Once upon a time, there lived a twelve-foot skeleton who
welcomed people to his San Diego neighborhood. His name was Festive Franklin, and
he stood outside his home. He stood as a beacon of cheer to all who saw him,
including an artist named Sarah, who regularly drove by his castle.
Sarah noticed that he had his own Instagram (of course he
did—he was the unofficial mayor of his neighborhood) and she began to follow
his account. For more than a year, Franklin had been posting pictures of
himself, dressed in cool clothes for each holiday. Being a festive dresser
herself, Sarah was glad that Franklin enjoyed celebrating life. But for the last
few months, it seemed Franklin was so busy greeting neighbors and visitors that
he had forgotten to wear festive frocks.
One day, Sarah dropped a note in the mailbox at Franklin’s place.
She offered to make Franklin a “2026” shirt to help him ring in the new year. Franklin’s
mom/manager/momager texted immediately and gave Sarah the go-ahead. Which brings us to today….
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| Franklin in his birthday suit. |
Blog readers, this is my first post of 2026. It is
not an easy time in the world right now, and I hope this post brings a touch of
levity to your day. We can’t ignore the
challenges in our world, but we do need breaks from stress. People need to
smile and laugh, so consider this your creative coffee break.
Have you ever made clothes for a twelve-foot skeleton? Now, I
can check that off my list. And you can, too!
If you want to dress a giant skeleton, you do not need to
know how to sew. All you need is an idea. (Of course, you also will need
stretchy fabric, and hot glue or fabric glue. But my point is, anyone can do
this if they want to.)
Franklin’s mom and I texted ideas back and forth. She explained
that you can’t put clothes onto Franklin the way you dress yourself, because
there are cables behind him holding him upright. Any clothing would need to be
tied in the back, like a hospital gown.
My initial sketch.
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| This shirt looked big. Would it be big enough? |
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| Gems gave it some extra sparkle... |
I wondered if Frankie might feel extra naked if he had only
a shirt, so I decided to make him pants from the same stretchy sheet. (Online,
skeleton pants measured approximately 93 inches long, which seemed really
long—that’s almost eight feet of pants! But this was my first skeleton
makeover, so I trusted the dimensions given.) If the pants were too big, I could
cut them on site. They looked like they would be too large even for Shaquille
O’Neal. I love Shaq. He is a giant at 7’1”, and he also has a big heart. Shaq often
does kind things for kids and people who need help.
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| Progress shot. |
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| View from a six-foot ladder. |
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| How cute is he? |
It turned out, the pants were not too big—they could have
been longer! But we will get to that soon. I dyed half of the pants with green
fabric dye that was left over from a past project. Tie dye is fun, and it felt
like a fitting look for a guy whose name is “Festive.”
Once I finished painting and decorating, I cut the back of
the shirt and pants, and attached ties made from left-over fabric. Frankie’s
pants easily could have been another foot longer, but since this is San Diego,
he won’t get too cold. This project did not cost anything to make, as I had all
the supplies at home already, and it felt extra satisfying to create a lot of
impact for free.
Today was Dress Up Day, and I got to meet Franklin’s parents. They were friendly and fun and delighted that I wanted to do a giant makeover on Franklin. I was delighted that they wanted me to. Ares helped me dress Frankie, and held the ladder. If you dress a twelve-foot skeleton, bring a trusty person to hold the ladder. Also bring safety pins and clamps, just in case.
Franklin's green belt was supposed to be a headband, but I could not get high enough to fasten it, so we made it into a belt. Voila!
This was an enjoyable project for me. A bit of a challenge, but manageable. Sometimes you just need to do something that is a happiness-booster. Potentially, I can boost a lot of people’s happiness—not just mine. Anyone driving by will notice that Franklin is starting 2026 off with a festive look. If I can add a little joy to someone’s day, I’m glad to do it!
Making people smile or laugh has been one of my favorite
things to do—for decades. As a teenager I did this through theater, and as an
adult, I’ve tried to bring cheer to people through my art. I have been a
teacher for more than eight years, and it’s been a pleasure to cheer on my students,
and to give encouragement—a kind word, a smile, a high five.
So, from Festive Franklin and Sassy Sarah, Happy New Year. I
will keep bringing some sparkle to my corner of the world, and so will Frankie…
Is there a project you undertook, simply because it sounded
fun? Share in the comments below. Also, please send this to a friend or two. It
would be fun to see how many people Franklin can cheer up. In my next post, I
will let you know how many people we reached.
Til then, keep shining!
