Many of us have fond memories of visiting our grandparents' house as children.
Grandparents are known for spoiling their grandkids, doing fun activities with them, and always providing them with freshly-baked cookies.
One young woman, Emily Seilhamer, always associated her grandparents' house with their floral yellow wallpaper.
She always thought the lovely kitchen wallpaper would make a nice spring dress, but assumed it would just stay on the walls forever.
Sadly, Emily's grandmother passed away two years ago, and her grandfather recently moved into an assisted living home.
Her family then decided to put their house up for sale — but first they were going to tear down the wallpaper.
That's right — the stunning vintage wallpaper was coming down, which meant Emily could have it.
Emily, who is now an artist and upcycler, knew exactly what she would do with the wallpaper: turn it into a dress like she'd always imagined.
[H/T BoredPanda]
Emily told LittleThings:
I grew up always thinking the flowered wallpaper would make a nice spring dress, especially an Easter dress.
When I heard they were taking down the wallpaper to get the house ready to sell, I realized I had the rare opportunity to actually make the dress I imagined with the wallpaper itself… and in time for Easter Sunday no less!
We took the pictures right before our family Easter meal that day.
It was like a childhood fantasy turned into reality.
My grandmother passed away almost 2 years ago, and my grandfather recently moved to a retirement facility.
Selling the house has been an emotional process for the entire family, so this became a way for me to sweetly say goodbye to all the memories that were once held there.
Emily used the wallpaper to make a gorgeous vintage-style dress, which she then photographed.
She explained the process of making the dress to LittleThings, which truly looks stunning.
Emily said:
The wallpaper itself is thick mesh paper (the heavy duty kind) that came off the wall in one gigantic piece.
This made it possible to use the paper like very stiff fabric. It went through the sewing machine just fine!
In fact, I was able to crease the paper in some areas (such as the skirt) without even needing the machine because it held its shape.
I didn't add any sort of backing, the dress is entirely the paper (minus the zipper and cardboard-backed flower in the back).
The stiffness also made it hard to breathe, bend, and sit!
My husband and sister-in-law had to help me move into place and take pictures… until the hot sun melted it a bit, giving me slightly more wiggle room 🙂
The bouquet I used as a prop was made from the flowers in the wallpaper, glued to a cardboard backing, but now has a nice vase in our living room.
How gorgeous is this dress? If this stunning sun dress were being sold at a store, people would definitely buy it!
Although Emily explained that the wallpaper dress wasn't exactly comfortable, her photos still look incredible.
If Emily were able to find this pattern in a fabric, she could totally wear this all year long!
What do you think of this yellow wallpaper dress? It's such a genius way for Emily to honor her grandparents and their lovely house.
If you love when people use their creativity in positive ways, please SHARE this article with your friends and family!
To see more of Emily's projects, visit her Facebook page!
