and here she is...FTW

After I coated the wire bust with a coat of Modge Podge and tissue paper to form a base, I coated her with some acrylic modeling paste to make sure the wire wouldn't show through.
Partially decopaged.
All finished! After I finished decopaging her, I covered her with another layer of tissue to give her a smooth surface, then I antiqued her with an acrylic wash, to give her depth.

and here is Madge....for the win! All decopaged and shabby fab. I really should have taken a before photo. Well, at any rate, here are the transitional phase photos so you can see her transformation. To start she had an ugly wire cage bust. She was a cheap TJMaxx clearance item...and I spent way too much time making her pretty, but really....it was just bits and pieces of time here and there while I was waiting on other things. And I really think that the time paid off....What say you?

I may still add some ornamental elements on top to pretty her off, but I may not...who knows???? The cool thing is that her arm and neck sockets are open so I envision adding shabby arms and neck to her. Maybe an old paint encrusted paintbrush or ornamental something that I can hang more jewelry off of.

Let me know your thoughts! I'd love to hear comments and suggestions!

I've been working on this forlorn and f'ugly bust that I bought for a song at Ross or TJMaxx or one of those....She originally had a horrible wire cage bust. I've been working on updating her into shabby fab. It's been a process, fer reals.....No one else except for me would have spent this much time on a chintzy off price lady, but she is about to look spectacular as a display.

First, I covered her with a coat of Modge Podge and tissue paper to form a base. Then with a coat of modeling paste to cover the texture of the wire cage so it wouldn't show through, now I've been slowly collaging her....more to come.

Ta Da!

Alright, I know the suspense has been killing you. You want to see the craft show display, right?? Well, I'm afraid the build up was a lot bigger than the actual finale. As I prepared, I decided to use the K.I.S.S. method until I figured out what worked and what didn't in reality. And it looked pretty good! But next time, it will look even better. :) I'll be excited to see the transformation. I need to find a lot more fixtures and invest in another table or two. Since I sell such a variety of things, I really want it to have it's own boutique feel. Everything on one table just was sort of a jumble. I separated it into halves, so it wasn't too confusing. When I set up at home, I had it all arranged together, but it didn't feel right.

After all that, I almost forgot to take pictures, so parts look a little sparse, after some brisk sales. :)

the beginning....

Am very excited about what's coming up in the next couple weeks! I will be participating in a art and antique market on the Second Saturday in July. More details to come.... This entailed me going out this weekend and purchasing my first big white craft tent. Something I've been putting off for awhile. Since that big old tent required a generous expenditure of my meager funds, I thought it would be fun to construct all of my display fixtures from materials I already have....something that is totally feasible if I get off my rump and apply myself. So, this is the beginning of my display fixtures....a covering for the table.

I have a GIANT role of canvas that I think I've had since I graduated from SCAD. So, I decided I would paint a table covering that would resemble a very large, more subtle version of one of my paintings. This is the beginning of that and will look very different when its done, but I was enjoying it fluttering on the line, drying, and thought I would share a couple photos.....