What is it Wednesday

I'm toying with the idea of making "What is it Wednesday" a regular feature. For now, I'll ask you, my readers to tell me what you think is the subject of this photograph.

what is it?

I promise to tell you all about this tomorrow. Please leave your guess in the comment section and if I get a correct answer, I'll send you an ACEO card of a favorite painting. Happy guessing!

Madame Butterfly Vintage Dress Form Findings

Yep, Madame Butterfly is the name of my latest vintage dress form doll now in progress. I've choosen a color theme and put together some items I think are perfect for the project.

glittered and satin ribbon over collage paper

You'll be relieved to know that I've opted against taking up valuable time here to try to make tulle, crystals and ribbon sound even remotely interesting.

crystal baubles for hanging on top wires

I did get some good shots though so I'm happy to report the shoot didn't take me all day. Hopefully the visuals will be enough to spark some curiosity about how they will be used.

second hanging bauble option

French blue and yellow has got to be what I consider one of the sweetest lil color combinations ever to hit a color wheel. Ha! I'll leave you to your imagination for now.

Paper Couture XI: Vintage Padded Clothes Hangers Shabby Chic Style

I thought it might be nice to cover how to make miniature, vintage, padded clothes hangers before we begin creating paper clothes. This will help give you a pretty way to display your finished dresses.

embellish your hangers in a variety of creative ways

The padded hanger template can be resized to suit your needs if a larger size is preferred. I have designed the template so it is pretty enough for you to keep with your ACEO collection.

click image for full download resolution

Please do not redistribute, alter or publish my templates without my permission. Direct your blog readers back to Kell Belle Studio to download.

I hope you will enjoy the video tutorial. Feel free to direct me to links of your finished work. I would love to see what you create.

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.

How to Plan Your Paper Dress Project

Planning your paper dress project does not have to be a daunting task. I touched on this topic in an earlier post and thought it was worth expanding upon.

initial theme planning

Journals are a great place to work out ideas before beginning a project so grab your favorite one and let's get started. Begin by answering a few questions. How do you feel today? Do you feel flirty and sassy? romantic and dreamy? bright and energetic?

inspiration for possible elements to include

What color is your mood? Flirty and sassy makes me think of hot pink, black polka dots, and stripes. Romantic and dreamy is creamy off whites, pale pink or dusty rose. Get the picture?

possible colors and style to cover the body

I'm in an airy, fairy kind of mood today so I'll go with pale french blues and white with splashes of corn flower yellow in a collage style theme.

madam butterfly rough sketch

Lastly, what materials will you use to complete your project? Draw a rough sketch of what you have in mind and watch as your project comes to life as you envisioned it.

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 X: The Corset

What would paper couture be without covering a rich source of girly inspiration like the corset? Larissa of In a scrap of paper has put together a step by step paper corset tutorial that includes a template you can use to make your own paper corset.

free paper corset tutorial

There are so many possibilities for customizing this project to make it your own. Be creative. Have fun and maybe even be a little risky. Your creation might become something even better than you imagined.

Note: Corset image associated with this post remains the copyrighted, intellectual property of Larissa and In a scrap of paper.

Brand New Vintage Lace

Would you believe me if I told you this lace was fresh off the bolt from my local craft store and not a flea market find? Isn't it wonderful!

The gal at the cutting counter said the fabric looked like vintage lace because there were already tears and stains in it. We both wondered if the fabric was made that way or if the tears and stains came later.

I didn't care because those imperfections were what drew me to this lace in the first place and I promptly bought the last remaining bit of it. I absolutely love it!

Vintage Flea Market Finds

Okay so I didn't exactly go vintage junking at the flea market. It was more like I drove to my local Jo-Ann Fabric & Crap store. Ha! Flea market sounded so much more romantic though didn't it?

rhinestone buttons are a steal at only $10 a pair 

I found some rhinestone buttons I thought would make great paper flower centers. Didn't even look at the price before adding to my basket and about fell over when I discovered they were $10 a pair. Hope the paramedics that come to treat my sticker shock are cute!

pink crystals on silk ribbon & vintage lace

Pale pink crystals are just luscious nestled in piles of white, silk ribbon and will make elegant dangling baubles for curly wire. As for the ribbon, are you thinking flirty drop waist dress yet?

pearls and lace with a touch of rose

Creamy glass pearls and vintage lace with just a hint of dusty rose is a classic vintage look I can't help but drool over every time I see it especially in an off the shoulder kind of way. Can't wait to show off the finished piece. Stay tuned!

How do You Renew Creative Perspective?

To renew my creative perspective, I often mine the internet for images having to do with whatever I happen to be working on at the time. They help inspire fresh ideas and sometimes they even inspire change in the direction of my work.

What happens when there is nothing that out there that really impresses me in the moment? I begin writing descriptive words in my planner and perhaps I'll even draw a little sketch.

What feeling do I want to convey with the piece? What colors will best communicate those feelings? What materials do I envision using? Breathing new life into a project can be as simple as this.

Serafina Mixed Media Gypsy Mermaid

Gypsy mermaid sounds intriguing enough. What might she look like? I thought I would give a sneak peek of Serafina, my very own mixed media gypsy mermaid in progress.

I've spent weeks working on her and loving the results so far. Here's a bit of trivia for you. Serafina's top was originally a flat piece of fabric. My father suggested that I create something more dimensional.

Art directed by my own father! Can you imagine? That little tip shaped the direction of the entire painting for the better and Serafina became a gypsy mermaid.

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.

Paper Couture VIII: How's Your Dress Form?

With so much you can do with paper dresses, I couldn't resist posting this fabulous paper dress form decor tutorial put together by the multi talented Taylor of MaryJanes and Galoshes. Be sure to drop by and give Taylor a shout!

If you are joining the Paper Wardrobe Project, I thought it might be nice to have the option of creating a different dress each month. Besides, you can never have too many dresses from which to draw inspiration . . . can you? Now go make a pretty dress! (tee hee :)

Note: Images associated with this post remain the copyrighted, intellectual property of Taylor and MaryJanes and Galoshes.

Paper Couture VII: Paper Dress Cupcake Toppers

Paper Couture continues with a practical application of the little paper dress with these fresh looking cupcake toppers.

Paper Dress Cupcake Toppers

Hop on over to Composing Hallelujahs to view a very detailed tutorial on how to make these lovely paper dresses yourself. These pretties could very easily be adapted to any party theme and be counted toward achieving your Paper Couture Challenge merit badge. ;)

Party Dress Cupcake Toppers from the Polka Dot Shoppe

Of course if you don't feel like making them yourself you can always hop on over and pay a visit to JeanKnee's Polka Dot Shoppe to purchase toppers like the ones pictured above.