Tea for Two Inlaws ~ Crafting for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

This week's Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Sewing & Crafting brings our families together.  I inherited this black and white tea cup fabric from my sister via my mother and niece.  When my sister died a couple years ago she had several pieces of fabric she had gathered to make my mom a quilt with a Tea Pot/Tea Cup theme. Her daughter gave it to my mom who passed it on to me to use for my dresses.

When I saw it on my fabric shelf I decided it was perfect to make into a dress in honor of my husband's cousin who is like a sister to him.  She wears a lot of black and white and she enjoys a
good cup of tea.  Her favorite color is blue so when I saw flip flops for 84 cents at The Children's Place a while back I looked for some with black, white and blue in them.  These were the only ones that included both, tho the blue is more like a turquoise.

I had ribbon that I was able to match to the rose and turquoise in the flip flops.  The fabric has small white dots in the background and the rose ribbon also has white dots -- a fun additional match.

I also added a bit of lace at the neckline and hemline for a touch of femininity.

Once again I dipped into the yarn supply I have from my late mother-in-law, a special aunt to my husband's cousin -- so another family member involved in this box.

If you'd like to make your own dresses I have written a tutorial and included the pattern here:  Simple Pillow Case Style Dress Tutorial.  And you can find more of my dresses here:  Dresses Made by Cheryl.

She hopes to visit during packing time, so I will allow her the privilege of choosing the color of layering-t to add.  I used black bias for the straps instead of the turquoise I had originally chosen so any of these color shirts will look nice underneath.  Which color would you choose?

I would love to find a little plastic, child's tea set to include in the box.

Have you ever packed a box in honor of a family member?  One year we gave my in-laws an Operation Christmas Child themed gift package which included having sent two packed shoeboxes in their honor.