A Queen in coffee sack burlap

Have you ever wanted one of those AWESOME vintage dress forms...on the cool wheeled base...with the fabulous metal cage at the bottom??

One of these:

Well, me too!

So I was so excited when a relative said she had one for me

...I mean REALLY? FOR MOI?? Gosh....THANKS!!

HUH??

"OH, one of these dress forms...sure, I guess I'll still take her.

Yea, she's a little wobbly...I'm sure I can do something with her

.... I hope you don't mind if I change her up a bit."

sniff...sniff

And that is where this Cinderella story begins.

First, the purple fabric HAD. TO. GO.

...and a wheeled base had to be found. This green one had been the base of a very old, very space-aged looking hairdryer.

For the "cage"...what else, but a birdcage! This one was tall and cylindrical, I cut the top and bottom off with wire cutters...just a little muscle to bend it into an oval and it fit right onto her hips!

 

I removed each piece of the thick cardboard...

covered them individually in coffee sack burlap with hot glue... (Yes, I was reminded SEVERAL times why they call it HOT glue!! )

Then I re-attached each piece. It was very time consuming

but I felt there was a true beauty in there, just waiting to be discovered.

I painted that green wheeled base in oil rubbed bronze, slid on the birdcage and cinched it all together with a black ribbon.

Here is a view of her finished back.

To give her a little va-va-voom...I added a few quirky details like mini water faucet handles to accentuate the...um... positive :) ...and an old drawer pull hung at her hips.

This gal was going to be beautiful and useful!

Scarves can be displayed around her neck...

necklaces dangling from her...um...water faucets

...belts at her waist

and sunglasses from the drawer pulls on her hips!

I topped her off with an old door knob.

and, just for fun, I gave her a crown.

 

This gal was becoming pretty saucy...so I added a canvas patch that said "Queen of Tarte".

If only because it made me laugh.

I think she transformed herself quite regally, how about you??

 

** To the couple who purchased the Queen at last years JUNKFEST, I found the crown in my car after the show...she must have lost it in transit...if you want the crown, please email me and I can send it to you or I can hold it for you at the show in September.

I hope you are making good use out of her!!

Now you can see where she started from.

This post linked to:

 

Long Live the Queen!

I've mentioned our friend Gretchen on this blog in the past, and today I wanted to show you one of her recent works of art. Gretchen designs jewelry out of vintage costume jewelry and found items. Recently, she has come up with some very creative, clever, and funky rings. The necklace shown below features a pocket watch medallion with the word "Queen" in it as the focal point. Check out the vintage dice, wooden checker, and sweet little bird...."surprise" elements!

There are many others out there crafting jewelry out of buttons and other found objects, but none quite like the work of Gretchen's, a.k.a. Mimi Toria's Designs. She and Lani from Cottage Elements are embarking on a wonderful adventure, all beginning tomorrow with the opening debut of the French Flea occasional marketplace in Anoka, MN. If you are anywhere in the vicinity, you really must check this out! Gretchen and Lani will be joining several other equally talented women to offer their French-themed vintage items, architectural salvage, and home decor at twice-monthly sales. Visit either blog to get shop info. and future sale dates. You won't be disappointed!

Here's a shot of my great new necklace, shown on Marguerite Joni....that's right, she now has a name. How'd I come up with that? Even though I loved all the suggestions you all gave, I decided on this because Marguerite is the name of my Dad's cousin...it has such a worldly sound to it, don't you think? And Joni? Well, that's easy.....that's my sister's name and she told me to name her that!