weer eens bij je te kijken en te lezen, tot gauw!!

Anonymous said...

knap werk gedaan lidi. 't lijkt me niet makkelijk e.e.a. strak aan te meten en te naaien. maar ziet er heeeel goed uit en de paspop als prikbord te gebruiken is toch een bijzonder origineel idee.

have a great week!!

Poppedijne said...

What a good idea, Lidwien to use the dummy as a pinboard.Love the astrantia and "the zeeuws knoopje" is truly just like the flower.

Blue Cottage said...

Hoi hoi,
Tja das ook een idee, paspopprikbord (scrabble woord)
Ik heb 'm ik bedoel haar een paar maanden terug met thee behandeld, geeft ook een mooie look.
Gr Cobi

Fete et Fleur said...

I love the way you transformed her! I have a weakness for these dummies. They are so very wonderful. Your applied letters look marvelous!

Nancy

Cami said...

I think my front is a little wrinkly too!!! Wonderful work! Love the Lili M. @ the neckline. It's the piece de resistance!!!

I. said...

Super deze paspop! Echt een heel goed idee, Lidwien. Misschien moet ik er toch ook ééntje halen in de blok*er ;-)

LW said...

I love the dress form, it came out wonderful..You did a great job!

I have a doll size one, I may have
to try this ...

Louise

Anonymous said...

Love the dress form Lili! :)

Cathy said...

Lovely dress forms! I especially love the child sized one and you're right the shoes are adorable! Love your tutorial too on how to cover a form. Thanks! I'll be at the party too, so I hope you'll stop by and meet Betty.

Cathy :)