Tutu Expensive

Window shopping online, I fell in love with a chocolate brown and pink tutu:

The Tutu

I cannot think of a more perfect Valentine's Day surprise for Chicky....but really, as cute as it may be, I will not cannot justify spending $60 on a Valentine's Day gift for my 4-year old. At the same time, when I come up with such a perfect idea, I have a really hard time letting go of it. I auto-pilot into a stream of self-justifying consciousness. It is completely irrational but seems to make such logical sense at the time.

Well, if I spend $60 on a tutu, she will have it forever, but if I spend $60 on, let's say, groceries, really, what do we have left at the end of the week besides wrappers...other trash....more recycling to do....fat cells....The kids never eat the food I cook anyway, in fact, they actually prefer pasta, which is also quicker to cook on a work night, leaving me more time to spend with them, which *is* what's most important after all...

After snapping out of my tirade, I decide to poke around the web to see if I can find anything. My discoveries are tutu fabulous (I'm overdoing this play on the word "tutu" thing, aren't I?). On Etsy.com I searched for the word "tutu" and found a wide range of styles and prices--some as cheap as $5, some as expensive as $100.

My favorite reasonably priced luxurious tutu finds include:

• Strawberry Dreams by Tiara's Boutique: $25 and comes with a free matching hair bow and free glitter or rhinestone embellishments. This tutu can be ordered in lengths of up to 20" (7" longer than my dream tutu) and is made from the perfect Valentine's Day colors.

• Secret Garden by Trinity's Tutus: $18.50 and comes with a free matching head band. This tutu can be ordered in lengths of up to 12". Not only is this tutu as plush as "the tutu," but it also captures the essence of the color tones with a chocolate brown pastel combo (this tutu uses shades of purples and yellow rather than pink).
  
  


• Roses are Red by Tiara's Boutique: $20 and comes with a free red rose wand. This tutu comes in lengths of up to 12" (fitting babies up to size 8 or 9 girls). It's a bit shorter than the others, but a rich red adorned with a big puffy rose--perfect for a Valentine photo shoot.

Now, if you are ambitious, I also found many sets of do-it-yourself tutu instructions. This style of tutu is made up of many strips of tulle. This look can be achieved using the following no sew technique:

No Sew Tutu Instructions

No Sew Tutu Video Demonstration

I would like to attempt to make this Valentine's Day gift for Chicky. You know, teach her about how gifts from the heart mean more and all that jazz. However, working full-time it can be difficult to find time for all the big ideas I come up with (for example, this blog). So, I will set forth with good intentions to make this homemade gift for my sweet little Valentine, but I'm going to keep that Etsy ace of spades in my back pocket.