Hello! I am thrilled to have been asked to be a guest designer on the Frilly & Funkie blog! The challenge for the next two weeks is “Author, Author” and challenges us to develop a vintage or shabby chic project that is inspired by a book. I am an avid (and fast) reader. As an English major I delve into books looking for the hidden meaning of things and the hints from the author that foreshadows the end of the story. And, I am still a bit old fashioned when it comes to my books – I want paper. There is something about being able to pick up a book and turn the pages and not have to worry if I plugged it in to recharge! I know that I am not alone! This challenge is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.
This blog post contains a number of photos – so please bear with me as I breakdown and explain the process. At the end, please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my project.
To introduce to you to this challenge I decided to pick one of the books that I read while we were on vacation – The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.
_2.jpg "Miniaturist - detail (1 of 2)")
As a caveat – I don’t want to spoil the plot so I’ve limited the summary of the book and briefly described the imagery that inspired the project. The book is set in 17th century Amsterdam and the season for the book is mid-October to mid-January. The story is seemingly controlled by a ghost of a character – the miniaturist. When the husband of the main character purchases her a doll’s house as a wedding gift, she engages the services of a miniaturist to create the pieces for the house. Each miniature piece that arrives has its own twist in the story of the family. The miniaturist seemingly forecasts the families’ futures – everything from wealth, love, forgiveness, and perseverance. The story of The Miniaturist holds many secrets.
My husband and I visited Amsterdam a couple of years ago and stayed at a hotel and wandered around in the very area discussed in the book so it had a specific effect on how I viewed the imagery in the book. The book involves a shipment of sugar that needs to be sold and hints of a sugar “shortage” in Amsterdam because the burgomasters control everything in the city; the ebbs and flows of the wealth of the families in the story; and the different tragedies that become them. And, for some of the families, a new beginning. The imagery in the book involving sugar and marzipan (the paler version of colors); the descriptions of the canals and life under the Dutch East India Company in “old” Amsterdam (the grey shades, the red for the color of the burgomaster coats, and the gold and copper to show wealth); the beauty of women and the various ways of how they love those near them (the dress form); the descriptions of the snow and cold of winter (the gray shades); and the layers of a family’s story and history unbeknownst to those outside of the family home (the layered paper) all inspired my project.
_4.jpg "Miniaturist - detail (2 of 2)")
When I started I wanted to find a way to miniaturize the project – I knew the colors I wanted to use would be grey with some neutral colors thrown in for good measure. I created the background with the papers and the black canvas and the stenciling and then was stuck on how to make the project pop. I had multiple ideas in my head but none of them were working. As I was looking for inspiration and ideas online, I came across a Live with Prima video tutorial by Robbie Herring on creating a dress form. It was a great way for me to miniaturize and personify the main theme – in particular the strength, perseverance, and beauty of women even in very trying times for a family. You can see the dress form video here. So, off to Target for a Barbie doll…
The first step of the project involved creating the background. I found various pieces of scrap papers in grey and a neutral color for contrast and cut them various sizes and picked out my background paper. I tore the edges of the background paper and used Matte Medium to glue it to a black canvas. Once it was dry, I used distress ink and inked the torn edges. I let it dry.
While it was drying I pieced together the grey and neutral pieces to create a layered look. After the main canvas was dry, I attached the papers adding some foam tape or cardboard to create dimension. I also added some stenciling and crackle paste. After everything was attached to the canvas and the crackle paint dried, I used a distress crayon on the canvas resist (you can scribble the crayon on the paper, add water, and draw with your fingers). In the end, though I didn’t like it and cut it out and covered over the area with a more richly colored washi tape. As I mentioned above, the canvas with the papers sat while I tried to figure out how to make the project further my design theme.
After my break and a visit to Target, the next part involved making the dress form. I wrapped Barbie in Press & Seal, grabbed some packing paper, and Matte Medium. As a hint, have a scraper, use your craft mat, and make sure you are wearing gloves. If you don’t wear gloves you will be peeling matte medium from your hands for days. Tear up pieces of the packing paper and cover them with Matte Medium and collage Barbie (several layers). Barbie will take several hours to dry. I let mine sit overnight.
Once Barbie is dry, cut through the collaged paper and the press and seal along Barbie’s backside. You will need a good set of sharp scissors and you will have to cut a “t” cut to get the collage off around the shoulders. You can also trim any rough edges and pull out the Press & Seal (be careful). Use washi tape to tape up Barbie’s backside so that you create the shell of the dress form. Collage over the taped areas, the arm holes, and the neck hole. Let Barbie dry. It will take less time for Barbie to dry this time but make sure you’ve collaged on several layers to make her backside strong.
Next, grab the wire form and Barbie. I completely forgot to take pictures of the wire forms and thought about it when my hands were soaked in sculpture medium so I apologize. I’ll do my best to describe what I did. The wire form is easy to cut with craft scissors but it’s like cutting the old wire screen material – count of getting a couple scrapes and stab wounds. Cut the wire form into manageable pieces and bend it to create the form of the dress and any other parts you want (i.e. a sash). Use Barbie as your fitting guide. After creating your “forms,” cover Barbie in Press & Seal again. Get some fabric or cotton gauze. Cut the pieces of the fabric a bit larger than your wire forms. Pour the sculpture medium in a plastic bowl and soak your fabric pieces in the sculpture medium. I purposely didn’t soak mine completely because I wanted the distressed look. Take the wet fabric and form it over your wire dress forms. Again use your craft mat and wear gloves – it can be a bit messy. On the “body” make sure you soak the gauze and the fabric that will create the bodice because you will put both on at the same time (i.e. wrap Barbie in the cloth and then while it is still wet wrap the bodice fabric on it). At the bottom of the dress bunch up the extra fabric (you should have some to create the effect of the dress on the ground. If you have too much fabric you should trim it. Make sure the sides wrap around the wire. Set them aside to dry.
When everything is dry (and it will take another several hours for the next layer to dry), you will need to cut the form off of Barbie. Do it the same way you did for the collage part, trim the wire edges that are showing, and pull out the Press and Seal. The form should fit the original collaged form or close to it. Glue the shift dress on to the collage form (I found that hot glue works the best). Then you will glue on the remaining pieces (here the sash and the bottom part of the dress).
Once you have your dress on your dress form you can start to paint the bodice and the dress and start embellishing. I decided to use distress stains (I took the top off and dipped the brush in directly). You get a type of whitewashed effect because of the resist qualities of the mediums. You can see the white-washed effect on the close-up picture of the bodice. If you want more complete coverage, you can use acrylic paints. I made two dress forms so that I had a practice version and on the practice version the acrylic paints work but give thicker coverage.
Once the dress is dry you can add metal foil (be patient – the glue will take longer to dry and, hence, longer for you to get a lift of foil).
If you want something on the bottom of the dress you can put tulle or other bunched fabric. I decided to add the tulle because of some of the imagery in the book (I wanted fur because one of the characters wore fur under her dress but I couldn’t find what I wanted and it didn’t look right). To put in the tulle I created small pieces, glued them in, and then trimmed them.
I used a variety of flowers for the dress. Some of which I dyed to the colors I wanted. The dyed flowers dried fairly quickly but I think the sunshine helped as I put them on a black piece of paper on the front step in the afternoon sun. You can also use a heat gun to dry them.
As the flowers were drying I worked on the art pebbles. I dabbed acrylic paint on the back of them – I found that brushing leaves too light of a coat of paint and streak marks.
Once the flowers were done I glued them to the project. I then used a fine tip applicator with PPA glue and lined the edges and other areas of the flowers. I then sprinkled on the microbeads to add some texture to the flowers. Make sure that you have a box, bowl, or something that you can tip your project over and get rid of the extra beads. The enclosed space will keep them from getting everywhere. As I tried to work in small batches, I was able use turn the project over on a paper towel and pour the extra beads back in the jar. The towel seems to have enough ridges in it to keep the micro beads contained. I repeated the same process with the word “love.”
Lastly and with a prayer to the crafting gods, I glued the dress form on to the canvas part of the project. Again, hot glue worked the best. Here is the finished version:
I hope my project has inspired you! Thank you again for following along with me and thank you again to the Frilly & Funkie team for inviting me to this challenge as the guest designer!
Loading links to posts on similar topics...
1 Response
#1 Autumn said...
07-Oct-16 11:53 AMWow! Thanks so much for the step by step explaining how you created this amazing dress. What an inventive project with such beautiful detail. Congrats again! Hugs, Autumn