Priscilla in French Blue - A Dress Form Doll Story

French blue, otherwise known as periwinkle is one of my favorite colors! I've just finished my latest dress form doll using, what else, shades of pretty french blue papers and ribbon.

pretty "Priscilla"

I think I must have lived a past life during some romantic time. I love the frilly, full skirts of ages past.

pleated paper and ribbon

It's not considered very practical to wear something like this unless you happen to be on stage or going to a costume ball.

piles of pleats and ruffles

Thank heaven for art because I can create these to my heart's content! Looking at them is sometimes better than having the real thing don't you think?

a view from the back

I don't have to spend a fortune to have a pretty dream wardrobe plus I can appreciate it more on a body that isn't my own.

pretty paper roses, my signature design

This luscious doll is up for sale in the Kell Belle Boutique on Etsy. Visit me there for more details about this piece. Hope you like this as much as I do.

Mini Vintage Dress Form Dolls in Progress

These mini vintage dress form dolls are so much fun for me to make that it occurred to me that others may wish to decorate their own dress form dolls.

That said, I have decided to offer some plain dress forms for you to embellish. Look for these to hit the shelves of the Kell Belle Studio boutique very soon.

Shabby Chic Vintage Dress Form Flapper

Ta da! My first shabby chic vintage dress form doll is finally finished. What better day to show her off than the official launch date of the Paper Wardrobe Project.

Shabby Chic Vintage Dress Form

The dress form is made entirely of paper using both paper machè and decoupage techniques.

Shabby Chic Vintage Dress Form

Wire was inserted through the length to create the stand which was then painted and shaved in places for a distressed look.

Shabby Chic Vintage Dress Form

Her drop waist dress is a double layer of gathered tissue paper with some loosely twisted silk ribbon tied with a big loopy bow and embellished with a spray of paper roses.

Shabby Chic Vintage Dress Form

Vintage lace and paper roses adorn the neck with just a little bit of gathered tulle added at the shoulders to give a hint of sleeve.

Shabby Chic Vintage Dress Form

The base of the stand is embellished with a hand made arrangement of paper roses. I love this doll and already have plans for the next one.

Paper Couture IX: Vintage Dress Form Tags

When I came across these vintage dress form tags I thought they were so so pretty that I wanted to share them as inspiration.

The tags were made for a Marie Antoinette mail swap by Debi of life in my studio. What I love most about these tags is that the ribbon doubles as both neck adornment and tag hanger. Don't you just love it?!

Some vintage findings, a little imagination and you've got a truly elegant project that goes together easily. Debi, your tags are beautiful and oh so charming.

Note: Images associated with this post remain the copyrighted intellectual property of Debi and life in my studio.

Vintage Dress Form Digital Collage

There is something so emotionally irresistible to me about vintage dress forms in just about any medium and certainly digital collage is no exception. Inspired by the work of others I decided to step away from painting for a moment and try my hand at my own digital creation.

Vintage Dress Form Digital Collage on Etsy

Using the black and white image of the dress form pictured below, some bits of clip art, vintage ephemera, a few of my own original designs and a little imagination I was able to create this beautiful collage pictured above. This beauty can be found in the Kell Belle Boutique.

Vintage Dress Form 

Are you inspired? Feel free to grab a copy of this dress form by clicking and saving the image on your desktop.