Color Me Thrifty

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Think Pink Monday: Tina from What We Keep

By Tuula McPhee (This post may contain affiliate links.)

If you’ve been following me for awhile you know that pink is my favourite colour… so I’ve invited some bloggy friends over to do some pink guest posts. Let’s just call them the Pink Ladies.
“Pink is the word… is the  word… that you heard.
It’s got groove… it’s got meaning.“
This week’s Pink Lady is Tina from What We Keep.
It’s time for another Pink Thang @ Tuula’s Think Pink Monday.
Thanks for having me, Tuula.
This was a very fun project for me to do.

I have completely emasculated this poor bear.
He belongs to my son- or did when he was a baby.
He’s mine now- I am the Keeper of the Bears.
He’ll survive his pinkness, right?
I  had so many ideas running through my head about what to make for you.
I finally decided on using one of the antique dresses that Pink Lady Danni sent me.
(Thanks, Danni!)
The dress was white…and then magically, it wasn’t.
This sweet little dress was so delicate and fragile,
but pinking it up actually helped reinforce the fabric.
Lucky me, because I wanted to embroider a small initial on it.
This bit of crocheted trim was found in my Mamaw’s sewing machine drawer.
She had saved it for something and I thought it was perfect for Bebo’s collar.
I added a crystal button from my recently deceased cashmere sweater.
I attached it with a vintage looking pin and declared it perfect.
To replace the missing ribbon, I simply used some Hobby Lobby ribbon
that I had on hand and finished it off with a vintage earring of my MIL’s.
For Bebo’s cotton candy crown?
Threads from the fabric I dyed- a nice big tangled up mess of pink drop cloth remains.
I am so jealous of Bebo’s crown.
He may remain in his pinkness for the holidays.
All this pink was made possible thanks to the magic of Annie Sloan
~and her Scandinavian Pink.
Thanks, Annie.
For anyone wanting to try dyeing fabric with ASCP, I encourage you to try it!
It’s easy- I mixed 1 cup chalk paint with 8 cups of hot water.
You don’t need that much unless you are dyeing a lot of fabric.
I mixed up my magic potion in a large plastic bin, added my fabric and dress
and let it sit in the sink for an hour or so.
When it had reached the color I wanted, I wrung out the excess and hung them up to dry.
The dress was almost instantly transformed, the dropcloth took more time.
After drying overnight, I washed the dropcloth fabric in the washing machine with detergent
and then popped it in the dryer.
Trust me on this…there will be no paint residue in your machines.
The dress was just rinsed well and hung to dry.
I’m doing a few more projects with the dyed fabric and will be excited to show you.
Thanks for having me here as a Pink Lady, Tuula!
Bebo says he is definitely not a lady.
Dude looks like a lady to me, eh?
Have a great week everyone- and stay warm.

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Thanks so much Tina. That little pink dress is so lovely. I never knew you could dye fabric using chalk paint. How awesome! I love Bebo’s crown too. Thanks for bringing your sweet little dress and Bebo, in all their glorious pinkness, for a visit… and thanks for joining the Pink Ladies.
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If you don’t already know Tina you should pop over to her blog What We Keep and check it out. She’s classy and sassy, does gorgeous embroidery work, and takes amazing photographs… often reminding me that there is beauty to be seen in the unlikeliest of ways and places.

Thanks so much for reading, and until next time…. Think Pink!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Danni@SiloHillFarm says

    Wow! That is so much more gorgeous now than when i sent it to you! I can see that dying the fabric would help strengthen it. I wondered if you would do some embroidery on them…glad to see you did! I think we all could use a cotton candy crown. Perfect pinkness for a Monday morning and you are more than welcome!

    Reply

  2. Donna Wilkes says

    Bebo must be a very manly bear because he wears that crown like a true prince. I am in love with the dress. As much as I have dyed stuff, I have never used a watered down paint. Are you sure it will not come off in the washer and dryer? The dress is beautiful and Bebo should keep his crown. Welcome to the Pink Ladies!

    Reply

  6. Row homes and Cobblestones says

    Tina,
    OMGosh ok I really want to say holy crap … You totally blow me away with your embroidery (gorgeous) and your creative mind. Always impressed and yes, me too love pink! How cute the dress is and the crown – amazing!
    Happy pink Monday,
    xo,
    Vera

    Reply

  11. lynn says

    i had no idea you could dye with the chalkpaint…so clever, tina! your vintage dress is a cute find and bebo, well, he may never be the same–haha! tfs!

    Reply

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