Making something old new again...

During the Australia Day holiday, I decided to finish up my mannequin restoration project. I started this project last year, but never got around to finishing it. I actually acquired this mannequin around 2004. It was already old by then... but the mannequin continued to deteriorate over the time. Mainly the problem was caused by the disintegrating foam within. The foam had turned so chalky that the fabric covering the mannequin had brownish powder all over it. Of course, this also made the mannequin impossible to use.

Upon disassembling it, I had to clean all the parts as the powdery foam was just so awful. Loads of brushing, and Dettol wipes did the trick. Loads of Glen 20 too...;;^^

Instead of foam, I've decided to use wadding instead to pad the mannequin parts. I think I've got foam phobia after seeing all the powdery brown foam...:P

I also used knitted jersey fabric with smaller patterns. The logic behind it is to give it stretch for easy pinning when the mannequin is in use. Smaller fabric pattern repeat is fantastic to make things easier when all the mannequin parts are back together. I don't have to match the fabric patterns! ^^

Anyway, this is one of my most major before and after project I've undertaken and I must say I'm rather pleased with the outcome. ^^

Have you done any similar projects? Do you have any tips that you can share with me? After the success of this, I can see myself doing more before and after projects. ^^

Love,
from me to u. 

Before and After Project - A touch of vintage knobs

This is my first foray into the area of DIY before and after projects but I thought I'd start small. I've been watching a lot of renovation shows (very addicted to Divine Design by Candice Olson), and the one take-away I've got is that you can give drawers/cupboards a new look just by changing their knobs. What luck, when I was walking around at Provincial Living, I found the most amazing range of vintage style knobs!

I choose the simple glass knobs because I wanted something that would stand out against the black of the Ikea drawers beside my bed. My husband helped with this one as we had to cut away the excess screw length of each knob. Then he also helped to remove the old knobs, drilling and installing the new knobs. Ok, mostly I supervised, but hey, I came up with the idea! And I took pictures. So it counts! ^^

Anyway, I'm very happy with how this turned out! I think this is an easy way to get into doing restoration DIY. My next DIY before and after project is restoring my vintage mannequin. When I finish that project, I'll put up pictures too, so stay tuned! :)

Love,
from me to u.