DIY mannequin - from a tee shirt!

i'll admit it, i've fallen prey to the 'vintage mannequin' craze.

over the years i have admired them from afar, 
but never had the chance to get my hands on one of the 'real' ones.
oh, sure, i had a chicken-wire one picked up for a song after a gift show,
and i rehabbed a really old cardboard bust form found at a yard sale.

My friend Todd recently shared this image on facebook:

SOURCE: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/132011832801322296/

When I saw it, I thought "I really want to make that.
But I don't have a dress form / mannequin anymore.
And it's Christmassy... It's too late for that."

THEN my Muse arrived....

and reminded me that I have a WHITE faux Christmas tree

that would look FAB.U.LOUS all through the winter months as the skirt for a mannequin.

I just needed a mannequin.
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They say 'necessity is the mother of invention',
so I came up with one of my trademark 'Fast, Cheap & Easy' solutions:

I made a mannequin form from an old tee shirt!

It was a simple matter of cutting and stitching a few seams...
here's a quick tutorial for making your own:

[solid lines show original tee shirt outline; dotted lines are approximately where to cut for form]

once mine was done, i popped it onto the top of my small white Christmas tree!

 SAFETY TIP: if you do this, remove all lights from the area under the tee shirt form.

I removed the lights on the top branches and then bent the branches downward,

so I could easily slip the tee shirt on and stuff it with polyfil stuffing.
[ and yes, I gave her some lovely lady lumps! ]

Then I created her 'skirt' by adding my vintage metal & glitter tree branches to the tree,

and wrapping a fringe-y scarf around the very bottom of the tee shirt.

You don't have to use a tree as the base, you know...
What about a lampshade? Or a wire tomato cage? [one of my fave multi-use props]

 Up on top, I wrapped a cheap white garland around her as a scarf,

finishing it off with a vintage ribbon and rhinestone pin accent.
My own Original Ice Queen Crown encircles her neck.

I chose a tan tee shirt for the 'vintage' look, but black would look swanky! 

Shared Online:

One Project Closer | Creativity Unleashed

The Vintage Farmhouse | Creative Things Thursday