the upcoming princess party

Sadie is invited to a b-day party this weekend, a princess themed b-day party of a sweet 4 year old. The b-day girl is getting this magic wand I made over the weekend. I am quite pleased with it and need to make more. I really am enjoying working with paint, wood, and paper right now. And I love toy making.

Sadie is supposed to come all princess-ed out and we really aren't all that into princesses here. She is only just 3 and is really into pretending to be Peter Rabbit or Harold (of purple crayon fame) . For lack of a formal princess outfit, I am going to have her wear a mish-mash of things, this skirt, possibly some fairy wings, (fairy princess?), and then maybe a birthday crown I made the girls but never even got around to using (will photograph this if it she will keep it on)

another view of the wand, between wishes.

I was discussing with my close friend, who is also more of a tomboy like myself and also has a young daughter, about the proliferation of princess stuff out there right now. Not just all the night gowns (these give me the heebies-all that synthetic!) but in the movies, etc. I was born in 1972 and it was all Holly Hobby, Free to Be, You and Me, back then and I refused to wear dresses (overalls only) after the age of 4-until I was 12. Seriously. My b-day parties were all about Snoopy, and I wanted to be Tatum O'Neil from the Bad News Bears. Don't get me wrong, I am all for dress up, princess dress up too, but I just realized how much more pink and sparkle there is out there right now then when I was growing up. I did have superstar barbie and all that,but the Disney thing was so different then. All I remember coming out when I was little was The Rescuers (which I LOVED and had the album and cried almost every time I heard it.) I don't want you to think I am anti-princess, I loved Cinderella. a whole bunch.

Sadie is not really all that girly. yet, anyway. She has been showing strong preferences towards fairies lately, which I wholly embrace because I want to live in the forest with my gnome family under a mushroom and eat moss for dinner. And on that note, although I am happy with the wand, I would love to make one out of an actual stick (not a painted wood dowel) with the bark showing, but I don't think the b-day girl would be as happy with that, so I made this one without bark.

Oh!! And I really flipped when I saw this link from Karen-these crowns by Ashley Carter are amazing!! and do you see the magic wand in there too?? I thought I was being all cool with my stripes, but this amazing gal not only has stripes on her magic wands, but glitter stripes!

** and thanks so much for all the kind words about my quilt! that sure feels good.

Comments

[tanya]

We made Ali an apron from 6 yards of pink tule which we folded in half so the rough seam was at the top and than sewed a Big pink ribbon across the front like binding to tie in the back SOO CUTE...we usually add a white tshirt that we get from the girls undershirt section and sew that to the ribbon and tule as well...IT IS SOOO princessy and easy...takes about 30 minutes to make ... just a thought if you need some ideas for princessed out extra inexpensive..ill look for the pic of her (my Ali girl ) dressed in it..

[Sooz]

I really agree about the girly thing - I find it almost impossible to buy shoes (as well as nightware) in anything other than strappy sandles in garish shades of pink or sensible navy blue school shoe style. My girl wants red, purple, orange in sturdy shoes (she runs and dances a lot) that still look cool. Anything remotely funky or interesting costs 10 times what all the sparkly stuff costs.

I am happy to make her dress ups to play at being girly. I did a great skirt in layers of gold and silver organza, folded like Tanya suggests, with buttons and bells and beads sewn into little pockets on the hem line. The more she jiggles, the more she tinkles :-) And I'm even happy to indulge her girly obsession with crazy hairstyles, but it can be very frustrating on the everyday clothes buying front.

[Brooklyn Mama]

I loved The Rescuers too, and had the well-played album. Oh, I loved it.

I agree about the proliferation of princess stuff these days. I'm fine with princesses - just not those damn Disney princesses!!

Love your blog!

[Stephanie]

1. so good to have just spent some real time you.

2. a couple of years ago I made magic wands for all of mia's friends' birthdays. also with a wooden dowel, but with a stuffed star on top. always a hit. I really love the wooden ball at the end of your wand. nice touch.

3. don't know what's up with the princess stuff. it's not my aesthetic at all, so I really struggled when mia started wanting everything pink and glittery! we have managed to steer clear of the whole disney-princess thing, thank goodness.

[robin]

should i be THAT mom that chimes in with a just-you-wait??? embrace the princess clothes and glitter and sparkle because as any mom who has had the pleasure of shopping at the limited too can attest, they are preferable to the s%*t clothes for preteens! even as my eldest is not interested in these clothes, there is a real lack of choice. and as my youngest is concerned, the kitty cat patterns and sweet little aliens are fine, its the "cut" of the clothing that troubles me. ("real") bikinis for 6 year olds?! generally speaking, even old navy shirts which aren't too bad, will reveal her belly if her hands are raised over her head: brrrr! we live in nh for chrissakes. we have to shop in the boys section for undershirts. anywho, i love your wand, your sentiments and you, darling amy. you're a wonderful mum.

[scribblesnbits]

I don't get all the glittery princess stuff, either. Not having a wee me, I can generally steer slear of that, but still, it pops up so much. And I do have a friend that's into that whole aesthetic. Quite different from me growing up on The Great Mouse Detective and wanting to be Sherlock Holmes. Even different from the Diva phase I went through (ok, I'm still going through). I defined Diva in the more Operatic sense, so lots more velvet and lush embroidery and, on occassion, a bit too much jewelry. The closest I get to glittery is tone on tone sequins in black. But this is all rambly and doesn't even begin to lead into telling you how cute that wand is (I'm quite fond of the polka dot ribbon) and how cute I think the fairy princess idea is! Yay faeries!!!!

[hannah]

i loved holly hobby and wore a pair of green bell bottom cords until i was six and they fell apart. im scared of the whole disney princess thing too, and will never, ever, ever buy those strange pj nightgowns, they feel so gross! im with robin though, it seems like the alternative is those sluty bratz dolls that drive me crazy. and now they have baby bratz, you know, so our three year olds can get in on all the clubbing slutty toddler action. what the freak??? im gonna have to say that i kinda hope collette is the unpopular artsy girl, because at least she will have a great personality and be more secure of her self. remember when amanda posted about making a skirt from mens ties and wearing it to school? i thought that was so brave and cool, and look what an amazing adult she is now! sure, nothing wrong with wanting to dress up and be all princess-y, as long as these girls are using their brains too.

love the wand... totally stealing the idea when collette is old enough.

[amanda]

mmnn...the princess thing is a slippery slope. I wish you well, my friend. I know Sadie will find her way in the "princess-bride-girly" world with you two as her fabulous parents. I LOOOVE that she dresses up as Harold, and other "book" characters. Way to go, kid.

[amanda8]

Love the wand! My daughter would eat it up. She is not so into the Disney princess thing, with the exception of Cinderella, who she wants to BE. I am cool with that. Like another commenter said, better that than Bratz. She also wants to be Little Bear and Annie, and spends way more time playing Doctor than princess. It is all a stage, anyway, and next week it will be something new. I do love the idea of a princess party. Although, my daughter needs to find some buddies who are not male, I guess, because I don't think they would love it.

[shanna]

loved the post amy. i was in love with fox and the hound, played that record so much!

[jessica]

I've wondered about why it's so much more emphasized to be girly these days. I think we're on a feminist "you're better than the boys so dress like them, play like them and show them up" rebound, and on to a "embrace your feminity because you're a beautiful girl" thing... which I like better. I remember having to wear boy shorts to be able to go mountain biking, now there are SKIRTS. And pink is COOL! I like it.

[hillary]

yeah, what is up with that? this summer there were hoards of little girls running around town in tutus and full on puffy tulle princess dresses. first time I thought oh, cute, look how much that little girl loves her princess outfit and then it was every other little girl too. kinda freaked me out. but yeah, it's gotta be better than princess' older sister - slutty mcglitter pants. do they have to grow up? I'd like to keep Oscar in toddlerland. I'm good with the cars! trucks! trains! phase but the next stage - swords, guns, fighting. ugh. not looking forward to it.

[Mariko]

Oh man, I have always wanted a magic wand! That one is great. By the way, I popped into Bolt the other day and saw some incredible artwork on the walls ...

[Lizette]

Not much princess stuff going on around here either. It came and went, but many kids (mostly younger) around us are really into Disney and princess everything, and even though I'd love to make a princess dress, one is enough. I'm not against it but the whole living in a castle and being royalty is not that appealing to me. Am I boring or what? Again, if we find a good book about princesses and kingdoms, we might get into it all over again.

[PAULA]

im making fairytale princesses now for my three and four years old daughters (these will be for christmast) you could make some really nice little tutus with tulle, its very cheap here in argentina. i will buy the stars that you can get with beautiful lights and a golden crown. i have to add as much glitter as i can because they love fairytopia style!! i wasnt very girly when i was a little teen, either. i love your blog

[PAULA]

http://www.garnethill.com/jump.jsp?itemID=8530&itemType=CATEGORY&path=1%2C2%2C4322%2C8530 i dont know how to post a link but you have a nice princess here! i love the colors and the little wings

[cherylc]

You are younger than me, but our childhoods sound similar. I didn't get girly until I finally caved to societal pressure at around 12. As an adult I've found a comfortable medium. For my four year old daughter, I've kept her away from Disney princesses, and tried to allow her to be girly/princessy if she wants. I don't want her to absorb the idea that part of being girly is being helpless, you know? Which seems to be part of Disney princesses. As much as this is in my control, anyway...

[laurie]

hey, thanks for the memories! my sister and i loved the rescuers, Free to Be, You and Me, and I was more of a raggedy ann girl than a cinderella.

p.s. did you make the star yourself? paper and glitter?

[amy k.]

I did make the star-I drew it and scored it and folded it to make it 3-D and then glued it to stiff board-does that make sense?

[shell]

Oh, pretty little wand - I love the stripes.

Yes, I was a fairy girl growing up - I have almost every Brian Froud book ever made (haven't bought the last few as I'm not too fond of his new style) and was really into Irish folk lore and world myths for a long time. My favourite movies as a kid were the Labrynth and the Dark Crystal and anything dark and sinister and totally fantastic blew me away. The girls were almost always kick butt heroines in these tales too. The meek and mild princess never did it for me either, besides faeries have cool powers. =) Hope you and Sadie enjoy the party!

[erinay]

i want one! ;) or better yet, I want to know how to make one! can we have a craft party soon? maybe in that 25th hour I am working on negotiating for the world... that 25th hour where all kids sleep and mom's play.

[Grammie]

Wonderful wand, Mom. You remember it well...