Now, they look *forward* to drying off!

Lily and her best friend Gracie (picture of the week April 5th) have matching hooded flower towels, store-bought from "The Children's Place". Her mother, my friend Abi, had the foresight to buy two so that neither little girl would want the other's. They were a HIT. Both Lily and Gracie love them. I liked the idea so much that I decided to make some of my own. I started out with lofty goals. I planned to make 6-7 for each girl. Well, that never happened but at least I didn't "throw in the towel" altogether. I did manage to make two a piece- a duck and a bunny (as well as a blue doggie for Gracie's brother). Not too bad. Dressing up never gets boring and better yet, it makes them look forward to drying off:)
(To right) Lily at her weekly swimming lesson, swimming with only ONE back floaty! I'm so proud.

If you want to make your own hooded towel just follow the instructions here. It's VERY simple. If you want to add some animal characteristics I included some inspirations below. The mermaids seem like a great idea although I've yet to attempt it. I hand-stitched most of the features (i.e. the eyes, dog nose and wiskers) with simple embroidery thread. For the duck bill I cut two hand towels in the shape of a bill and sewed them together then turned them inside out and hand-basted it to the hood.