DIY Miniature Hat Stands

Spring can't come any sooner as far as I'm concerned. The dark evenings and shortage of daylight hours makes photographing anything a chore. Thankfully, Photoshop is my friend and I've been able to lighten my pictures so they don't look as dreary as they did to begin with.

But back to the good stuff! My original plan for my first dolls house project (the Jubilee Terrace soon to be a ladies boutique) was to fill it with an array of lovely things like hats, gowns, parasols, gloves and perfume.

And though I should be focusing on other important things like lighting the shop (more on that later this week hopefully), I can't help but want to spend my time making tiny hats and hat boxes.

I've tried ordering miniature wooden hat stands (like the one on the left) from online stores a couple of times, but they always seem to be sold out.

After a couple of failed orders, I've given in. I need lots of hat stands....so why not make them myself?

So I gathered together a collection of beads and buttons that I thought might work to re-create the look I wanted to achieve.

Next, I got some thick wire and glued it to the base (metal button) and left it to dry until stable. Truth-be-told, the kitchen whisk was sacrificed for this cause as I couldn't find wire anywhere, but it has proven most useful.

 After that I just stacked the other beads on top of the base, using superglue to keep them in place.

 

 And here is the almost-finished product. All it needs now is some paint.

(Some others I made earlier - of different heights and styles)

 The finished hat stand, after a couple coats of metallic gold spray paint

And here are some hats to display on them:

 

Until next time, toodles :)

Jubilee Terrace: Taking Stock

The part of making my dolls house boutique that I have been most looking forward to is making the stock that will fill it. And though I have lots of work to do before I even begin filling the displays, I couldn't help myself and went ahead and made a dressed mannequin and a hat for my hat stand.

 Both were made from scraps of fabric and lace I had lying around, using a mixture of fabric glue and hand sewing to fix them in place. I've had the mannequin and hat stand for ages, waiting to be clothed, and now I've finally started I can't wait to do more!

Mannequin and hat stand were both purchased from Maple Street.