Stately Beauty

I have had several Styrofoam heads laying around the house for a couple of years now, just never getting around to doing anything with them. I am planning to redecorate our bedroom in shades of black and gray/silver, and have been crafting on projects for the room. I came up with the idea for this lovely stand, which can be used for many purposes. I have put screw hooks in the back of the head to hang necklaces on. My next project is to make one and put one of my vintage collectible hats on. You can add bits of lace, buttons, beads, anything you like to decorate them. Your imagination is the limit.

First, I found the bottom of an old lamp that was headed for the garbage. I completely took it apart. I made my own decoupage, simply because I wanted to.(I have a whole bottle in my paint cabinet)  

First, I tore my old newspaper into shreds. You could use any kind of paper you wished to. Into a big mixing bowl, I took 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, enough water to make a paste, whisking it the whole time. When I got to a glue like substance, I started dipping the newspaper strips into the watery "glue" soaking them on front and back. I next applied each strip to the head, shaping it and molding it into each valley.  Once I had the head covered to my liking, I washed my hands and cleaned up my mess. (could have used gloves, but I always like using my hands) I set the head on a metal pan in my spare bedroom for several days to dry. Drying time depends on the amount of heat the head gets.

Once dry, I cut out a hole in the bottom of the head that would fit over the top of the old lamp bottom. I filled the hole in the head with Gorilla glue and positioned the head on the stand. I returned the stand with head to the old pan and set it back in the bedroom, checking periodically for seepage of the glue. When I spotted any, I would just wipe it away with a damp cloth.  Once the glue was dry and I was satisfied that my head would not fall off...heeeeee, I decided to paint the bottom of the old lamp black. I used acrylic paint and it dried quickly. I proceeded to apply the polyurethane to the head with a paint brush. I ended up with 3 coats, letting each completely dry in between times. I imagine you could use spray polyurethane. Then I covered the old lamp base with one coat of polyurethane and let dry. I screwed in, and used glue, 4 screw hooks on the back of the head to hang necklaces on. I LOVE MY BEAUTY.

However, I seem many imperfections in applying the newspaper and I will be more careful next time...  Happy Crafting...