Mannequin Decoupage Makeover

I have wanted a mannequin for what seems like forever. For years I have asked the proverbial garage sale holder if they have a mannequin and it always seemed the response was "We just sold one". Ugh! I quit asking. I figured if I was suppose to have one I would eventually.

On a visit from out of state a friend of mine brought me one she had. I was so surprised. It was the shell type with hanger. Hey, beggars can't be choosers! I took her and loved her..

A few years later I got the idea of giving her a more "full" body. Not knowing if it would work or not I gave a try. I gathered all the supplies I thought I would need........several bags of stuffing (picked up at yard sales for a song), and old blanket, masking tape and duct tape. Duct tape can fix anything right?

I needed to fill in the back of her empty shell. I grabbed the old blanket and worked it in to position. It required a lot of folding and refolding but I managed to give her back a more womanly shape. One of her thighs were cracked so I reinforced it with tape and continued to fill in the depression. Stuffing was added to both of her thighs and anywhere where more filling was needed. I used some masking tape to hold it all in place.

Once her shell was filled and held in place with tape, I covered her entire back with duct tape. I then covered over the duct tape with masking tape. I trimmed any ends of the tape that proceeded to far over her "side seem".

I know you're probably asking why cover the duct tape with masking tape. Well, I had planned to decoupage the entire mannequin and figured the decoupage medium would apply and stick better to the masking tape than the duct tape.

Now came the fun part. I had an old sewing pattern that I had in my stash and thought it would be the perfect camouflage for her "skin". I tore the sheer paper pattern up into small and medium pieces. Using the decoupage method I proceeded to completely cover her, front and back. Once I was done I applied several more coats of decoupage medium to be sure all was sealed securely.

I L♥VE the way she turned out! I now have a gorgeous one of a kind mannequin, thanks to my good friend. I can use her to display jewelry or clothing or both. I ended up finishing her off with a gorgeous rhinestone brooch that belonged to my Grandmother. It was the perfect finishing touch which I added to the center of her throat. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of it on her.

You could decoupage fabric, sheet music, wrapping paper, any papers really, the sky is the limit.