Hand Painted Pink Cinderella Parasol for Dapper Day

It’s time for Dapper Day again! You may remember my forays as Orange Bird and Alice in Wonderland from 2018. I had such an amazing time that I visited Disneyland Resort this time, dressed as Cinderella. To match with my Pink Cindy dress, I created a Hand Painted Pink Cinderella Parasol as an essential accessory. The hot California sun can burn during the afternoon, so I was very happy to have shade where ever I needed it! Read how you can copy my DIY project and create a parasol of your own! Affiliate links are used. Thank you for shopping through me.

Materials for Your Hand Painted Parasol

White waterproofed paper parasol: The one I’ve linked here is a fair price and wonderful quality to work with! It’s also handy for short rain showers since it’s waterproofed.
Acrylic craft paint in many colors
Graphite Transfer Paper
Fine (small pointed) brushes
Very thin, fine point Sharpie
Frog tape

How to DIY Your Hand Painted Cinderella Parasol

1. Trace your chosen image.

Lay your transfer paper onto the parasol and overlay it with your printout. Tape it down with frog tape if you need to, and be sure to trace the entire object. Be sure to understand your shapes, too. Keep your images close by for reference as you begin to apply color in layers.

2. Lay in your Colors

Grab your “base colors” and lay them in. It’s worthwhile to mix some white into every color you use because it will make the pigment more opaque. With a parasol that can glow, this is valuable. I started with blue for all three of my bluebirds and then added over my kerchief/hat colors and beak colors. I didn’t shade or graduate the colors since I wanted to duplicate the 1950s Cinderella animation.

Next, I added eyes, shoes, wing-tip detail, etc. Afterward, the ribbon came next. I paid attention to which way the birds were holding, hovering and flapping the ribbon, making use of “gravity.”

As you can see from the photo below, it was important to me to connect the birds one segment at a time, going under and over them to create depth and flow. It was very hard for me to let each color/layer dry before moving on because I was so excited to finish it. Luckily, my handy hairdryer shortened the wait.

3. Fine tune with the Sharpie

Because I was going for the animated look, I wanted a bold separation between animation and white negative space. I used a very fine tip Sharpie and a lot of steady handiwork to outline every segment of color (as well as the ribbon line) on the parasol. The result is a very clean set of decorations that popped in the California sun!

Hand Painted Pink Cinderella Parasol Finished Product

Now, I did have to pack my mega checked-luggage suitcase in order to get my parasol all the way to California, but it was so worth it! I was always cool in my personal shade for the California sun can be absent in the mornings and blazing in the afternoon. Most all the queues are outside and in the sun at Disneyland Resort, so I was happy for it! Plus, those Dapper Day Photopass Photographers really know how to pack a punch!