Designing a Homecoming Mum by DK Florals Inc.

I have been racking my mind for years trying to decide how to write a valuable series on design for Homecoming Mums. Our process for making mums is different than most and I didn't want to just come up with the same type of staple here and clip there type of story. Believe it or not I think of my mums the same way a fashion designer thinks about designing a dress. You try to get into the head of the wearer, sometimes you have more information than others. I wanted to bring something different. Something that made you really think about the process of creating a custom design you can be proud of. 

I am not your traditional designer, I believe it what the idea of a homecoming mum means should first represent the young lady or young man that is going to wear it. Mums over the past few years have truly become about self expression. I have put everything from glittering pigs to NASA items on a Homecoming Mum. But for that young lady it was everything she had ever imagined that moment to be. That's how I work during my creative process. It starts with the order form. The form itself is much more detailed but I shortened it for the purpose of the blog.

Order form notes:

Single Mega Homecoming Mum

Colors: Green\White\Black\Silver
Themes: Football and Cheerleading
Additions: Chevron Accents, MEGA Bling Package, Lights

The first thing I take note of is the specialty items that the customer asks for. She requested Chevron Accents, and she wanted a lot of bling.  For every mum I go and stand in front of my ribbon racks and decide who which ones I am going to use. The ribbon provides an identity to the mum. This is where my design starts to take shape. The bottom half of my mums I refer to as the skirt. I refer to the top as the head. Just FYI as we go along.

My mum design is based on layers. When I was in high school Homecoming mums were all about the beauty and finding even more beauty between the layers. My work is designed the same way. Every sparkling moving part moves aside to find another sparkling trinket or decorated ribbon. At this point we start to think about the layers of ribbon. Building your skirt is about finding a way to balance width and even layers of ribbon. Also making sure you don't incidentally hide some of the more pretty ribbon that you want to make sure is seen.

You can see above that it takes a few layers to build the base body of the mum. We build our boas into the body to provide a fuller effect to our designs. At this point the design really starts to take shape. Stay tuned for the next post where we will add decor ribbons, braids and more. 

Till next time crafters,
Kisha Crooks
Owner\Senior Designer
DK Florals Inc
www.dkflorals.com