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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

why d.i.y.?

my husband and i are definitely do-it-yourselfers. if we see something we want we first think about how we can create it ourselves. if it is out of the question we move on to how we can maybe get it used.


i love that we are raising up little d.i.y.ers too! the other day moonpie and i were admiring an item in a friends house and her response was 'let's make one just like it!'. you better believe that my heart jumped a just a little at those words!


sometimes (ok, most of the time) i can get introspective. i look at the things i do and enjoy and examine why i do them. what my motives are. and yesterday i was thinking on this, d.i.y. projects. what it comes down to for me is the idea of connection. grinding my own wheat to make my bread, knitting a little hat for a new baby in my life, making a dress for my moonpie...all about connecting with the people i love, people from my past, connecting with my present. doing things myself helps me stay focused on my present, and i like that. i need that. and of course there are other reasons we d.i.y. we really enjoy hard work. we enjoy learning. we enjoy working with our hands. we enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.



sometimes, when crafting for others, you have to really be comfortable in the accomplishment factor. because sometimes, the recipient isn't too impressed. enter- moonpie's blue bird dress:





moonpie: oh it's really pretty! thank you momma!

me: great! go put it on for church.

moonpie: umm...i was thinking of wearing something a little fancier for church.

me: but it IS fancy! look at the ribbon!



moonpie: i love it! but i was thinking of something a little fancier. you know, with puffy sleeves.


me: right, i don't know how to make sleeves. look at the knots! and the fabric! and look- i put a ruffle on the bottom and a little layer of rick-rack!


moonpie: oh yeah! it's really pretty! but, i was thinking of something fancier...


me: go put the dress on...now...


and she comes back 5 minutes later, dress on, accessorized with mardi-gras beads.


moonpie: now THIS is fancy!


if you'd like to make one like, you can find the very easy to use tutorial here. trust me- if i can do it, than you can too!

6 comments:

Kat said...

ohhhhhhh thanks for the tutorial!! I'm going to make it too! Your fabrics are beautiful! And so are the models ;)

Bridget said...

I love the color combo and the ric rac, looks great!

Anonymous said...

I've been planning a post for some time along a similar vain. Really must get on it. The dress is ADORABLE and fancier than anything in my closet ;-)

Steph said...

Beautiful job, mama! Sorry she didn't have the immediate reaction you were hoping for. (I'm reminded of a girl who made a stuffed owl for her own daughter :). It does make one feel a little Charlie Brown, doesn't it.

Nonetheless, the dress is beautiful and Moonpie looks beautiful in it. I'm glad she came to see it that way too!

Mandy said...

If you make me a dress like that, I'll tell you it's perfect!

Amanda said...

Totally cute! And I would have made her wear it, too.