If you are looking for an easy art project to keep yourself or your child amused while SIP, consider a mannequin as a canvas for a DIY project.

Mannequins can be a substitute for the human contact we crave but are unable to have right now. Plus with so many retail stores going out of business there are going to be an abundance of cheap used mannequins for sale.

You can upcycle a mannequin torso into a 3D a art piece that is decorative AND functional. The torso can be a display for accessories (hats, scarves, jewelry) or you can wire it and turn it into lamp.

The project in this post was created by Kyana Holzman a crafting queen based in Oakland, Ca. Kyana specializes in budget friendly crafting projects that are simple and easy for children to do. So many people are having to home school their children due to Covid19 and are looking for inexpensive crafting projects.

So we asked Kyana to come with some ideas using mannequins for art projects.This is the first in a series of ideas she came up with that we will be sharing on our blog.

Materials Needed

-A fiberglass mannequin torso – it doesn’t have to be brand new. You can buy a used one on craigslist or at used mannequin vendor like  MannequinMadness.com

– Masking Tape in different widths

-Acrylic paint in multiple colors

-Plastic cup for water

-Artist Paint brushes in various sizes

-Sharpie  Pen or paint marker

-Paper Plate

Step 1 Wipe down mannequin of all dust and dirt using soap and water or a Mr Clean Magic eraser. The paint will not stick if the surface is dirty.

Step 2

Cut different sizes of masking tape into various lengths to create the pattern of your choice. Then affix the strips on the mannequin. The strips can overlap or they could be side by side. You can also cut the tape into squares or geometric shapes.

Make sure that the masking tape lays flat on the mannequin. If there is a gap between the tape and the mannequin this will cause a problem later when you paint the mannequin. The paint will bleed or leak underneath the tape.

Step 3

Squeeze your paints on the paper plate and start painting the mannequin in the spaces between the tape. You don’t have to be precise and stay within the lines. We choose to use multiple paint colors but you could also one color for a monochromatic look.

Pour some water in the paper cup and wash your brushes.

Step 4 

Wait for the paint to dry and not tacky and then pull off the masking tape.

Step 5 Get your sharpie pen or marker and start drawing different designs on the empty space between the your pattern.

You can draw shapes like this:
Or a combination of shapes and dots like this.  We put a band of tape around the waist because we did not want our design to so past that band.

Now that we are done, we removed the band of tape and VOILA.

The most time consuming part of this project was waiting for the paint to dry.

We hope you give this idea a try and if you do please post it on our Facebook group: Crafty Projects with mannequins.

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