If you know anything about me, you know that the Wade family has a seven-year tradition of sending themed photo cards around the holidays. A couple of years ago, we chose a Christmas Carol theme: Mark, of course, would play Scrooge, Kip would serve as a somewhat-furrier Tiny Tim than Dickens probably had in mind, and I would fill the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past (the saddest yet prettiest ghost).
We always go to Savers or Goodwill when we need weird props for our cards, especially when we know we’ll probably never use them again. (A kid-sized old wooden tennis racket for Tiny Tim’s crutch? $2. A long—and somewhat creepy—red velvet bathrobe that Mark wouldn’t be caught dead in otherwise? $4.)
Turns out, like a lot of things I see in my head, the idea looked way better in theory than on film so we ultimately scrapped the idea and went with a hunting theme. (‘Cause that’s a totally logical transition.)
While we donated most of the props right back to Savers, I kept the lace tablecloth we’d purchased to enhance my ghostly and ethereal Christmas Past beauty. (Hey, you never know when you’re going to need to slap a little lace on something. Or a lot—that tablecloth was apparently for some sort of Downton Abbey-sized table.) Eventually, inspired by the ongoing lace trend, I whipped up a skirt by using a little elastic and keeping the tablecloth’s existing hem. (And I really do mean “whipped.” If there’s one thing you’ll learn if you follow this blog, it’s that I’m pretty lazy when it comes to sewing.)
Tank: H & M // Belt: Target via Goodwill
The skirt looked alright, but it turns out a plain-lace-tablecloth-turned-plain-lace-skirt can look pretty boring, so I gathered most of the fabric/tablecloth in the back for a hint of a bustle. (And I just think bustles are cool. Let’s bring ’em back!)
Throw a slip of contrasting color—or even a shift dress with a bold pattern—under there and you get a bustle-y, high-waisted lace skirt made out of a tablecloth. Something tells me I should probably come up with a better name.
