We had a lot of fun last Halloween, but it made me stop and think……..about princesses.
Ok, so maybe I’m a little obsessed with princesses. I believe that every little girl is a princess in training, and that imagination and role-play is very important for a child. When a girl feels beautiful and special, that confidence and grace can be developed and hopefully find a permanent place in her personality and life. Being beautiful on the inside is more important than what’s on the outside, and as parents and grandparents, we have the opportunity to teach our little ones about who they are and what is expected of them. Helping a child learn to act like a princess, being good and kind, strong and assertive, honest and hard-working, is great practice for being happy in real life. That’s my philosophy.
My granddaughter wanted to be a “yellow” princess last year, so of course I was more than happy to make her a dress to match her aunt (my other daughter), who sometimes makes princess appearances at birthday parties. (This pic was taken after my daughter had cut her hair to donate to make wigs for cancer patients)
Anyway, my daughter played ‘Belle’ in her high school musical several years ago. It was a magical time when she was transformed from an ordinary teenager (already sweet and kind) to a beautiful princess whose appearance and charm seemed to draw people to her like a magnet. At a ‘meet and greet’ opportunity before a matinee performance, dozens of children couldn’t take their eyes off her! They were fascinated by the ‘real’ princess that was talking to them, posing for pictures, and giving them hugs. My sister-in-law’s granddaughters had come to the event and their excitement was evident. One of the little girls asked her mother, “Do you think Belle knows we are related?” and another said “I know what I’m going to tell my class at show and tell next week!” Isn’t that cute? Just being related to a ‘Princess’ made these girls feel special!
Appearing at Princess Parties has taught my girls how important it is to use good manners, good grammar and be a good example all the time because little ones are always watching and listening!
My youngest daughter appears at the parties as Cinderella and is elegant and charming as well. This was a simple dress I made for a dance a few years ago, (not the best photo, sorry) but I have fabric for a more authentic, Disney style dress that I’m planning to make.
If you have little girls now, just be aware that big girls like to be princesses too! I have four daughters and for each formal high school dance they attended, it was quite the challenge to find a dress that was modest, attractive and budget friendly. It takes patience and creativity to put things together, but it’s well worth the effort. When a girl really feels like a princess, she will act the part.
My younger daughters have benefited the most from our ‘dress collection’ because their older sisters handed down their dresses, and my interest in altering dresses happened to coincide with their high school years. I like to find pretty dresses that need a little work. Many come strapless or with spaghetti straps which is unacceptable at our house, so we try to match fabric for easy sleeves, or figure out another solution to make it modest. Shawl’s don’t cut it!
My next post will be on the dresses I’ve found and altered to make appropriate for my girls. I only have one daughter still in high school, so there are only a few formal dances left, but I hope to continue making “princess” dresses for other girls in my area so they can feel special too!
I decided to make a finger puppet theater that can stay at grandma’s house so all the grandkids can enjoy it. I removed the glass panes from the doors, cut out a panel (it was just heavy chipboard paneling) from the back and
painted the cabinet brown. For the flag poles I used pieces of bamboo skewers with a piece of a plastic tube/straw over it, then glued a carved wood ball on top and painted them all gold.
I drilled holes to put them in and secured with glue. The flags are just painted chip board with gold trim glued on. (yeah E6000 ) I glued several kinds of trim on the cabinet, sewed curtains out of red velveteen which is gathered on a piece of wire coat hanger. The wire is pushed into screw holes where the glass had been secured in the front.
I gathered and put trim and tassels on the drapes and made a “curtain” to hang on the back of the theater.
I used Velcro to hold the curtain on at the top, and made little wood braces on the sides to hold the fabric out/away so little hands can reach up to work the puppets. I might make several more of these with actual scenes on them, barnyard, mountains, castle, etc. to go along with different stories. ( but I think that’s just making work for myself! Haha) For now, we will encourage the kids to imagine anything they want!
The finger puppets are crocheted in the Philippines. My sister-in-law lives there and sent them to me. I did make the little girl one from a pattern, but I might try crafting my own (not crochet). For the bottom half of the theater I think I will make some little storage trunks for the puppets to live in. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s been fun to do!
Linked up to Poppies At Play - Creative Cats!!
Merry CHRISTmas!
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