Over the TOP Challenge: Day 3

We are on day three - half way through our week of AMAZINGNESS!!!!!!!!!!!  The link ups are looking amazing - and if you want to link up your own creation, it is super easy ;o)  Just go HERE click the 'link' button at the bottom of the post and add your information and picture.  You can link anything from 2014 that fits the theme 'Over The TOP: Holiday'.  We can't wait to see what you have!

But now to the insanely BOW-U-TIFUL creation that Cassie has for us today!

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Eeeeeek! Cassie here, of Lily Shine Boutique, to share with you my latest outta-this-world creation! I am so excited to be a part of the Over the Top Challenge by Pattern Revolution, and super eager to share with you all about my look. After I finished wrapping up Season 10 of Project Run & Play, I felt like the excitement and push to create unique and beautiful things had fizzled out. For some reason, I thrive on stress, challenge and the need to create! When the ladies at Pattern Revolution appeased my desire to dream up an Over the Top outfit, I was more than thrilled!

The inspiration for my look comes from two places: my love for Pinterest and my love for all things Disney Princess. Once hearing of the challenge, I went right to my source (pinterest) and started browsing for some great children's couture and runway fashion. I stumbled across this image and fell in LOVE. My mind went racing, and I sketched out the perfect, bow-inspired dress.

If you have gotten to know me a bit by now, my obsession with big bows is no surprise. I used a simple circle skirt for the base of the dress and trimmed the hem with some fabulous lace hem tape. I simply adore gradient/ombre in clothing, especially in a world of pink! I set out to my local fabric store and found some fabulous taffetas in white (with small, sweet bows), pale pink (in the same great checkerboard design as I used for the bodice), baby pink, and a crinkled pink. I won't tell you how much time I spent crunching numbers to figure out the perfect size of each layer so that the bows would fit just right on the circle skirt but I will pat myself on the back for using some of my hard-earned Master's and Bachelor's degrees though! HA!

I wanted the back of the skirt to have some drama so I made an extra-large bow from the bodice taffeta and tacked a side with a snap for easy on/off. Instead of giving my princess a crown, I went for a larger-than-life bow hair pin. I used some left over pale-pink taffeta and crinkled pink for the center. I strongly believe in the notion that the bigger the bow, the bigger the heart of the girl!

The bodice of the dress began as the Disco Party dress by Ainslee Fox Patterns. I love the curved shape, the top bodice detail and as always, Ainslee Fox patterns sew up with ease and professional construction. I used a sheer beaded organza overlay on the same pink I used for the skirt for the top bodice detail, and a white textured taffeta for the bottom bodice. Kenzie picked out some jazzy pink heart crystal buttons for the back (against my wishes for an awesome lace zipper!). 

Kenzie's birthday is in December and I always try my best to make sure her birthday isn't holiday related as much as possible. She selected pink, to no surprise. As I was constructing the dress, it kind of morphed into an over-the-top version of Cinderella's pink dress. That dress happens to be one of my favorite Disney Princess dresses, and I've always wanted to do my own version of it. Hailey, the amazing talent behind Hailey Faria Photography, has been asking me to put a spin on it for weeks now so I'm glad we were finally able to put our heads together on this shoot. Her partner-in-creativity, Autumn of Dream Compass Styling had come up with the idea of the next photo. I'd like to think it was as if Cinderella's step sisters never ripped that beautiful pink dress and she made it to the ball. But, alas, she still lost her shoe! Where would any smart, fashionable princess-to-be go to get a new slipper? 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Over-The-Top Bow dress, and can't wait to see all the great entries you are linking up throughout this week! Big thanks to Hailey and Autumn for helping to make my vision come to life on screen. We make a smashing, creativity-packed team! 

Happy Holidays! -Cassie