Olivia the pig.

And I still have an hour+ to go before my two flights home, and I've left my dutiful blog readers in the dark for a few weeks, but I have been crafting something the last few weeks, so without further ado...

If you don't know who Olivia the pig is, I'd recommend checking her out. When my sister (who will be a teenager this week!) was little, she had these books and I enjoyed them as much, if not more than her.

I mean, a pig in a sailor collar "who is good at many things" (singing loudly happens to be one of them). I love her!

Last year I gave my friend's daughter the book for her first birthday, and with her second birthday approaching, and after spying this dress-up kit, I was inspired.

But to be quite honest, I thought the kit was a little lame and all of the reviewers confirmed that. So I set out to create my own--with a few caveats: 1. If I really knew how to sew, I might have attempted the red dress, 2. black and white striped tights/leggings/sock are hard to come by, and 3. my own procrastination got in the way.

So tutu it was (because Olivia is also a dancer)! I followed this tutorial and it was a really simple process (even though I bought tulle by the yard instead of on a roll as per the instructions).

She would also need some pig ears to complete the porcine ensemble. :) These I just sort of winged from looking at some google images. They are a combo of pink fleece, white felt (for the inner ear), pipe cleaners to help them keep their shape, and a headband.

And lastly, little miss Mari was going to need the sailor collar!

I followed this tutorial and cut stars out of adhesive black felt, and tailored the tie part of the collar and sewed in black ribbon to make it more authentic and Olivia-like.

I hope she likes it!

Happy 2nd, Mari!