The True Bride

In the fairy tale The True Bride, a girl handles several challenges from her wicked step-mother with the help of a kindly woman including creating a castle. Upon completion of the castle, the wicked step-mother is killed leaving the girl to live in the castle filled with beautiful dress, riches and everything the girl could desire.
Many tried to woo her, but it wasn’t until she met the son of the King did she find herself in love. The prince left the girl sitting under a lime tree to tell his father he wished to wed. Before he left she kissed him on the cheek and told him to be true. The prince did not return. After several days, the girl set out with a few dresses and jewels thinking that something had befallen her love.
She wondered the world looking of the prince but could not find him. She consoled herself by tending a cow herd for a farmer, hiding her dresses and jewels under a rock. One day she saw her prince but he did not recognize her. She was filled with grief.
The king was holding a 3 day celebration and the girl though it was her last chance to win back her love. On the first night, she wore a dress of suns, the prince danced with her and was enchanted with her beauty. On the second night, she wore a dress of silver moons, the prince only looked at her. On the third night, she wore a dress of stars that sparkled.

The prince has been waiting for a long time that day. She kissed him on the cheek and as if the scales fell from his eyes, he remembered her. They hastened back to her castle and were wed.

I so liked the description in this fairy tale of the dresses. I knew I could find a star fabric to go with the blue tree background I had. I wanted the dress to sparkle so I stitched tiny seed beads on it and added 2 yards of tulle to create an underskirt. The bodice is laced with embroidery thread.

The True Bride (26” x 36”)
Since she is seen in profile, I wanted to be careful with the words on her skin. I created a new handwriting print recently – this one includes the phrase, “create the life you imagined” which is displayed on her arm.