Challenge Dress #6 - "Hope, Dream, Believe"

I love these three words - hope, dream, believe.  I feel like these words were such a large part of my life growing up.  My parents did a wonderful job encouraging me throughout my childhood to follow my dreams.  They never ever told me something wasn't possible or it wasn't practical (which I heard many of my friends parents say quite often).  They were constantly supporting me and believing in me in everything I did. 

I grew up singing, dancing and acting and it was always my dream to be on Broadway.  Never once was I told that it was not a possibility.   I was accepted to Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) my Senior year of high school as a musical theatre major.  I attended college in Cincinnati for 3/4 of my Freshman year.  In the middle of my Freshman year, I personally came to the realization that musical theatre was not what I wanted from life.  I realized that I thrived on stability and needed to focus on a career that would bring me that in the future.

But it was not my parents that brought me to this realization, it was my only personal journey that had lead me to this decision.  My parents asked me repeatedly if I was sure of my decision to quit musical theatre.  They knew I had the passion and drive to succeed and just wanted to make sure that I always new I had their support.

I want my two girls to have passion and dreams in life and I want them to know that they can achieve those dreams.  I want them to feel like their potential in life is limitless.  If they really want something, they can go for it and their father and I will be behind them 100%.

So that is why I decided to freezer paper stencil those three words on challenge dress #6 - Hope, Dream, Believe - I want those three words to be in the forefront of my girls minds throughout their entire lives.

I did a freezer paper stencil on the gray fabric with the words "hope, dream, believe" in a bright pink fabric paint.  Click here to see more about freezer paper stenciling.

I did a reverse serged edge on this dress with black thread.

I wanted to do kind of a layered look so I did a long-sleeve black knit, underneath the teal green short sleeves.

• All pictures of the challenge dresses were taken by Megan Abelard Photography.  More of her work can be seen on her website:  http://www.meganabelard.com
• The Sienna Dress Pattern is an incredibly well-written and easy to follow sewing pattern.  I highly recommend it for even the most beginner sewer or anyone who is interested in starting to sew with knits.  Click here to find out more information.