Here is a creative guest “book” idea that doubles as a work of art. Paint a mannequin torso with chalkboard paint and have the guests sign the mannequin with different colored chalk paint.
I used this idea for the birthday party for my good friend Sonya. It was huge hit – both for the guests who had a blast signing it……….
And Sonya was overjoyed to have a three dimensional piece of art to display in her home remind her of all the people who attended the party.
This idea was so popular that several guests came by my warehouse after the party to buy a torso for themselves.
Here is Cynthia – who hosted the birthday party at her house and made all the fabulous food – with the mannequin she selected from our inventory.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you like this idea:
The mannequin needs to be painted a least three days ahead of the event, in order for the paint to cure. Benjamin Moore makes chalkboard paint in a wide range of colors – so you can paint the mannequin to match the color of your decor if you want. But we just used black chalkboard spray paint that we bought at a hardware store.
Since you are going to paint a mannequin you don’t necessarily have to have buy a mannequin in pristine condition. You could buy a used mannequin instead from us.
Also regular chalk is messy and gets all over people’s hands, so use chalk pens that you can find at a craft store and they come in a wide range of colors.
Lastly if you don’t want your guests writing on the vagina or buttocks of the mannequin, put a pair of panties on it. We used black panties trimmed with lace.
If you like the idea of a unique guest book but mannequins aren’t your thing, check out these other ideas here: from the blog, Creating Really Awesome Free Things. We LOVE them because they come up with really good ways to upcycle things. And we are BIG on repurposing and reupcycling at Mannequin Madness.
