Friday, February 19, 2010

Prom Night

Tonight is Taylor's senior prom! I know it's kind of early for prom season to begin, but then we are homeschoolers and homeschoolers march to their own beat. This, plus the fact that the prom is a also a fund-raiser for the Beta Club and they need the funds before the March state convention, makes for an early prom.

So, today I have been trying my hand at something new to me. Making a boutonniere and corsage. I was so happy that Taylor wanted me to use pink flowers, and I promise, I didn't try to persuade him in any way! Really! After dropping Taylor off to help with prom decorations yesterday, I went in search of materials. I found the perfect roses at a little shop not far from the prom site! There was also baby's breath and fern frond in the bouquet, so I didn't have to find filler. I was so happy!


This is one of the roses before I mutilated it.



No kidding! You behead the flower and replace the stem with a florist wire. Everyone but me probably already knew this. I had no clue until watching seemingly hours of YouTube instructions on how to make corsages. So, off with the stems and on with the wires. Here's a rose after its stem transplant.



Here's the finished boutonniere after adding a fern frond, baby's breath, and wrapping the stem with florist tape. I was pretty proud of myself after this little feat. But now on to the BIG challenge...the corsage.



Now, I'm kind of out-of-touch with the florist world, so I didn't know wrist corsages are in and pin-on corsages are out. I found that out when I called a local florist to price corsages. Evidently I'm also out of touch with the price of flowers when bought from a florist. I was informed that a simple wrist corsage starts at $25! That's when this home-school mom decided to become a home-florist.

First I had to think about how to make the wristlet to hold the corsage. Ah-ha! Light bulb moment! I could make something like a pony tail holder from elastic and satiny material I already had!



To finish up the corsage I made three little flower clusters just like the boutonniere, arranged them together, and added the ribbon bow I had made last night. And, VOILA, the finished product. (It'll look better on a young girl's hand instead of my aged one.)



Hey, I was pretty impressed. Now, if they all hold together okay, we're in business. I'm sending along a corsage pin just in case the flowers decide to come off of the wristlet. Afterall, I am a seamstress, not a florist.

I was also happy with the total price for the two flowers... $3.99 for the flowers, and $1.75 for the ribbon. I already had the florist wire and tape from my paper-rose making days. So the grand total was less than $6! Not bad for prom flowers! And....

....there were even enough left-overs to make a small arrangement to grace our breakfast room table on this Pink Saturday!



Be sure to go by Beverly's blog for a list of all the Pink Saturday participants for this week.
Edited to add: Taylor enjoyed the prom and he said his date had the prettiest flowers there. He's so sweet.


This post is linked to:  Making the World Cuter, The DIY Project Parade, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Life Made Lovely Monday , Motivate Me Monday, It's So Very Cheri, Making Monday Marvelous, Craftastic Monday, Just Something I Whipped Up, Take a Look Tuesday


41 comments:

  1. you did such a gorgeous job!!!!! so professional and the money you saved...great tip!!!

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  2. Beautiful. Amazing what flowers cost from a florist!

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  3. You did a beautiful job, just pat yourself on the back girl!

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  4. job well done. nothing more rewarding than accomplishing a task your not familiar with. Now for the wedding flowers!!!!!!!!!
    hahaha!

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  5. You did a great job! Happy Pink Saturday and congrats to the prom kids! Have fun!

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  6. Gorgeous.. You did an Awesome job, girl.. I found you thru the Apronista.. Luv ur blog..

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  7. Sew, now you can add 'HomeFlowerMaking' to your curriculum! Excellent job! Give yourself a Pat onthe Wrist and the Lapel while enjoying a Rosey Breakfast! Well done!

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  8. You did a beautiful job...and they will be more special because YOU made them.Those really are a lovely shade of pink.I hope Taylor has a wonderful time at Prom:)

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  9. Hi Sherry...
    You did a wonderful job with the flowers,they're just beautiful and very professional looking. I hope that everyone has a wonderful time with their prom.. Happy Pink Saturday..have a lovely weekend..

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  10. P.S. I forgot to ask...did you get your package yet? I mailed it Tuesday so you should be getting it soon... xxxx, CC

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  11. Hi Sherry; Wow you did an amazing job on them... mine would have come out awful... love the wristlet she is going to be so thrilled.. hope you take lots of pictures.... Happy Pink Saturday;

    Pink Hugs;
    Alaura

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  12. Hi Sherry! LOVE the work you did on the corsage and boutonniere!!! Like the extra arrangement on your table too! Happy Pink Saturday, and hope you're enjoying the weekend! ~tina

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  13. Oh Sherry, how beautiful! Absolutely stunning corsage! Aren't you the smart one? That shade of pink is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing and Happy Pink Saturday to you.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  14. Sherry, a florist couldn't have done better. The wrist corsage is gorgeous and I think any girl would be proud to wear it. Great job! Have a terrific week. Terri

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  15. Beautiful job on those flowers, what girl would not love wearing that.
    Way to go

    HPS
    Gail - Decorating My Tin Shack

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  16. Great job!! Happy Pink Saturday to you! Thanks for coming by.

    Back Porch Blessings,
    Rebecca

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  17. Sherry,

    How beautiful. What a great job. I can smell those lovely pink roses from here.

    xo Cath

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  18. Stop by to see me and join me for the new giveaway!

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  19. I'm impressed! Everything looks wonderful and the extra little treat for yourself is great!

    Thanks so much for visiting. Please come back, I love company!

    Leann

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  20. You did a beautiful job! Flowers are so expensive when you have to buy them. Your Taylor is lucky to have such a crafty and helpful Mom! Thanks for stopping by Loveleigh Treasures to visit, you are welcome ANY time! Happy Pink!

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  21. Happy Pink Saturday, thanks for stopping by and your sweet comment.
    YES, this would be beautiful with my vintage prom dress. Fantastic job! Beautiful roses!

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  22. That is truly beautiful. I would have been a big ol' chicken. There is something about floral arranging with REAL flowers that scares me. The cost savings was amazing.

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  23. It's Beautiful Sherry, you did a wonderful job!! Just the right shade of pink too.

    Enjoy your Day-

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  24. What a lucky couple-the boutonniere and wristlet are both just beautiful!! Your did a very professional job! Hope he had lots of fun too!! Happy pink week!
    p.s. I love antique shops too.

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  25. Love love the corsage! You did such a great job!
    Thanks for stopping by and for your lovely comment.
    Happy belated PS,
    Monica.

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  26. Beautiful rose, and gorgeous color!

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  27. Oh how pretty! I think they turned out lovely.

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  28. Beautiful job and great ingenuity. The pink roses are a lovely shade of pink. I'm sure the young girl was thrilled.
    Thanks for stopping by to visit. Hope to see you again.

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  29. Beautiful! Whew you have a few years before the need for wedding flowers! Praying the prom went well. Thank you for sharing.

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  30. Oh what a delight! You did yourself and your son proud! I am one of those mom's who'd be doing it myself too, cause those things cost way more than they have to!

    My dd Jr/Sr prom is coming up soon. She's going to a Christian school and I know it will be a real nice dinner. Can't believe this is her last year.

    Thanks for stopping by on PINK Sat...I'm make my rounds late, but glad I stopped by!

    Blessings...Lorena

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  31. Well Done Mom!! I think the Pink Flowers were lovely! You must have gotten them at Trader Joe's I LOVE their flowers!! Cheap!!! I do love when things work out well. I didn't like any restaurants in town so my senior prom dinner was in my living room with Lasagna my mom made!! PERFECT!
    Happy Pink Saturday!
    Hugs, Lisa

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  32. I love the flowers- so pretty! Roses are my favorites!

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  33. So beautiful! I am so impressed....what a wonderful job you did for your son and his date. He should be so proud of you! Happy belated Pink Saturday!

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  34. Absolutely beautiful!
    Thank you for sharing.
    Happy Pink!
    Have a great day.

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  35. Hello Sherry,

    Happy PiNk to you! I seem to stay on a continuous PiNk journey. :0) I'm so glad to meet you. I lived in Mobile, AL for many years and then I lived in Valley Head, AL (just north of Ft. Payne, AL) for about 18 months along my lifetime of traveling. :0)

    Where are you?? I'm from Tennessee but have traveled my whole life but now I'm finally settled in my dream home in the mountains outside of Gatlinburg, TN. My husband is from Mobile but he's now converted to a mountain man. :0)

    I think you did a terrific job with the roses! Thanks so much for coming over for a visit...I'm alway happy to hear from you.

    Come back soon and I'll do the same!

    ♥ Love & Faerie Dust ♥
    Stephanie

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  36. By far....the best Pink Saturday post I have seen! Loved it! When my boys were in high school I always made the stuffed animals and such for their girlfriend's Valentine presents and would buy flowers from the grocery store and show them how to wrap them with paper doilies, etc. to make them extra special. They never lacked for girl friends! LOL...Happy belated Pink Saturday!

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  37. Hello! oh this is stunning!!! i cant believe you made that for $6, it looks incredibly expensive!! sweet wishes

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  38. Great job on the corsages, Sherry! And the roses you had leftover look so pretty on your sweet vintage tablecloth. Her/his flowers probably WERE the prettiest ones there!

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  39. Hi
    These are so cute & you did a wonderful job. I love these & know my readers would love them too. I have a Blog Hop each week on Monday & Wed. (2 different ones) I would love to have you join us @ http://www.santasgiftshoppe.blogspot.com
    Hope to see you there. Have a great week.
    Barb

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  40. Thank you for the tips - my daughter's prom is coming up and this will help us cut costs. Please visit my new blog with old-time recipes from my mother's recipe box like Sour Cream Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting. That might be a sweet treat for your son and his prom date!
    http://www.rocknrecipes-rocknquilts.blogspot.com

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  41. I'm a professional florist and would say you did a great job! The corsage is done really well (and they are tricky to do so good for you!)

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I'm so happy you're leaving me a comment! ~ Sherry