Thursday, April 27, 2017
Thrift Store Hutch Makeover
I love the thrift store for two reasons. First of all, and I'll come right out and say it, I'm cheap. Second, I hate to see things get thrown away that just need a little TLC to make them awesome again.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Mannequin Head For Crochet Hats
I've been making crochet hats for about 4 years now. I've mostly done children's hats, which I photograph using a painted styrofoam ball. Lately I've been doing more adult sizes. I didn't really have a good way to photograph them, aside from a live model. I finally decided to get a mannequin head!
I got mine from Michael's. It cost $5.99 but with a coupon, came out to be about $3.60. Not too bad and great pricing if you want more than one for a craft fair display. I've seen people take photos with foam heads where they just left them plain white, just how they bought them. I wanted mine to look different than everyone else's plus this foam can easily be damaged. I don't have a designated craft room so my supplies live in rubbermaid bins. Besides regular wear and tear, I have three kids here, who can't resist playing with a head! I was afraid all the moving around would nick and dent my head. I decided to cover my it in fabric. Besides looking nice, the fabric gives the head some texture so the hats don't slip around.
I didn't take pictures of the process, but it's fairly self explanatory. I cut fabric into strips about 1-1½ inches wide and long enough to go from crown of head to the bottom of the base. I put some Mod Podge into a disposable container and added a little water to thin it out. I dunked a strip of fabric into the Mod Podge, squeezed out excess and then stuck it on the head. To get around the nose, I cut a smaller strip the sized of the nose. Place it over the nose and cut slits in the sides to form fabric around nostril area. Each strip of fabric overlaps the one before. As I was working with the fabric, it did begin to fray a little. Just keep scissors handy to trim the threads.
This did take longer than I expected to dry. There are a couple areas where the fabric "bubbled up" as the glue dried. If I made this again, I think I might try using cheese cloth or a thinner cotton fabric.
I got mine from Michael's. It cost $5.99 but with a coupon, came out to be about $3.60. Not too bad and great pricing if you want more than one for a craft fair display. I've seen people take photos with foam heads where they just left them plain white, just how they bought them. I wanted mine to look different than everyone else's plus this foam can easily be damaged. I don't have a designated craft room so my supplies live in rubbermaid bins. Besides regular wear and tear, I have three kids here, who can't resist playing with a head! I was afraid all the moving around would nick and dent my head. I decided to cover my it in fabric. Besides looking nice, the fabric gives the head some texture so the hats don't slip around.
I didn't take pictures of the process, but it's fairly self explanatory. I cut fabric into strips about 1-1½ inches wide and long enough to go from crown of head to the bottom of the base. I put some Mod Podge into a disposable container and added a little water to thin it out. I dunked a strip of fabric into the Mod Podge, squeezed out excess and then stuck it on the head. To get around the nose, I cut a smaller strip the sized of the nose. Place it over the nose and cut slits in the sides to form fabric around nostril area. Each strip of fabric overlaps the one before. As I was working with the fabric, it did begin to fray a little. Just keep scissors handy to trim the threads.
This did take longer than I expected to dry. There are a couple areas where the fabric "bubbled up" as the glue dried. If I made this again, I think I might try using cheese cloth or a thinner cotton fabric.
I will be sharing with these great blogs!
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