Prom 2010

A couple of months ago Jill came to me with this picture of a calla lily turned upside-down and said "I want to make a prom dress that looks like this!" .....ummm...ok.....I was overwhelmed to say the least...

Jill's senior prom was April 17th, she was not going with a date, but rather with two of her good friends. The theme of the prom was Masquerade, and the girls decided to be the elements - earth, wind, and fire. Jill would be earth and her idea was the calla lily. So. She drew some designs, we bought fabric, and began to sew. Well, we did not get it done in time for senior prom! The innovative design really was almost beyond my abilities. I was stretched to the limit and just did not have enough time to finish. We had the top about half done and were still trying to figure out the logistics of the skirt when the big day arrived. Thankfully, I have a bridesmaid dress that Jill has always loved and wanted to wear to prom, so she decided it would work instead.


She did beautiful facepaint and hair to match the dress and go with her theme of earth.

The other two girls made their dresses - and they were all so pretty! They had a great evening and all had many compliments!

We did not give up on the calla lily dress as there was still "Mormon Prom" the beginning of May. So...back to the sewing room! Jill figured out the skirt finally, by drawing a pattern based on a silk calla lily. She made a tiny version, then drew the pattern on graph papaer and enlarged on to newsprint. She carefully cut it out of white silk and we stitched the two layers together and began to pin and tack it around her. We didn't figure out how to actually fasten the thing! It ended up being hand sewn in strategic places and tacked on to her slip. We also didn't get the boning in the hem to make it flare out like the lily. But, it turned out to be very beautiful and unique, and Jill still has plans to work on it some more!

The jacket is forest green brocade lined in hand-dyed yellow silk. The slashed sleeves are also lined in the yellow silk and the collar is hand-dyed silk chiffon left unhemmed.

Lucy had a completely different idea for her dress! Lucy's date was her dear friend Barry, who is just as creative and crazy as Lucy and totally willing to get caught up in her "steampunk" vision. Lucy wanted a victorian look with a modern steampunk flare, and decided to start out at a vintage clothing shop. So. We all drove out to Glendale (about 45 minutes away) and had an absolutely fabulous time hunting through the truly amazing and enchanting antique stores there. We had so much fun that we had to go back again a few days later and look some more. We ended up in a treasure trove of a shop called Matilda's Closet where Lucy literally spent 2 hours trying on clothes, hats, scarves, gloves...and finally bouncing ideas off the sweet shop owner Rose. Incredibly, Barry was just as enthusiastic as Lucy in this adventure, and was ecstatic when he found a tailor-made tail coat from 1940 (the tag in the pocket had the date, tailor and customer!) It fit as though it was tailor-made for him! All navy blue wool, lined in silk, high waisted, long tails...perfect!! With that settled, Lucy began to think navy blue too. She tried on this and that, we talked about how we could alter or change things, but nothing was clicking. Finally, dear Rose brought out an old navy blue velvet dress from perhaps the early 1930's that she had just picked up at a vintage clothing expo. It was faded in spots and a funny fit, but it had some really intriguing details...

A row of covered buttons down the back, the cool V waistband in front, smocking on the shoulders...turn it around and cut it up, make it into a jacket with tails maybe...yes, we could see the possibilities! Rose mentioned a victorian styled blouse underneath and I remembered that I have a real victorian blouse - and we were off and running!

The result was so cute! We cut the velvet dress all apart, took the front skirt and sleeves off, folded to make lapels, re-sewed the back-now-front with princess seams for a fitted shape and it was perfect! My Victorian blouse added the needed lacy touch, and we made a new skirt out of silk and silk chiffon, hand gathered up in front to show off the amazing boots Lucy borrowed from her Young Women's leader. Barry's mama made him a velvet vest and black satin cravat to go with his gorgeous tailcoat. She then pulled out a ruby brooch originally owned by his great-grandma for the cravat and a cane from the 1800's that the original Barrington (Barry's namesake) used!!

Barry and Lucy ordered welding goggles from Amazon and spent a fun couple of evenings customizing them with leather, paint and wire to turn them into the awesome steampunk style. All together the outfits (and kids) were absolutely adorable!!!

Jill's Junior Prom

A few weeks ago, Jill came to me with this picture and said she wanted her prom dress to be something like it. She had found the dress on http://www.unique-vintage.com/ and fell in love with the wrapped bodice, vintage adornments, and beaded lace overlay. "You can make it, right mom?" ....er....of course I can!




So, we went pattern shopping and the closest we found was this...well, it's a start anyway!

I actually took Jill out of school for a day to shop for the fabric! We were running out of time to order fabric, so we had to know if we could find something in town. Thankfully we did! The cameo pink silk dupioni came from Mesa Sales, and the embroidered and beaded netting came from JoAnn's.

Now, I have a lovely sewing room complete with a cutting counter thanks to my darling David, but when it comes to cutting out more than 2 yards we use the living room floor. We laid out the 8 yards of silk and bravely made the first cut...

A day of sewing and the basic dress was ready. Now for the hard part - the wrapped bodice and sleeves. I don't have any pictures of the process, I was way too focused on figuring it out to take any! We actually put Jill in the dress, and wrapped, pinned, marked and cut the pieces on her, then took them off and sewed and gathered. It took about 5 times longer and 3 times more thought than I expected! This was the most challenging sewing I have ever done!

We were finally getting close to finish, but hadn't found the jewels for the bodice pieces yet. Lucy and I had hunted out the Mesa antique stores but hadn't been inspired by anything. Luckily, our saving angel came in the form of our dear neighbor, Cecilia Basilotto! She had been watching out the window during dinner, and when Jill never came out she began to wonder what was going on. So over she came, found us up to our necks in last-minute sewing, and said "Come with me Lucy, I have just the thing!" She showed Lucy an amazing box of vintage jewelry and they chose the perfect brooch for the top, and found a bracelet with little jeweled roses that we took apart for the other pieces. It turned out perfect!!

When Jared arrived her hair, makeup, and long gloves were ready - but no dress!

Jill pinned on his boutonniere (she had made it herself from roses and jasmine in our garden).

Finally! The dress was done (not without more drama - the zipper broke as we were putting it on - I hate those nylon invisible zippers!! We actually had to sew her in to the dress! Next time - buttons). Jared gave her a sweet wrist corsage and they were ready to go at last.

Out the door! They had a great time at the dance - Jill's dress was the prettiest, of course!! She was so happy and so beautiful!

Valentine's Day

Valentine crafting.

The sweetest fairy from Natural Playgarden, and some heavenly almond blossoms from our neighbor's tree.

Most of the day was spent at Lucy's Wintergaurd competition, which was hosted by her high school. We helped sell tons of sweatpants and jackets to raise money for future competitions and equipment. Lucy's group performed so well! Their show is set to music from "August Rush" and is just beautiful. They have impressed the judges so much that they have been bumped up two divisions, so rather than competing against the other small schools, they are up against the really big competitors. In their new class, they placed 4th!! This is so exciting, because not only are they a small, new school, they are only in their second year of competing and they don't have any seniors. Just wait until next year!

Marching Band

I just have to brag on my girls! They are both in Marching Band at their high schools, and I am really proud of all the hard work they have done. Jill plays the clarinet for the Highland High School Marching Band and their band is well known for being one to watch! So, the Highland show this year is not doing as well at competitions her in AZ, but we think that is because it is a very inovative show that the judges just aren't ready for ;-) It is titled "A Tribute to the Brecker Brothers" and the music is very much "skunk funk"! Not the typical kind of marching music, but they do an awesome job of it and their marching is amazing! Check out how tidy their very complicated sets are!


















Below is the Williams Field Black Hawk Regiment which Lucy is part of. She is the Flag on the far left. As you can see in the video, they are amazing!