Popsicle Stick Ballerina

This is not my original idea, I found it and then pinned it on my Inspiration Board on Pinterest  https://www.instagram.com/p/BAOW-BBMZop/ 

Iris loves watching ballet dancing, funny thing and so when I saw this idea for a little Popsicle stick ballerina on Pinterest I knew I had to make her one. The body of the ballerina is made from a plain lolly stick.

The hair was a bit fiddly to get to cover up the end of the stick, but I finally got there.  I glued down the end strands at the back with PVA glue, as it dries clear and tends to hold fast.

I then drew on the face, top and shoes with a pink Sharpie pen and black fine liner pen. 

The skirt is made from three pink cake cases, one on top of each other and folded in half.  I made a small slit in the centre of the fold  with a craft knife, to push the stick through.  I then added a little blob of glue to the stick and each layer to help keep them in place.

I then wondered about adding arms to add movement when Iris twirled the ballerina, this was not part of the original idea I found.  I found some wooden beads and knotted them at each end of a short piece of wool (left over from the hair) and glued it down at the back with PVA glue.

I then got all anal ……  deciding to glue a small scrap of card, coloured the same as the dress top, on the back, to hide the wool, but which also secured it a little more from coming off.

The finishing touches were a flat back flower gem on the ballerina’s hair and tiny gems on her décolletage and slippers. I could gone totally overboard by adding more gems to her dress, but decided to stop there, to gauge madams reaction first.

But,  I am now thinking …….. Christmas fairies, made in the same way but using white cake cases instead, with silver wings, and a lot more bling?