Yesterday and today, I was in the studio working on AngelWraps, which are used for the tiniest of Angelbabies.
Its not a quick process: none of the Angel items are fast to put together, at least for me.
The dresses must be broken down into parts and pieces, which can take hours.
The items must be cut from the fabric of the dresses.... again, several hours can be used cutting up a single dress. I try to use every scrap of satin, lace, and embellishment possible.
Then I plan the embellishments because some are applied before the garment is sewn and some are applied after the garment is constructed. The embellishments dictate how the garment is sewn.
I know many glue embellishments onto their Angel items, but I prefer to either machine sew or hand sew them on.
Taking the extra time is my choice because, while my mission of providing these items to the grieving families of babies who have passed far too soon is sad beyond words, being happy with the end results is a personal goal for the items I make... whether they are Angel items or any other craft I do.
And since I want parents to be able to clothe their precious Angelbaby in something that appeals to them, I challenge myself to make Angel items that would appeal to others and not necessarily just those that I love.
That is NOT to say that there are those that do not turn out exactly as I envisioned but all are created with love.
It is truly a labor of love that I collect dresses, transform them into clothing for the Angelbabies, and get them to where they need to be.
I also thank those that help with my mission and my vision. Those that help collect, donate, support, store, and sew for the babies. You not only bless me with your service, but the parents, and the Angelbabies.
