bethzylla

It's difficult to photograph hats. We costumers don't really have too many options for stands or models. In the past, I've tried the white styrofoam heads you can get at Hobby Lobby. The female style head is way smaller than the average woman's head, so the proportions are just a little off:
Mourning Hat 1

I've seen other costumers use mannequin heads, but I find the typical head has very modern makeup and that's jarring on my eye. Most recently, I've made do with a Pringles container covered in white printer paper (look closely):
Dave&#39;s Elizabethan Hat

I looked around online and found a variety of wooden displays, which lead me to raid the woodworking section at Hobby Lobby and the hardware section of Wal-Mart. I know I spent less than $20 on supplies (maybe even less than $15...it's been a while!)
Parts

I pre-drilled a hole for the screw in the round base and then drilled again a small way with a much larger drill bit so I could countersink the screw's head like so:
Countersunk Screw

After I sand off those wood shavings, I'll glue some felt over the bottom to cover everything up. The base and candlestick are held together by both glue and the screw. The ball came with a pre-drilled hole on the bottom. I drilled a hole into the cup of the candlestick and glued a dowel rod into it. The dowel extends from the candlestick's cup up and through the hole in the ball. That way there are no visible connections. The lip of the candlestick also got a bead of glue, so really it's glued twice.
Before Staining

After I let this dry overnight, I sanded down any imperfections I could find. These are made from very soft wood, and the wear and tear of a retail store can really do a number on them. I also sanded over areas that got wood glue on them so the texture would match the unglued wood. Then it was time for staining!
After Staining

The color is Gunstock. It has sort of a matte finish when it dries. I could go back over it with polyurethane, but I doubt I'll bother. This is its best angle. The ball on top ended up ever so slightly off-center (probably due to my not perfectly drilling the hole for the dowel in the candlestick) but really, this is the part that'll be covered by the hat. And it's my first attempt, so I'll chalk that one up to learning curve.
Finished Hat Stand

There are some areas where the stain didn't take very well, and some areas where it took a little too well. The manufacturer apparently used some kind of glue to attach parts of the candlestick. I thought I'd gotten all of it sanded off, but I missed some:
Manufacturer's Glue

Also, the wood glue I got, despite being labeled as stainable, didn't absorb any stain! That one's really aggravating. But again, the hat will cover it.

I've always got the option of painting it if all the little mistakes ever bother me more than I can stand. For now though, I'm just happy to have this little project complete!