Dressmaker's Mannequin reloaded

You will remember, last Sunday I was gifted with this lovely dressmaker's mannequin...


Well, she has a name now - may I introduce you to Miranda! Pattie advised me that this was crucial to the way our relationship would develop - and since Max found her, he was asked to pick her name. Miranda means "admirable" and I think she is quite happy with it.


She has been going through some slight modifactions, so that she will feel more at home with us. I treated her to a paint job; giving her wooden parts a light green colour with a slightly shabby finish.


Then I sewed a new "dress" for her, out of an old sack I found at the flea market years ago, to give her some shabby chic.


The best part of this - the other side of the sack is covered in faded old printing!!


From a Canadian company, Golden Link, this sack was used for some kind of hard wheat product and was obviously shipped to Rotterdam. I think this gives her that something extra! Miranda seems to like it.
Now my Modelling Assistant is ready to go to work...

Sunday flea market - jackpot!!!

We went to the flea market this morning, but to a flea market in Regensburg, a universitiy city on the shores of the Danube. We don't usually go there, it's a bit further away. While I was oooowing and aaaawing over the first stand, which happened to be a Czech guy with lots of old rhinestones and jewellery pieces and ... you get the idea; my sweet husband disappeared. Well, I thought he just wandered off, because I was being boring, you know? Unbeknownst to me, he had actually already made the find of the day and secretly carried it off to the car. This is what he presented to me when we got home:

dressmaker's mannequin
Squeal! I have been wanting one of these for soooo long! Dancing around, jumping up and down! I have the best husband ever!!!!

I did buy a couple of pieces from the Czech guy, although not as many as I would have liked. His prices were just out of this world! But there were a few things I couldn't pass up - see those rhinestone beads and the necklace clasps? I also found some mother of pearl buttons, a brass casting of a bird motive, some old clothes pins and an old small brush.

These are also from the Czech Republic, glass beads for Christmas ornaments. These are like mercury beads, very thin. I have to get started making Christmas decorations soon...

These are some of my purchases from the trade show - brass beads. I think those big ones look like pebbles, aren't they cool?

I also found a manufacturer for copper beads, chain and head pins. They also make them in silver plated and gold plated.

These are some of the semiprecious beads (jasper, carnelian, onyx, amazonite, hemimorphite) and freshwater pearls I bought. Yum!

All in all, that was quite a haul and now I have lots to feed my inspiration!!
Hoping you are having a lovely Sunday!