T-shirt Redo Redo

A couple years ago, I altered one particular t-shirt (see Like Sunshine).  It was probably one the first ones I did that involved lace.  Anyway, since then that particular shirt has met with disaster.  Disaster involved being covered in red, yellow, and blue stains that would not wash out.  No picture of it, it was depressing.  Luckily the stained bits could be cut off.  However, this would leave behind a shirt that would be impossible for me to wear due to lack of fabric, but not impossible for my niece.  So with some additional cutting and sewing and new elastic and lace, a new shirt has be born.  Now she has a cute new top to wear with those pretty skirts I have been making for her.  Problem solved.
Here’s the updated list:

• Sunflower skirt
• Present
• Video
• Little t-shirt redo
• Pincushions
• Pants redo
• Bear pants
• Hair accessories
• Red skirt
• Wristbands

Four down, six to go.  The project should be up sometime this weekend.

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Another “Book” and An Ageless Skirt

It’s funny, I had intended to post this sooner, but every time I sat down to type I went blank for some reason.  Maybe it has something to do with the weather.  Hard to think when it is just so darn hot.  I suppose I could have just posted the photos and left it at that, but I am so not a Wordless Wednesday kind of person.

Anyway, I decided to do some more crafting with old hardcover books again (see To Mothers and Good Literature).  This one I actually read before cutting into it, it wasn’t good. 

I decided to turn it into a notebook, or I guess notepad is more precise.  After gutting the book, I cut some plain white paper to the right size and punched holes in the top and tied with ribbon.  The ribbon is attached to the cover with a very strong glue.  This makes the “notebook” pretty and refillable.

While I was at it I also made a couple of mini pads with some of my paper scraps.  Just bundle them up with a cardboard backing, fold the back over the top, then stitch across the top to finish.  They’re small enough to fit in my pocket while the book is small enough for my purse.

For the next project, I had some pink fabric leftover from one of my dresses and thought is would be perfect for a skirt for my niece.  The neat thing about this skirt is she may never outgrow it.  The elastic waistband fits her fine, but it stretches enough to fit me too.  It is a pretty long skirt, but if it gets too short for her the tucks along the hem can be undone to add a few more inches.  Now the only problem is what to do when in a few years she decides she doesn’t like it anymore.
Here’s the updated list:

• Notebooks
• Little skirt
• Red dress
• Red purse
• wallets
• Tiny wreaths
• Stockings
• Ornaments
• Trees
• Doll makeover

Two down, eight more to go.  The next couple of projects will be up by Friday.

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Story Time — To Be a Princess

Updated 6/13/2023

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to wear pretty dresses.  Dresses with lots of ruffles, lace, and pretty ribbons that seemed to float in the breeze.

She liked to spin around while wearing her lovely dresses, and she felt like a graceful swan gliding across the water.  But mostly she felt like a beautiful princess as she twirled about in her dream world. 

One day the little girl was twirling around in her best dress.  It was her favorite one, all white with the loveliest of lace and a tiered ruffled skirt. 

Her head was so full of thoughts and dreams of swans and princesses that she didn’t notice several other little girls had approached her.  They were all wearing “fashion” jeans and t-shirts for the most popular TV shows. 

Most of them started giggling at the little girl in her pretty dress and teased her.  No one dresses like that except babies they thought.  This made the little girl so upset that she felt like crying and running home.

Instead she took a deep breath and held her head high.  Princesses were too dignified to let mean little girls see them cry.  So she gracefully walked on until she was out of sight, then the tears burst out and she ran home.

She got home and hid in her room.  The tears continued until her mother came in and asked what was wrong.  When the little girl had finished telling her story, her mother asked her a strange question.  Will the little girl stop wearing her pretty dresses and dress like those other girls?  This puzzled the girl, why would she want to dress like those mean girls?  She didn’t like jeans and those t-shirts all looked the same, plus she loves her dresses way more.  Why would you wear something you didn’t like?  When the girl told her mother this, her mother smiled. 

The next day, the little girl went out again this time in her second favorite dress.  A pretty sky blue dress with puffy sleeves and a lovely sash. 

Suddenly she notice one of the girls from yesterday coming toward her wearing one of those horribly “trendy” outfits.  She started to get scared that the girl would laugh at her.

But then the girl remembered the talk she had with her mother.  All the girls could laugh as much as they wanted she thought, it won’t stop her from dressing how she wanted. 

But the girl from yesterday didn’t laugh at her, she very quietly said that the dress was pretty and so was the one from yesterday.  This surprised the little girl, she didn’t know what to do. 

For a second, she thought about saying something about how ugly this girl’s jeans were, but then she would be like those mean girls and princesses are better than that.  So using her best princess-like manners, she said the nicest thing she could think of.  Thank you. 

Now there are two little girls who love to wear pretty dresses.  Dresses with lots of ruffles, lace, and pretty ribbons that seemed to float in the breeze.  And the little girl feels more like a princess now than ever before.  A strong, kind and beautiful princess.

Update: After years of pondering and what not, I finally adapted this simple story into a full-fledge book.  It is available here on Amazon as a Kindle ebook.  I am still working on the paperback and hardcover versions. Please check it out.

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