Frivolous Fun!

Some of you may know that I collect hats from the 1940's and 50's and I like to display them on vintage hat stands. I have several boudoir stands with Flapper girl dolls heads attached to them. These seem to have rocketed in price recently and are now beyond my budget to buy. They mostly date from around the 1920's and 30's and were often made in Germany or France; it is becoming increasingly difficult to find them in good condition due to their age.

As it seems I will no longer be able to add original ones to my collection, I decided to create my own. At a car boot sale I found a 1930's wooden candlestick and a lovely Japanese doll that was about the right scale. I painted the candlestick a lovely aqua green and removed the dolls head from her body (!) and began the process...

Although she had a lovely face, I wanted her to fit in with my original girls and so I decided to repaint her features and add a little more pink to her cheeks.

I used acrylic paints, which seemed to work well on her fabric covered face.

She needed a hat, so I cut a strip of genuine deco fabric and joined the side seams to make a tube. I ran a gathering stitch around the top and pulled it up tight to create the hat shape. I had been saving the short length of hand worked tapestry ribbon for something special; it would make a pretty brim for the hat and would resemble a classic flapper cloche hat.

These scruffy little flowers from the 1930's made perfect accents on the stand. I used a glue gun to assemble the piece adding a marabou feather boa around her neck.

Here she is completed - she has cost me a lot less to make, than to buy an original, so I'm pleased!

And here she is with some of her flapper girl friends!