Just for fun! When we sold my grandparents house this bust statue was about to get tossed. Instead I grabbed it out of the trash for a DIY mermaid makeover.
Watch the process in this video:
After clarifying it wasn’t an antique (Do not attempt this with bust statues of actual monetary value!), out came the most colorful embroidery floss and sea shells in my craft stash.
First it needed a base coat of paint to give a more colorful, realistic look.
Then came the mermaid hair! The great thing about the statue was that it had a very defined part that I could use as a guide line for creating the hair. I took the embroidery floss one pack at a time and attached them to the part line with Mod Podge and a paint brush.
Once the entire part was covered I added some underneath in the back of the head for somebody and braided the floss together on one side of the head. After a coating of Mod Podge to hold the hairstyle in place the floss also retained a glossy look. What a happy accident! The gloss made the hair look wet like she was in the water.
Next came the mermaid crown. I took an old necklace and glued it around the head for a guide line. Then I took seashells and hot glued them around the necklace and throughout the hair to create the perfect mermaid style. (Even threw some glitter in the hair before the Mod Podge dried for extra sparkle!)
One of my favorite details are the eyelashes. These were fake eyelashes I had saved from my senior high school musical. I played a flamboyant character with giant fake eyelashes…they were so long I needed to trim them to fit! Also the skin needed a little pop so I used a pair of fish net stockings to paint a texture similar to “fish scales”.
Last was the book. She was writing something so I added my favorite mermaid quote: “I must be a mermaid. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.” – Anaïs Nin
Finished!
