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Don’t throw that old T-shirt away- it may be a cocktail dress just waiting to happen.
My daughter, Samara and I are addicted to Project Runway. We have the first three seasons on DVD, the fourth season is on it’s way from Amazon ( it will appear under the tree this Christmas) and the fifth season is safely recorded in our Tivo. Samara can quote Tim Gunn verbatim and can do imitations of most of the contestants. When I say we are addicted, I am not kidding.
When we are not watching Project Runway, we like to create challenges for ourselves. Our one consistent element, is that we must use recycled source material.
In our first challenge we turned an orange long sleeve shirt into a backless, sleeveless wonder and used the cut off material to make dresses for Samara’s favorite dolls, Maggie and Callie.
Next we moved to the garden for inspiration and constructed a fashionable hat out of yard clippings.
We assembled an evening gown using old newspaper and scraps of construction paper and joined other Project Runway fans for a fashion show in the park.
And a couple of months ago Samara designed her first “collection” and we brought it to life ( in miniature) using a couple of my old t-shirts.
Halloween was an obvious opportunity to indulge our Project Runway obsession. Samara wanted to be Tinkerbell this year and as we didn’t have the makings of the fairy at home, we headed to the Salvation army, one of our favorite haunts, to find the source material for her costume. I was worried that we might not find what we needed but within minutes we had filled our basket with glittery green material, pink gloves, a pair of fabulous green sparkle flower pins and a totally salvageable wand ( we had some wings at home). Samara had a very clear idea of how she wanted it all put together. She was particularly excited about adding bits of white sparkly material to the skirt and wand. I have to admit, it made her costume look a bit ragged- more like a Cinderella fairy- but I said nothing, not wanting to interrupt her creative flow. When we arrived at her school’s Halloween party, we were greeted by 5 other Tinkerbells, all in very spiffy store bought costumes, one with a pair of battery operated wings that twinkled like tree lights and another that carried a rhinestone studded purse filled with “fairy dust”. If Samara was disappointed with our version, she certainly didnt’ show it. She pranced around the dance floor like she was the most fabulous Tinkerbell in Neverland.
Our next project? Samara wants to make a “gorgeous dress for the holidays.” I may have to take some sewing lessons soon.
Project Runway photo credit
http://www.sashayllc.com/art%20work%20&%20images/PRoject%20Runway.jpg
1 response so far ↓
1 Nancy // Nov 12, 2008 at 10:59 am
Delightful! and ,of course, recyclable/practical.
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