So when I found out that the girls don't wear their corsages during the dance, and instead shove them into their purses, I decided to make the corsage and boutonniere for this year's prom out of fabric, paper and wire.
My son Corry and his girlfriend Dylan were up for it as well, being the artsy types that they are.
If I say so myself ... I think they turned out fabulous! And guess what ... they wore them the entire dinner and dance and ... they didn't even crush them!
Here's what you do:
Gather:
White fabric, about 1/4 yard. Any fabric will work but I use a piece of silk shantung.
Old book text.
Steel wire, about 3 ft.
Light blue pearls (4)
Silver wire, about 3 ft.
Ribbon in white and sheer black.
White floral tape.
Gesso
Mod Podge
Pliers
Make:
Apply a thin coat of gesso to one side of the old book text and set aside to dry.
Cut a length of steel wire about 12 inches long and using the pliers, bend the wire to form a leaf. repeat till you have 5 leaves.
Apply a coat of Mod Podge to the gessoed book text and set aside to dry.
Cut out a leaf shape larger that the wire leaf. Apply a thin strip of Elmers glue to the wire leaf and then press the paper leaf to the wire. Hold it for a minute and repeat for the other wire leaves. You may need to check on these leaves a few times before they dry completely, pressing the paper into the wire often.
Once the glue is dry, use a craft knife and cut around the outer edge of the wire leaf.
Then arrange the leaves and twist the wires around each other, leaving some wire to form the swirls at a later time.
Cut 4 pieces of wire about 10 inches each and thread them through the pearls and then twist the wire together.
For the Corsage, cut 2 pieces of fabric on the bias that measure 1 3/4 x 14 inches and for the boutonniere cut 2 pieces of fabric on the bias that measure 1 1/4 x 10 inches. Taper to a point, one side of each end.
With the leftover gessoed book text, cut narrow strips and hand sew them to the straight edge of fabric strip.
With a hand needle and thread or sewing machine, run a basting stitch close to the curved edge.
Place the wired pearls at one end of the fabric strip and gather up the fabric strip.
Now coil the fabric around the wired pearls and then secure by hand sewing back and forth through all the layers. Note: The tighter you gather the fabric strip, the more open the flower will be. I prefer to have the "rose" a bit more closed for the corsage and boutonniere.
Cut one pieces of white ribbon and one pieces of black ribbon about 12 inches long. Make a bow with each separately then twist a length of ribbon around the bows at the center.
Arrange the fabric rose onto the wire leaves and then add the ribbons and use the extra wire from the ribbons to secure all these parts.
Add a strip of white floral tape to cover the wired area and using a pliers, curl up the ends of the steel wire.
Cut a length of white ribbon about 18 inches and tie it around the white floral tape. This ribbon is used to tie it onto the girls wrist. You may need to trim this ribbon after it is tied in place.
The only difference for the boutonniere is that I used just 2 leaves and one pearl. Also, above I gave the dimensions for a smaller rose, which I used for the boutonniere.
And ... you are done!
