Prom corsages

Finally getting around to posting these!

Here goes....

The mom that ordered this corsage for her son's girlfriend said the girl is waaay out there and wanted hot pink and lime green. I immediately thought of gerbers and kermits. I glued kermits on the band as well, but those don't show in the photo. I put a hot pink rhinestone in the center of the kermit which is glued and wired to the gerbera. I did two big ribbons using both colors and then put them together to form a circle around the entire gerber. This one was super fun to do.

Next is the corsage I did for my son's girlfriend. White gerberas with the 'bling' in the center, 3 small white roses, and some misty. It was on a bracelet that looked sort of like clear sea glass. Don't know what it's called.

Then my son's bout. Small rose wired and glued to the center of a gerbera. I used a bout magnet and it fell off and cost lost in the rug where he got dressed! It ended up getting pinned on and was lopsided. I was mad but just glad it happened to him and not one of the other boys I did a bout for!

Wow!


(wow!!!)

This corsage had 9 or 10 small orchids in it! Most of them were wrapped in pale yellow tulle. For the couples who ordered both the corsage and the bout from me, I upgraded free of charge to a really nice bracelet. So this one was on a rhinestone bracelet.

Matching bout.

Btw, my photos take forever to put onto each post. Anyone know a trick to making them upload faster?

This message was edited Jun 5, 2009 2:50 PM

Another couple order, so upgraded to this pretty blue/green sea glass bracelet to match her dress. Then she changed to a black dress. Luckily the date was still going with his original blue tie!

This was 5 white roses, with two of them spreading out at each end, but it doesn't really show here.

Matching bout.

Lots of orders for white with silver ribbon.

I loved the way this turned out. 3 orchids with the bling in the center of each, gold ribbon on black leaves, and the black wire which you can't see the pattern it was coiled in this photo but you get the idea. Lucky for me, a mom of a boy that goes to another school saw this corsage and loved it and is going to try and get me orders from her son's school next year. It's off the island so delivery will be an issue but if I can work that out, I will be able to get all the orders I can handle for homecoming!

This pair caused me the most grief. Very fragile and tiny orchids that bruised so easily. It actually shows more yellow than it was. They were very white. I also added tiny hyacinth blossoms. I was nervous that this corsage wouldn't hold up but the mom said it did well and that they loved it.

I would avoid working with these kinds of orchids again. The other orchids were a dream and were the most hardy of all the flowers I used, so I was surprised by these.

Another fun one. There were red rhinestones in the centers of the four roses. And it doesn't show well, but I did the red and silver ribbon all the way around the gerbera and then I cut all the loops so they were loose ends of different lengths coming out all around the gerbera.

The boy ordered: Red with maybe some white. I hope it wasn't too wild for him. He's a pretty wild kid, but I don't know the girl at all. I felt unsure on this because there are so many shades of red. I wish I could have seen her dress beforehand.

This boy's date is a very tiny girl so I wanted to keep this small. I put the rhinestones on the ribbon and also around the bracelet to give it a bit more oomph since there weren't many flowers.

Next time I'll take the photos before I spray the flowers!

I did a couple more white roses/silver ribbon corsages, but they look so similar to the ones above, I won't bother posting photos. I basically just changed the bling I used.

I had a blast doing these. It took me all day and I do mean all day! Started at 9 in the morning and finished around 11 that night, with a few breaks in between. But I had so much fun and I discovered I was way more creative than I thought. I learned a lot about the mechanics. Some of the flowers I had to 'undo' and do over. So next time I should be able to do them faster.

Here is my kitchen table when I was all thru! LOL

They are all so creative and beautiful!

those are lovely.
Not something we see in NZ, no proms here...
they do have school balls which have become very formal dress up events.
I don't think corsages like those are worn.
We tend to think of a corsage as worn like a brooch & mostly seen at weddings.

Corsages used to be worn like that here too. I don't know when wristlets became more popular but even when I was married 22 and a half years ago, both the moms wore wristlets. I think because pinning corsages to silk and fragile material is not all that great. Then there's the issue of all the strapless dresses nowadays - where do you pin?!?!?

I saw some wristlets on an English site and a lot of them were made from silks and fabric ribbons and were really fun. I'm surprised things like that haven't taken off in the U.S. Much more reasonable to pay for something that lasts, and fresh flower corsages here in the U.S. have become really really expensive. I charged $20 for all the corsages above but most florists would have been charging $35-$45 and upwards to what I put on them. I wanted to give the kids who took a chance on me a break. From now on, the kids who ordered this first dance will always get upgraded corsages and bouts from me until they graduate at those same prices, but new people who order will have to pay for what they get. I also am donating 10% back to the school and will continue to do that.

Beautiful corsages Gwen, so delicate. Thanks for sharing all your hard work!

I love the ones on the wrists. Very romantic. I don't pin anything on dresses. At a formal party/dance, a few years ago, my hubby bought a beautiful wrist corsage.

They are just gorgeous, everyone musta been thrilled to see what they received. They just started out great and got better and better. I have seen corsages in the cases and yours are right up there with any professional ones I have seen. Marvelous job, bravo, you can surely be proud of your time and effort spent doing this task!

Where did you get the bracelets? Did you purchase somethin separate and attach the corsage to it? Just wondering about the mechanics.

The bracelets I bought were meant for corsages. Most of the 'fancy' ones have a useless plastic base with annoying ribbons that get in the way. I really wish they had the metal plate that is used on the cheapo stretchy bands.

At the floral school I went to, they did not show us how to do wristlets, only corsages. We did one wristlet but it was using the stretchy band with them metal base. Now that I'm out of school and out in the 'work force,' I'm realizing that aside from the elements and principals, we learned very little of what is relevant in today's floral industry. Just not a lot of call for rounds and oval centerpieces with the flowers all spread out equally, etc.

I'm hoping I can get on with a local florist as part-time help during busy seasons and learn some of today's trends and tricks of the trade.

I have one doctor that I go to occasionally and every time I am in that office somebody delivers a fresh arrangement for the waiting room. Perhaps you could solicit some business door to door offereing reasonable arrangements that you could replace twice monthly on a seasonal basis?

I'd love to do that. Most florists do. I live on an island in a fairly rural area. There aren't a lot of businesses here that have fresh floral. I know of a couple but I also know the florist who does their flowers. ;) I have taken in one comp arrangement to a new restaurant that opened but I didn't get any business from them. I have a list of places I want to eventually take comp arrangements to.

One problem I have is that if I get one client, then I'm stuck going to town each week (ferry fees plus high gas -- our gas is now over $3.50 a gallon) and buying flowers that come in bunches of 10 or more and if I don't use all the flowers, I lose money. So I can't do arrangements with just a few flowers of this, a few of that. If I got a few clients, I could use up the flowers and make the ferry cost pay for itself. So it's a growing thing. But I do want to get the word out that I'm available so I plan to take around some comp arrangements one of these days. At least I'll have fun doing it and also can take photos for my portfolio on the website I'm working on.

Well it sounds like you have a plan and that you have thought this through, so am sure you will russle up some clients to make this lucrative.

Gwendalou - as a mother of 3 kids whose youngest finished high school 4 years ago, I can say that your price of $20 for the corsages are a steal. And they are wonderfully done. The bracelet that you use for the wristlet part alone is worth quite a bit.

Soils, I know. One issue is we live in a rural community on an island and people just don't spend a lot of money here. I'd never be able to get what the florists in town get. But I definitely will be charging extra for the nice bracelets for new customers in the future. I just wanted to give a break to the folks who took a chance on me when it was my first time out.

I also am unsure if we'll live here a whole lot longer, altho who knows. Two of my kids really like it here and want to be able to come home on summer vacations. Otherwise we probably would have moved as soon as the youngest graduates in 2010. We still will be considering it. My hubby has a horrendous commute 2 days a week. (5:30 am - 8 pm) The other days he works from home.

We have always wanted to retire in the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon, area as we have a cabin on the McKenzie River about an hour from there. I don't fancy moving more than one more time. When we moved here in 2001, we ended up moving 4 times in 3 years to rentals while we decided if we wanted to stay and then looked for a home to buy. I'm sort of done with boxes! But I could have one more in me move if I knew it was the last and we were going to our dream place. We both really like it here but really want to be closer to the cabin. Right now it's 7 hours away. Also, I like Oregon better than Washington and it's closer to the Bay Area which is where all my family is. And Jim's brother is in Bend, Oregon.

So I may eventually get to work in the 'big city' florist industry, which would be exciting for me.

Wow that is a long trip to your cabin. How often do you get to go there and who maintains it in your absence. We have to go to ours at least twice a month just to keep up with the chores. We used to go every weekend but things need done at home as well. We are likely only going to have the place another year or so and then will be home all the time. Still trying to decide what to do about the place.
I can't imagine living outta boxes. I have only moved about 4 times in my life and that was enough. Next move to the home or grave whichever comes first.
Nice to have a dream home to look forward to much more adventursome that being in the same location for years and years, I do envy your opportunity for change.

It was always a dream of mine to have a cabin in the woods one of these days. But, knowing all the work it takes to maintain one, I am letting go of that dream, slowly. I will have to content myself with visiting friends with cabins, or renting one on an irregular vacation basis.

I have been in my present home for 20 years now, and accumulated so much "stuff" that any move would be difficult. The yard is smaller than I would like, but after working in the yard for two days this past weekend, it is probably the size that I can manage properly by myself.

It doesn't take much to maintain it. A few years ago, my bil started 'remodeling' it and it's been an ongoing process. He goes over every now and then and works on it. Typically we've closed it up in the winters and then used it in summers. He's making it so it can be used year round. But we still turn off the water when we leave, etc.

My husband's family has owned it over 35 years. We used to go for 2 weeks every summer.
Since they started with the 'remodel,' it's often in a state of disrepair that I don't feel like dealing with so we've not gone as often. Which is a bummer because we used to live 12 hours away and now that we're closer, I'd like to go more often, not less. But hopefully one of these years, he'll finish it up.

In the 35 plus years they've owned it, they've put relatively little money into maintenance, I can tell you that.

We have put a lot of work into ours and we use it in the winter some for hunting as it is on 100 acres of woodlands and creek and a big pond out front. We mow every or every other wknd and go up and hunt, fish and sometimes relax LOL! Nice big firepit off the front and we do a lot of cooking outside although we have most amenities. We held two DG roundups there a for 2 years in a row several years back and the place was a big hit, although remote and not much of a place for camp trailers but camping was fun for them and we have 3 bedrooms so it worked well for those weekends. I
Sorry you don't get to use your place as much as you would like, perhaps one of these days you will. Steve's family has 2 cottage at the Chesapeake Bay and we used to go there but a hastle with other family and when it was available and who was to do that so we stopped going years ago and found this mountain retreat.

Your mountain retreat sounds fabulous!

Well it doesn't look like much from the outside but is quite cozy with a wood stove, bath with shower and tub, 3 bedrooms, kitchen with stove, fridge, micro - hot running water. We have a jeep and ATV that gets us across the mountain to Sideling Creek where we fish, swim and gather rocks. There is a huge pond just off the front and we have a little john boat with electric motor to get around. It is work and fun. We always thought that when the ratio of work outweighs the fun it is time to quit. We don't have as much work as we have invested all we intend to in the fixin up (it was lived in by snakes, mice, cats and all kinds of critters when we arrived and the roof had hug holes in it) We had a lot of fun fixin it up and the kids used to come all the time, but now they seldom come so we go about every other weekend and mow and then chilax.

You can come visit the place at this link of "Our Other Plot" if you are interested.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/883071/

This message was edited Jun 18, 2009 9:09 AM

Beautiful place! Yours is much fancier than ours! Ours is just one bedroom with a sleeping loft. Very small living room. Bil has enlarged the kitchen and added cupboards! But no tv or stuff like that. A very small porch but it overlooks the river so gorgeous view. It's on a very tiny lot. Your place looks huge! It looks like the RU was a blast there.

Having any hideaway place to go to would be a dream - so both of you are very lucky, be it large or small.

LOL, fancy is not the way we see our place, but thanks, it is quite comfy. The TV only gets one channel which is fine we dont watch much, mostly listen to music or watch a DVD. We shoot the guns out the kitchen window at times.
Sounds like you have a wonderful view of the river, do you have a dock or boat for getting around?
This place of ours is on 100 acres and is quite a nice hunting ground.
Dianne you can come on over any time you please, friends are always welcome at the cabin. WE are very fortunate to have found this place and to have it be so close.

Here is a link to the second round up photos.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/524360/

No, no boat or anything, no dock. There are rapids. We sit outside and watch people going down the rapids, occasionally capsizeing. :) We have an island in front of the cabin so the water immediately in front of us is usually shallower and the water on the other side of the island is deeper and has rapids. The water changes as the years go by depending on logs that fall in the river here and there, then later years are swept along. It's fun to watch the changes. We can wade over to the island as well.

100 acres! LOL Wow!! Ours would be measured in feet, a tiny amount of feet. :)

We wade in Sideling Creek. You need to do what I do and that is get one of those beach chairs for sitting in the sand. I take it with me to the creek and then just sit there in the water watching Steve fish and the clouds go by. Sounds like you have a lot to watch. Do you have a campfire for cooking and sitting round?

Candee - thanks for the invite. Would love to visit if I am ever there. I do go to Philadelphia area once in a while to visit my brother.

Great pictures from the roundup - looks like everyone had a good time. Some were camping out there too?

Gwen - I did not know that Langley is on Whidbey Island. We had a visitor from that area years ago, and she brought me some kind of berry/fruit liqueur from Whidbey Island and I loved it. I have always wanted to go there and get another one.

No campfire at the cabin, we have 2 at home tho. We have a little deck we sit on at the cabin and watch the water go by. Very relaxing. I love it.

Soils, it was probably either rhubarb wine or ollieberry wine. We have 8 wineries on the south end now, tho some are very small and not really commercial. I personally don't care for those wines but they seem to be really popular.