We finished up Liv’s costume just in time for her little school carnival last Friday. When she told me that she wanted to be a flower ballerina princess, I took the idea and ran with it before she could change her mind.
Eventually ‘flower princess’ became ‘flower pot’ (sorry, love) but because a pot is not so easy to wear around town, the ballerina alternative is an easy one :-).
leotard | ballet tights | homemade felt leaves and petals | tutu | flower pot from a recently planted bush :-)
She’s showing off her camera moves!
Liv and I made the entire costume together so that she felt as much love for all of the little details (which there really aren’t too many of) and might feel less inclined to change her mind (as preschoolers are ALL about doing). My goal was to stick with this sweet little flower costume through and through, despite the tempting Elsa’s and Tinkerbells that we might pass in the aisles of a store the day before Halloween.
The costume was so simple to put together and we relied on a lot of spray glue (this is one of my favorites! That stuff is strong) for the petals and leaves. For the handmade portion of this project, I needed about a yard of kelly green felt and a half of a yard of pink felt from the fabric store, as well as 4 packets of dark green embroidery thread for the leaf detail.
The leaves I measured to the size of Liv’s outstretched arms, the petals started off as cylinders (picture the below not folded) and then I used my spray adhesive to glue all but the bottom (which would receive a stringing of ribbon) together.
Can you tell I made the petals on the same day that I marbled the pumpkins?
We glued the two pieces of leaf felt (two for each arm for four sides total) except where the arm hole would be. Then Liv and I used the embroidery thread to sew/reinforce the edges of the leaves together. A slit was cut on the inside of each leaf to allow her hands to come through.
The headpiece is made up of petals threaded through with ribbon, the ribbon ultimately ties under her chin and is tucked back into one of the petals. Pins keep the flower in her hair but I’m glad she only has to wear it for short spurts of time :).
Oh man I love this girl, and how the costume turned out!!
I planned on making a similar version for Taylor but by using a sweatshirt (and the hoodie) as a base for my petals (inspired by this talented Etsy artist who is a friend of mine), but then found a sweet little bumble bee costume at a seconds shop and gave into e-a-s-y just a day ago. Poor second children.
Question- I love this design! We made the headpiece today, but only used fabric glue to glue the edges of the petals together. So they are not stiff like yours. Is that bc we didn’t use the spray adhesive that would stiffen the fabric and keep them crisp and not falling when the headpiece is on? I just was trying to be thrifty bc the spray is expensive! But is there any other way to get the petals stiff or should I buy the glue and redo the petals? Thank you!
Hi! You could maybe put a stiffer material (like cardboard) between your felt petals to keep them stiff? Ours aren’t super super stiff but stiff enough to stay put if the ribbon is wrapped around the head :). I hope that helps! (maybe a spray starch would help?)
hi can you tell me how you made the actual flower part??
i love the way she looks in those green tights. I’m going to make our some wear some for his next costume :)
OMG….Liv is just so adorable in that costume!!!!!! Love that it looks so easy to put together, too. Though I wish I’d seen your recommendation for spray glue before I started T’s superhero costume. Regular old fabric glue is so messy. I know what you mean about second children, though. L kept refusing to dress up at all, so she’s going to wear her sister’s old Minnie costume. At least I can feel better knowing that it was made by their grandmother…
Adorable! The way you made the leaves is so clever with the hand cutouts. Smart mommy to involve Liv in the creative process, so that she “owns” it. :)
Thank you! The leaves are my favorite part :P.
so, so cute! I love it!
This is so cute! I really love the arms. She reminds me of one of the singing flowers from the Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland”.
Yes! That’s right! She totally does. I’m also picturing this bobbly pink daisy flower pot that I think I used to have on my dashboard a long time ago – just making the connection! Inspiration comes from everywhere… hehe.