Covering and Naming My Mannequin

For far too long, I've had a naked mannequin torso. I picked her up at a jewelry mall. You may have seen glimpses of her with clothes on in some of my jewelry listings like this Rose Fringe Necklace.

And, she's popped up in reveals like for the latest issue of Creative Spark
She really does work well for showcasing my necklaces without the awkwardness of trying to take a selfie with my good but heavy camera. 

However, in all cases, I've had her clothed for good reason. Here's what she really looked like. 
Yes, she was a little obscene, but only in a naked-barbie-doll-way. That nakedness, and the shine on her plastic skin, made me keep a shirt on her for pictures and even while she just sat in the craft room. 

Oh, and here's her backside.
 I think that's where a pole of some kind would be inserted to make her stand up.

Ever since I bought her, I've wanted to cover her somehow to make her less obscene. Pat was the one who suggested book pages. I do love to cover most everything with them, like the displays in my booth at the antique store.
And, that would be a simple solution to her blatant nakedness. 

I used pages from an old dictionary (using only the same book so there was some consistency in the color of them) and gel medium.
Some of the pages were torn into smaller bits while others were used whole. I had to learn as I went to see what worked. Angles and curves were hard. However, I discovered that snipping the pages and wetting the tops of them (with the gel medium) made them conform to the mannequin better.

I let her dry for about 24 hours before handling her. Here's a picture I took with a necklace on her at this stage.
While this is much better, the glossy nature of that particular gel medium made her far too shiny for my tastes and photographs. I already knew I wanted to whitewash her anyway.

This was done by simply mixing white acrylic craft paint with a little water and painting all the paper covering her with the mixture. 
The white paint  took away both the shine and the distraction of the words being so prominent. 

Here's a look with another necklace.
Better, right?

Oh, and she does have a name - Amanda. Well, actually she's Amadaquin.
What do you think? Is she better this way or do I still need to clothe her?

7 comments:

  1. Hmmm...I like the paper look...I think it depends on what you are showcasing...

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    Replies
    1. Vera,
      Thanks. I'm all about the paper look, but I just wasn't sure if she still looked too naked, even with the paper. Thanks for letting me know what you think. I appreciate it! :)

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  2. Love the look, it's so Hope. Depending on the jewelry, you might try draping lace or complementary color fabric over, like a shawl instead of blouse or shirt. Barbara

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    Replies
    1. Barbara, Aw thanks! The fabric draping is a good idea. I'll definitely have to keep that in mind if it looks like the paper isn't working so well for me for particular pieces. Thank you!!

      Delete
  3. Brilliant Hope! Love it! This can be her everyday look and you can still dress her up for special occasions!
    Jenna

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  4. Now all I can think of is the movie mannequin with Cynthia from Sex in the City. Fun movie!

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  5. I have a mannequin that I mostly dress up. I've been thinking of decoupage with old book pages, too or somebody offered lace fabric but only after I read about your brilliant white wash idea I might try decoupage. I was afraid of the shine but this is going to solve the problem!

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