Waltzing Gypsy

Ch - Ch - Ch - Changes

2011-12-12T19:29:00.004-06:00

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
- Maya Angelou

Well, I can change my website (or rather someone talented in that field can). So soon, you'll see an improved waltzing gypsy website, blog, facebook, and even twitter... all which will reflect changes in the change-able. There will finally be a website full of pretties where you can shop to your heart's content.

Oh - I'm excited!

Marie gets a Makeover! (A decoupage mannequin tutorial)

2011-03-10T18:58:00.002-06:00

Don't get too excited... the topless woman to follow is just my mannequin, Marie.

So I'm going to try and make a long story relatively short. I am completely envious of y'all out there who have these great vintage dress forms/mannequins. I know jealousy doesn't look good on anyone, but I've got it, bad! They seem to be on everyone's websites, and although I've searched, I haven't been able to find one to call my own. And being a young business, it's just not something I can spend a ton on right now. So a while back, I did the smart thing and found a local boutique that was going out of business and bought a bust (and boy is she busty!) headless mannequin I affectionately named Marie. Yes, as in Antoinette. :)

Now, I don't want to hurt this gal's feelings since she already lost her head, but she was homely, at best. She was perky, I'll give her that. Her skin tone was a little harsh and had these odd striations running down her collarbone area. It didn't make for great pictures, and was an endless source of frustration for me.

Nekkid Marie

Not very photogenic, right?

Now, if you looked at my website before today, you probably saw Marie dressed in all sorts of shirts. And that worked, but I always thought the shirts distracted a bit from the jewelry. My other concern was that if potential customers didn't identify with the clothing, they may opt to not buy my jewelry.

Looks great - but what if you don't like ruffled white shirts?

So I did a little online research and found a few gals who decoupaged mannequins or jewelry stands and I thought - hey, I can do that!
I grabbed my Mod Podge, a sponge brush and then cut out lots of little squares and rectangles of coordinating vintage theme papers...

And started gluing...

After a few hours of gluing and smoothing, I realized that this wasn't going to go quickly. But five hours (I kid you not) later, I had this...

She looked great but the decoupage was a little too busy to showcase jewelry. So I mixed a little antique white paint into the Mod Podge and gave her a coat.

A little more antiqued, wouldn't you say?

I finished off her head (ha ha) with a single piece decoupage and then lined it with some binding ribbon that I hot glued on. (I also applied some around her base.)

So here's the all new Marie... she looks more vintage then when we started (if vintage mannequins got boob jobs.) Hubby described her top as "prominent" but as we all know, we just have to work with what we've got. ;-) And I tell you what, if I don't see a scrap of paper or Mod Podge for a while, that'll be fine with me.

I figure that until I get the mannequin of my dreams, she'll do.
Let me know what kind of projects y'all have done to make something "do."

Coco, my dog, my friend

2011-02-16T13:20:00.003-06:00

As I start to blog more, I'm sure I'll be writing quite a bit about Coco, our dog. We often call her our Friend Dog, a name we first heard on a trip to Colorado. There was a couple close to where we were camping, and they rode around on their ATV quite a bit, and on the back was their dog, an aging black lab, whom they called Friend Dog. Hubby and I just fell in love with that name - that concept, really, that sometimes in life we are blessed by the genuine friendship of a truly great dog.
And for us, that dog is Coco. She has been in my life since 2002, when my illustrious fostering career came to an end. I used to foster dogs for the SPCA, and until then, had no problems moving dogs on to their forever homes. Sure, I would love them as if they were my own, but I knew that bigger and better things awaited them all. It was always difficult to say goodbye, a pain only lessened a bit by the arrival of a new foster ready to learn the ways of being a good companion.
But that all changed when this brindle, short legged, snaggle toothed, crooked tailed, grunting dog came into my life. To make a long story short, I decided that I needed to keep her. She made me laugh - and don't ever under estimate the power of humor. However, as a trade off, my then husband said "no more fosters." It was a pretty easy decision for me.
Fast forward a few years... I got divorced and the ex kept the house and the dogs. I missed them terribly, especially Coco. But as "luck" would have it, Coco had turned into quite the little monster and I got a call from the ex one day saying "take her now." I was remarried then, this was early 2008 and although we still lived in an apartment and had no plans for a dog yet, Hubby and I took her that day. After several months of long walks and obedience training, Coco turned back into the most wonderful dog, and I dare say, has my hubby wrapped around her chubby paw. People who don't consider themselves dog people have proclaimed Coco to be their friend, too.
I'll be sharing stories about her here - because she is a big part of our life. She is a constant fixture in my studio and often keeps me from feeling like I work "alone." She travels with us, hangs out with us, and makes us laugh every day.
Here's to you, Friend Dog.

Welcome!

2011-02-10T15:09:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the new Waltzing Gypsy blog...
Keep this page bookmarked.
Thanks for stopping by!