ribbon candy bubble dress

In case you were wondering, last week made us more nervous (not less nervous) about participating in Project Run and Play. Holy talented designers! Gracious.

We do love this week's theme, though- making and modifying the Simple Sweet Dress by Leila and Ben. The versatility of this pattern is fabulous- just by changing up the fabric, or by adding an accent, you can totally tailor the dress to its wearer.

That being said, meet Joanie. She's our best friends' daughter (and our god-daughter, incidentally). She's spunky and curious and, like all supercool kids, says the most hilarious things. She calls Adam, 'Nana,' has deemed cactuses (cacti?) 'spicy,' and is pretty much always dancing. Like we said, love the girl.

Customizing this dress to match Joanie's sweet gracefulness (with a kick of spunk) was a blast! The fabric we used is vibrant (like Joanie) and a little retro (like Joanie's mama)...

...we added a bubble hem and a grosgrain belt, perfect for twirling and swirling (and for accenting to Joanie's lithe frame)...

...and adorned it with preppy bows on each sleeve as well as an epitome-of-sweetness ribbon candy collar for a little graceful detailing.

The end result? Sweet, vibrant, graceful, spunk (both the dress and the girl!).

Would you take a minute to head on over to PR&P and vote?