The Dress Form - A Thrifty Find & DIY Stand

Howdy, Islanders!

It's been a busy time 'round these parts.  It's not that we don't usually have things going on but with Nuke, the football baby shower prep and recovery, third grade, the approaching wedding/event season, hosting an offsite for my 9-5 and much more, I haven't had much time to edit and publish the posts I've started.  All those excuses aside, I couldn't let this Frugal Friday pass without sharing a thrifty find and a super easy (and cheap) tutorial!

Do you remember that dress form I purchased during our thrift shopping trip in Columbus, GA?  You know the one Mommy was SO excited about?

The one she threatened to buy for me if I didn't buy it for myself.

Priced at $9.90, it was a no-brainer for me.  Sadly, however, it sat on the floor alongside the other craft pile o' junk for eight long months.  You read correctly.  Eight WHOLE months.

As the craft room neared completion, I know I needed to figure out how to get my fabulous thrifty dress form off the floor.  It didn't come with a base.  I thought to purchase a base from Amazon but I just couldn't bring myself to spend MORE on the base than I spent on the dress form.  So, I searched for DIY ideas and tutorials.

There were plenty of ideas and options.  They all seemed to require things I didn't have... UH, going to the hardware store?  Bleh.  I had other projects to complete; other things to keep me busy.  I moved on and the poor dress form sat sadly on the floor in the corner of my soon-to-be craft haven.

OMG!  It was the day before pictures and I needed to get the dress form finished.  Before I ran to Lowe's for supplies to finally finish the dress form's base, I wanted to remove the clutter from the space (procrastination helloooo?!).  It included a floor lamp.  As I moved it, I debated on its new location thinking, "I don't even NEED you, stupid lamp I should totally -- wait.  Could it work?"

The floor lamp is made of wood and is quite heavy.  Its "leg" had cute details tho - the prefect details for the base of my dress form.  Hmmm, I could be onto something.  I removed the shade and the light bulb.  I picked up the dress form up and attempted to slide it down onto the floor lamp.  It didn't fit but, hmmm, I had another option in mind.

You know the cheap floor lamps we've all owned at one point of our lives?  The one that's at every thrift store for less than $5 bucks or sold brand new for like $20.  Oh, don't look at me like I'm crazy.  THIS lamp:

You had one too?!  I knew it!  Well, we've kept the one from Hubbs' dorm room in the garage for years!  It serves no purpose and popped into my mind when I was thinking of how I'd make a "base" using something I already had.  I hurried to the garage to get it!

It was dirty with dead bugs and cob webs.  It rattled, a sign of its cheap-ness, as I plopped it on the floor.  All I saw was its potential so the dried spider carcasses didn't bug me (get it?! BUG).

DIY Dress Form Stand From an Old Floor Lamp

1.  Remove the bulb cover.

2.  Remove the light bulb.

3.  At the base of the lamp, cut the cord.

4.  From the top, pull the light bulb "holder thingee" (what do you call that thing?!) until the cord is completely removed.  Unscrew the portion of the top where the switch was located.

5.  Unscrew the top portion of the "leg."  My lamp had three sections.  Removing this section made for the perfect height for the dress form.

6.  Screw the switch piece on top of the new top section of the lamp.  This piece will support the weight of the dress form.

7.  Place the piece of the leg into the center of the switch piece.  It will not be a tight fit and that's ok.  This piece prevents the dress form from tipping over.

8.  Slide the dress form onto your dress form stand!



Doesn't the switch piece give the stand a polished look?  I am so pleased with how it turned out.

I added two stripes of gold tape just to have the gold detailing on the base.  You probably noticed the dress form had an open hole at the top.  Well, I reused some party decor to create a cover for the top.  Remember the paper fans from Sheena's birthday?



As a last-minute fix, I placed one of the paper fans on the dress form to cover the hole and I love it!



It's crafty and couture and fun and... does it almost look like an embellishment for a dress?  I know, right?!  We'll talk more about reusing party decor in the home but, as a hint, did you recognize Sheena's birthday banner hanging over the craft room window?



It was a couple bucks from Target!!  Anyhoo, I pinned inspirational quotes and pretty things to the dress form.  My favorite piece is the mask Munchface made when she was four years old.



I love the bright colors and fun feathers.  It's my personal reminder to take risks and to surround myself with colors that make me happy!



We'll continue with the craft room breakdown next week.  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it all!

I hope you have a LOVELY weekend!