Nadine - too funny, growing your own model! That's a pretty complicated thing, though :-)
OP- you look well groomed and that would be a HUGE factor in buying a hat that was plunked on somebody's head. Considering the alternative is the local Wal-Mart & who knows whose head was last in the hat... well, I'll take yours! I like the idea of asking a hairdresser if they have any old heads; you could also ask at a wig shop if they have heads that they need to get rid of; a weave shop might, also, but they may be an ethnic face, which might be a good idea to use for some of your pictures :-)
The foam head you could decupouge, paint or somesuch to give the head a less cheap look if that's what your worried about. Use old music sheets, dried flowers, green leaves, the possibilities are endless really. Or, you might be able to invest in a small rosemarry topiary; in my area they run about $15-45 depending on size (this is also because Rosemary must be in a greenhouse over winter, where I live it's an annual, in Tennessee it should be less $ simply because it doesn't need to be heated all winter to stay alive :-) Cheaper methods would be an ivy styled over a topiary ball, an evergreen pruned to topiary shapes, the list is endless. The green would bring in a bit of the natural element without distracting a viewer (I think!)
