princesses, pink, and pretty things

I have some friends who cackle delightedly (I know who you are!) that I birthed a girly girl.  If you know me at all, you know that I Am Not Girly.  I wear almost no jewelry, put on very little make-up, hate shoes and shopping, and have typically avoided anything pink.  And now I have a girl who is all about all of those things.  It's been a learning curve for me, but I find myself embracing the ruffles and bling (cheap bling, of course!) and even pink these days.  How could I not when she makes me smile so much?

The Girl has a birthday at the end of the month, and I am up to my eyeballs in princessy-type craftiness for birthday gifts and her Princess Tea Party.  I am determined to do this on a budget (really, it's not like there's any other option for us), so I'm using simple supplies, recycling/repurposing as much as I can, scouring Goodwill, and planning to beg and borrow as well!  And I love it.  Yes, I do.  I admit it - I love being princessy for My Princess. 

What I don't love, though, is the message that some of this princess culture sends.  Wait for your Prince Charming, and when you get him, all will be well.  Blech.  Now, don't get me wrong, when Disney revamped their animation department and started churning out those fun new princess movies (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) I loved it as much as any girl.  I even had posters all over my dorm room.  And I love a good romantic comedy (I'm girly in some ways, I guess).  But I was also old enough to know that none of that is real.  That real life is not so pretty.  That real life doesn't end with a wedding.  That being a girl is about a lot more than getting a boy. 

My Girl will be 6 on her birthday, and she already talks about getting married.  I think this is normal (I hope?), but I also want her to be happy about herself without a fairy tale.  I want her to learn how to be a friend, how to respect herself and others, how to create beauty in her own way, how to serve and be served graciously, how to fight our cultural desire to get more and more stuff (and to be just as happy with less).  And The Little Mermaid certainly doesn't teach any of this (man, that girl is bratty!).  [Just after I wrote this (seriously, we must be mind-linked), a friend posted this link on her facebook page:  Advice for Young Girls from The Little Mermaid.]

I don't want to discourage My Girl's love of all that is sparkly and magical.  I actually think magical thinking is important.  By all means, I want her to imagine a different world!  I just want some balance.  I want her to know that women can be smart and strong and kind and caring, and that they are beautiful in all their many colors and shapes (I understand now why my mother was so opposed to Barbie!).  Fortunately, despite her girly-girlness, she is not at all a fragile girl.  She's pretty rough-and-tumble, and sometimes plays better with boys than with girls, even though her great desire is to have Girl BFF's.  She has started freaking out if she gets marker on her fingers, though.  "It's ugly!"  *sigh*

There's a relatively new Tinkerbell video that we got from the library a few weeks ago.  The story is about Tinkerbell (of course), who is a tinker fairy - meaning she makes things - and her struggle with being a different kind of fairy than the other fairies (who are good with growing things).  In the end, she embraces the beauty of her own talent and her contribution to the fairy community.  Now that's the kind of fairy tale story I can get behind!  And so when I found this Pixie Hollow project online, I decided to give it a try for her birthday.  I haven't started it yet.  It may turn out to be a disaster, but I'm kind of excited to try! 

And here are some pictures of the things I've already begun or finished:

Here's the princessy skirt I finally finished - my first attempt at using a pattern to sew something.  The overskirt doesn't hang exactly right, I think because I cut the fabric across the grain instead of along it.  It was the only way to cut enough fabric pieces, and since I got the fabric at Goodwill, I couldn't go out and buy more.  It was also my first attempt at sewing on elastic, which I'm sure I didn't do exactly right.  But I think My Girl will still like it, flaws and all!

And here's the felt birthday crown that I finished:

And here's a collection of in-process stuff (you'll notice it's all in the laundry room - that room doubles as my craft room):

Look at all that pink!  See, I really am embracing my (very small) girly side :)!