Corsage and Boutonniere- Jr Prom 2013

Hard to believe that Caiden is old enough for the right of passage known as the Jr Prom. Where does the time go??

 

 

I decided to make the corsage and boutonniere because after pricing all the fancy ones sold at the local florist ($20 boutonniere and $30 corsage!!??) and because it makes me crazy to pay for something  I knew I could make myself for less money and just as pretty, I took the plunge! 

 

 

 

I went to my local craft stores and picked up the following items:

 

 

Sparkly crystal stretch bracelet
$3.33- A.C. Moore


 

 

Black sparkle stretch corsage bracelet (notice the silver metal tabs on it)
$4.99- Joann Fabric

Black 20 gauge wire
$2.99- A.C. Moore



Green floral tape
$1.99 for 2 rolls- Hobby Lobby



Sheer white 1 in ribbon
$2.99- JoAnn Fabrics




Green floral wire
$1.99- Hobby Lobby

I cut up the crystal bracelet and the black wire in 8in lengths. Then bent them into submission using needle nose pliers to make some sparkly doo dads!

Early Saturday morning on the day of the prom I went to our local Wegmans and picked up a dozen coral/peach/pink roses.
$12.00

I didn't take any pictures of the "making progress", but if you go on YouTube and search for "how to make a corsage" about 300 videos show up!! 

 

 

 

I cut 3 roses leaving about a 1 inch stem on each. Then took a piece of floral wire and inserted it into the stem just below the rose, then bent the wire just an inch on one side and longer on the other. Starting were the wire punctures the stem, stretch the floral tape (stretching it before hand makes it stick to itself) while wrapping the rose to cover the bent area fully. Now your rose has a wired and taped stem. This part was a little nerve wracking but only one rose had to sacrifice itself for practice!

 

 

 

For the corsage I took 2 roses and taped a different sparkler to each one. Then taped the 2 roses together adding a couple rose leaves. I then made a bow with the sheer ribbon (also following a YouTube video). Attached a floral wire to make the bow and then taped the bow onto the roses. Every time I taped a new wire to the corsage I cut off the extra wire, once something is taped it's not necessary to have all these wires connected to it. So now there was one stem of taped pieces of different wires. I bent the stem of wires under and out of the way as not to catch on any thing. Then took the corsage bracelet and used the silver metal tabs which bend very easily and CAREFULLY bent the tabs around the the stem of the corsage. You want the corsage to sit evenly on the bracelet and not flop around so make sure it is attached to the heaviest part of the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Voila!

For the boutonniere the instructions are pretty much the same, minus the bow and bracelet. After taping the sparklers to the rose and adding a leaf, I bent the end of the taped wire around a narrow pencil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Finished boutonniere! I cut off that green leaf piece that had ripped in this picture.

green piece gone, stem squiggle detail.



The mess afterwards!! I did NOT want to pick this up! Anything not used for the corsage was returned to the store.

I trimmed the stems of the remaining roses and got to enjoy them for a whole week!!

Total cost of construction for the corsage and boutonniere was a total of $21.28! I considered the roses as $1 a piece and I got to enjoy the rest of them for myself....a gift for myself maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two hours before the prom while I was making the corsage, Caiden called me and asked if I would write "Haley, will you go out with me?" on the ribbon........ how stinkin sweet is that?!! I told him I wouldn't couldn't write on the ribbon but would come up with something else.

 

 

 

 

 

 



I printed out this little tag onto card stock and attached it to the corsage container.


So cute.....she said yes!




And because I'm a crazy person that gets weirded out by having my son's picture on the Internet here is a cropped version of the happy couple. =)

(note: he is holding a Rock Star energy drink, not a beer! lol!) 
Caiden's step mom Christina used 2 different color dyes to make coral Chuck Taylors!! They came out awesome!

Feet!! Caiden and friends.

 

 

 





Eight couples rode in a beautiful 18 passenger white Hummer limo. This vehicle was nicer than the car his father and I used for our wedding!

 

 

The prom was at the high school and the kids had a wonderful night. They rode around in the limo after the prom and went to eat at a local restaurant. Then all the boys had a bonfire at Caiden's best friend Josh's house and slept over.

 

 

 

The morning after.....



 I will definitely make the corsage and boutonniere next year for the Sr. Ball and what's great is I have most of the supplies now!!