Christmas continues...

I finally got into the studio today. I didn't know what to do, except clean house, but what fun is that? So, as we say in French comme ça va (as it goes), I decided to start a new project. New projects generally create messes, so as we also say comme de fait (as it does) I made the already big mess beaucoup plus much bigger. 

But the mess is worth it! Because look what I pulled off. Today. I know. It is after Christmas. That's okay. I just had an itch. It's been weeks, WEEKS I say, since I went into the studio and turned on a machine. 

Today would have been my dad's birthday, so I figured I needed a little creativity to counteract the tears. It worked. Making a few little happy things and praying a rosary tonight are two great ways to fight the depression of the holidays. 

And look how happy! A couple of little hearts. Some strings of beads. Red flowers. Shimmery satin flowers. 

It took me almost all afternoon. I got stuck on those red flowers. That's what happens when you don't have the correct materials. I really wanted some red flowers. Three attempts in, I decided to use the smaller one. Then finally, I remembered the basket of sheer fabrics. That worked beautifully. 

I have bolts of white satiny fabric, so I used it to make some little hearts, two I embellished with ready-made trims from a drawer. And with some small squares, I made what might be closed tulips. They are cute in person, I'm not sure about in these pictures.

Some gold ribbon serves as string for one of the pieces and strings of small beads work for the other one. 

The tassel on the right is actually a ribbon trim that I just sewed into a circle and added beads to create a head. The strings of beads on that piece are the ones I strung before Christmas. I decided that they weren't showy enough as single strands and planned to made a few more to make into some sort of tassel. Well, here's the tassel I came up with. 



Each piece has six or seven strands of decoration and every strand is different, which is what I like most about them. They look great with the purchased decorations but add some uniqueness to the tree. They may even add a little elegance but, being handmade, they are also simple and homey.

Can you guess where I got my inspiration? 

Prom 2017 ~~ a BHS finish

Yes, it's that time, again. It also happens to be my last prom as a teacher as I plan to retire at the end of this school year. Actually, I bowed out gracefully for the most part. Some of the younger teachers agreed to help my co-cordinator but we couldn't afford to have that many teachers out of the classroom. 

That meant someone had to stay at school and help hold down the fort. I like the fort and decided to hold it down. Besides, prom is a big, really big job. My co-cordinator and friend really did not want to give it up. She's an art teacher who once asked me to consider opening a wedding consulting business together. Thankfully, we came to our senses right after the next prom. :) 

However, bowing out gracefully (or not) doesn't completely eliminate the chores. We needed ten 24" square table linens to add a bit of color on top of the gold table cloths.  

I love the look of the blue as part of the centerpieces, especially with the chairs accessories of black covers and gold bows. The tables are very elegant, which flows beautifully with the rest of the decorations.

Here are a few photos of the rest of the venue all dressed up and ready for the tuxedos, fancy dresses, and high heels. And let's not forget the nails, hair, facials, makeup and, in some cases, massages. Yes, you read it correctly. Not only do they throw after-parties, hire limos, cook breakfasts, they also get massages to relax before the big shindig! 

main backdrop for professional photographs

closeup of backdrop

above the dance floor

entry way

another area

props table

fun decorations in foyer

photo booth to take your own pics

take pictures while waiting in line

close up of table centerpieces

The teachers and students who worked to plan, clean, decorate, and clean some more are people with stamina and determination. It take a full week of building, painting, glittering, shopping and what-not. Then there are the kids. They have to be taught what to do and watched carefully so supplies are not wasted by accident. Once fabric or gossamer is cut the wrong length, well, you know how that goes. 

For the most part, however, they did a fabulous job and the entire Haas Auditorium is decorated and ready for beautiful girls on the arms of handsome young men. Plus, they learned about working toward a common goal with peers, following directions, and sticking with a project even when you're exhausted and want to give up. Some pretty good lessons for a bunch of 16-17 year olds, don't you agree?

Linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts 

My Quilt Infatuation

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Busy Hands Quilts

After reading some of the comments, I decided to add the following to help everyone understand the enormity of the job. 

Putting on a prom here is like decorating for a wedding. Except it has to be done on half (a fourth?) of the budget! We live in a poor rural area, so kids can't afford to pay $250-300 for a ticket like they do in more affluent areas. We build decorations out of cardboard, foam board, gossamer, paint glitter and who knows what. That car in the foyer...started out as a piece of pink foam board for housing insulation. 

We also save everything and share/borrow decorations from other schools. One year we bought all of the decorations left from a wedding for a very low price (and helped to clean after the wedding). Another year a sister school gave us "the dancing couples"--we've call the three props that for several years now. Some of the white gossamer in these pictures was left over from last year.

It's amazing what can be done (and amassed) for a few thousand dollars when you're resourceful. But it takes lots of work and many workers: teachers to oversee and help students build props, students (who learn many skills that they are completly unaware of), adult chaperones during the dance, and teachers who are willing to take in displaced students because their regular teacher is decorating "at prom." It's a huge event because decorating takes so many hours, after-school for several days and during school for two. 

I chose to baby-sit during school so some of the younger teachers could work at the Haas. "Baby-sitting" as many as 40 kids for a couple of hours is work, but it doesn't require crawling on the floor or climbing ladders--that's a young teacher's job. Never the less, I still showed up for the after-school hours! And offered my sewing services. And was all in the business of brainstorming ideas. (See, you never really bow out completely.)

Pin It Weekly #184

Welcome back to Pin It Weekly. I hope you're having a wonderful last few days before Christmas! Richard decorated the house last week. Then yesterday we went together to get our shopping done. And today we wrapped gifts together. 

Our oldest came in from off-shore today, which means everyone is home, so we'll be seeing lots of them and the grandchildren over the next few weeks. In fact, supper tonight was at the Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant in Washington, LA. Oh my goodness! What delicious food.  Visit their website to see the beautiful old building (built in the 1820s and restored in 1977) on the banks a Louisiana bayou. And the food! You just have to taste it to know.

 

Thanks for stopping by! Visit my "Merry, Christmas" Pinterest board for more Christmas pins and ideas. 

Cirque D'amour Prom

Our school recently held its annual prom, a formal dance for juniors and seniors. My coworker and friend is in charge of planning, decorating and working on Prom, so I get roped in to help out every year. 

I don't mind so much. Mostly, I figure out her vision, turn it into doable decorations and then help teach our students how to create the decorations.

Those students then make a dozen or so centerpieces to place on the tables. This year the vision was a Cirque de Soleil theme on practically no money.

 So we built everything from styrofoam, gossamer, tape. Lots of tape, wire and string. We started out by cutting styrofoam into the silhouettes of flying dancers.  

We added a colorful tent and a ceiling both made of gossamer. From the ceiling we hung a variety of colorful umbrellas, paper lanterns, rings and the silhouettes.

Then dressed the tables in teal, black, and white and added our centerpieces to all the other decorations.

To save money and add to our decorations--our Cirque de Soleil theme needed lots of action--we added cardboard people in the upper levels from another school's prom, which happened the week before.

We worked after school for several days just cutting and painting decorations, which included the silhouettes, an elephant, a lion and other interesting pieces. Then for two days we put up the ceiling, the tent, and the rest of decorations.

All of which were a great hit and a had a lasting impression.