Pretty enough for a Mushroom Kingdom Princess

It is amazing how quickly time passes! Sadly, nothing of note happened outside of the day to day chores, so there hasn't been much to blog about. But yesterday I got back on the crafting wagon!

Shortly after I returned from vacation, I decided to sew a dress for my friend's daughter.  I used New Look pattern 0156 (though now the website lists the number as 6970).  The pattern is simple and relatively cheap; coming in just under $5. Plus, I already have used the pattern twice before to make dresses for Lily, so I knew I could finish it in a night or two.

After showing my friend the dress, I told her I may add a deer or a hedgehog applique to go with the cute mushroom fabric.

She mentioned the mushrooms reminded her of Mario. From there we decided that Toadette would be a cute idea.

The only problem with Toadette was a felt applique would involve too many layers.  And there was where my crafting hit a small roadblock until I could come up with the best way to execute it.  I decided that freezer paper stenciling would keep the design crisp and clear without adding bulk.  I had done freezer stenciling in the past, but never multiple colors and layers. But, thanks to my 8th grade art class where we did printmaking, I had an idea how to do it.  Basically it involves painting each color on separately. I won't get into the details of freezer paper stenciling, but you can find the same tutorial I used here.

First layer

To help speed things along, I used a hair dryer between layers to aid the drying process.  I did have a little trouble with the freezer paper lifting some of the paint I had previously put down, but that may have been avoided if I had allowed the paint to dry properly. Thankfully, it was all easy to touch up by hand.

Almost done!

The most difficult part was the black outline. The bottle that the paint came in made the lines too thick and uneven, so I had to use a toothpick.

Seriously, this took awhile...

It was a time consuming task, but I am quite happy with how it came out.  My only hope is that it holds up after a few washes.

I was so pleased with the results, I decided to make a Yoshi egg for a headband.  My friend already has the barrette and headband, so I will glue or sew it on once I get it from her.

While it was a little more work than I originally thought, I'm really glad my friend suggested the "geekier" route. I had a lot of fun creating this dress, and it inspired me with several other geek projects to try later on!