Mermaid Tutu Dresses, Some of My Favorite Creations!

I haven't gotten a chance to make too many of them, but the Mermaid Dress is so fun to do!

It's probably a good thing that I don't sell too many of them, since they take so long to create! The dress itself is easy. It takes just as long as any other dress, of course. But the part that makes it so special, the seashell decoration, takes hours!

First I've got to paint the sea shells. I'm not a big fan of this part. I'm sure the kids would LOVE if I gave this job to them. I probably would too, if they were just a little bit older. ;-)

After the many coats are dry, I can begin creating the bodice piece! This part is fun, but takes a long time too! It's kind of like doing a puzzle, but no box to look at! After many tries, and twisting and turning each seashell into place, I have to redo the whole thing! The first time through is just a dry run to see what fits best where, then I go back and secure each one into place. Along the way I add the "seaweed," rhinestones, and lots of pearls!

After all is said and done, I've spent about three times as long creating the seashell decoration than I had making the dress. :-/ But it's soooo worth it!

So exciting to see them come to life!

I was recently contacted by a couple different customers asking for unique custom designs.

Nearly all my work is custom, but customers usually just designate colors and the rest is in my hands. :-) These requests required the customer being able to see my ideas before I began work on them, so I drew them out exactly as I imagined them.

The first request I had was from a returning customer whose daughter was invited to a Disney Princess themed birthday party. Her favorite Disney Princess is Mulan and naturally wanted to dress as Mulan. I drew up a sketch for her and she loved it!

With the OK from the customer, I made up the dress.

The next request was from a customer asking for a "Queen of Hearts" tutu. I was very inspired by this idea and gave her many sketches. She liked this one the best:

And this is what I created:

I was so pleased with how perfectly they resembled my original drawings!