Part 3 - Finishing your Mum Design - Headwork

At this point in the design you have reached the end. We are at the defining moment in your Homecoming Mum Design. Creating the head can be
time consuming for us because we put so many touches on each design. However, this is the point when we like to display something special about our customer. The head is the first thing most people notice. So have fun with it, create something that shows who you are.

This customer requested to put an initial of some sort in the flower of the mum. Either for the team mascot or for the young lady's name. We went with the customers initial. Your local craft store has tons of letter variations. Foam, plastic, wood, finished and unfinished. These can be painted, glitter or covered in rhinestones. It's an great way to personalize the flower. For heads of this size we normally glue in the flower and let it dry over night just to make sure it's solid before we start adding decor. Same thing goes for the letter, especially if you paint or glitter them the night before and let it dry overnight.

Since the customer asked for chevron accents we wanted to make sure we used it somehow in the head. We decided to dress the bear in a skirt using the same materials we used in the body of the mum. I am a bit of a stickler for a cohesive look. What we use in the head is used in the skirt. All of this is all decided before we ever cut a single ribbon for the order. Crafting is about expression but expression can have design rules or themes you follow. Every design we create is unique but each on still follow some simple design rules. We want the look to be a statement, look as if it was thought about. We want the wearer to feel like this day is all about her or him. You will see in the photo to the right we used the same holographic ribbon and there is a pattern to the loops in the head. One elegant theme throughout the entire design.


Once the head is dry, we pull out all of the pieces we plan to use. We will do a dry run. This simply means placing everything before actually doing any gluing. Generally, we will go ahead and secure the bear and add in the letter. That way you can make sure that all of your bling and trinkets are not going to get in the way of the major design items. You can arrange flowers, bling and other items to accent the primary design. With time and patience you can see the design come together. Then the two come together. We will cover construction in a whole other blog topic. It will need at least thee separate articles as well. Take a look at the finished product below.

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

Homecoming Mum Professionals

I wanted to take a moment to talk about a brand new organization in the Homecoming industry called Mums Inc. Mums Inc. was founded in 2012 to promote the growth and unity within the Homecoming Mum business. I personally have been making homecoming mums for over 20 years and as a business for the last 13. During this time I encountered a lot of struggles trying to find vendors, supplies and figure my way through the trials of starting a business. 

It became important to me as a small business to have and create valuable business relationships with other members of this industry. From this need Mums Inc. was born. In the beginning I started out by looking for any mum maker I could find on the internet. I emailed them, sent them messages on Facebook and low and behold, they responded. Now we have over 110 members on the roster. This includes some of the largest mum makers in Texas.

Together we are becoming a positive force in this industry. We have a very unique and exciting business. Our season runs generally from August to November and then its over. Everyone understands seasonal business but this business is not only seasonal its rooted in lots of long term tradition as well. We spend our time coming together for group purchases, educational events and just good ole fashion support from one another. I am proud to have founded this group and we are very excited about the path that we are on.

So with that said; Are you in the Homecoming Mum business? Are you looking to grow your business or learn new ideas? Please check out our website at www.mums-inc.com or email info@mums-inc.com for more information. 


Thanks,
Kisha Crooks
Owner\Senior Designer
DK Florals Inc
www.dkflorals.com

Part 2 - Designing a Mum with DK Florals Inc.

Now to the fun part....

At this stage in my design, the vision starts to take shape. We start to add the sparkle that makes the mum special. Below you will see where we left off in the last part of our story. The body has shape, we have added a layer of fullness with our boas. From here we will begin to add our decorated ribbons, braids and final touches. You can see below side by side as the skirt begins to take it form.

                                
 

Building the skirt in layers enables us to make give the customer various levels of surprises. There is always something special and new to find every time they look or an admirer peaks into the ribbons in the design.

Our goal when we build a mum is to make sure we capture each detail the customer requested. Each of our decorated ribbons focuses on the cheer aspect of the design. Hints of chevron touch several of the decorated ribbons you see in the pictures above. When making your Homecoming mum focus on the fun. 

In previous articles, I have mentioned that anything can be used to decorate a homecoming mum and that is true. The majority of what makes a DK Florals mum special is the time and effort we put into finding those items. Some of our favorite items to decorate with are craft items used in hair bows, trim from the sewing section and even miniature toys.

Elegance is the name of the game and that means everything has limits. Soft touches of bling and lace and sparkle go a long way. So use them to bring highlights to your favorite ribbons or trinkets in your design. For our designs the goal is to spread to pretty so each object is noticed. It is true there can never be too much bling or glitter but we also believe it has to be well placed and even. 

And the next level........

The photos above show the progression of the layers we discussed. Each layer bring new volume to the entire picture. Once this is complete we are done with the skirt. It is set aside to work on the next focus, The Head!

We have finally come to the place in the design where we work on the crowning achievement. Stay tuned for the next and final installment in Designing a Homecoming Mum with DK Florals Inc.

Thanks for stopping by, till next time...

Kisha Crooks

Owner\Senior Designer 

DK Florals Inc.
www.dkflorals.com

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

Homecoming Mum Trends 2014

The Evolution of the Homecoming Mum Design

Since the start of this Texas based tradition the goal has always been to personalize your

homecoming mum to your very own unique design. Everyone from cheerleaders 

to  the FFA wants to see their unique hobbies and individuality in their Homecoming mum 

design. For the past 11 years we have watched the tradition become anything but

traditional, the trends have encompassed just about every color under the moon to

superheros and cartoon characters.

These new trends have brought a whole new understanding to designing a homecoming 

mum. Now we are no longer focused on school spirit alone, homecoming mums have to

have a little style and class too. Times have definitely changed. We shop everywhere from

Christmas decorations, to costume trim for our Homecoming mums. The more rare and 

unique the better. Don't misunderstand we also love the traditional too. 

We spend most of our time in Hobby Lobby or Michael's in the jewelry, sewing and 

scrap-booking sections. Trust me the sewing section is a hidden gem. We find tons of cool 

and interesting things there we use in our homecoming mum designs. . We hardly ever go to 

the Homecoming section. Take a look below at a few of the items from all over the store

Add glitter or paper for a unique blinged out princess crown, found in the hobby section of 

about any craft store or tons of stores online. The floral department as you would expect has 

tons of glittered trinkets that would make any mum shine. 

       

This season we have challenged ourselves to explore our creativity and look to some popular 

fashion trends to inspire our designs this year. You will see everything from Chevron 

to  sequins to Neon to colors in Homecoming Mums this season. 

Now we have come to our favorite additive. The almighty BLING!

It has been said that everything in Texas is bigger and Homecoming Mums and BLING are

no different. We have ventured out this year to find a wide array of pieces that will 

compliment any homecoming mum you could dream of. We added a few previews below. :)



      


Basically what we are trying to say is anything and everything can be added to your 

Homecoming Mum. Look in placed you never imagined, craft stores, jewelry stores, even 

Home Depot. A cool and interesting trinket could be anywhere. 




Till next time friends,

Kisha Crooks

Owner\Sr. Designer

DKFlorals.com

www.dkflorals.com

So my kid needs a Homecoming Mum, Now what?

The Phone Call!

So, its two days before the Homecoming game. You have been asking your kid, "Hey are you going to Homecoming, Will you need a Homecoming Mum? No mom, I am not going, don't worry about it." Or my most favorite which is "My kid told me today he needs a Homecoming Mum for tomorrow, and by the way, "What the heck is that?" These are all tales we hear often in the Homecoming Mum Business. We often speak to frantic parents that are working with last minute teenagers or parents who have just never heard of a Homecoming Mum. So I will elaborate.

The History!

Homecoming as a whole is not a native Texan idea, obviously but the idea of the Homecoming Mum is every bit a time honored Texas tradition.

The first homecoming event dates back to the year 1911. For most of us in the South, and for all Texans, our introduction to the chrysanthemum was a live corsage for the girlfriends and mothers at Homecoming football games. When the past Alumnus returns home from a home game, Homecoming Mums were given as spirit items and encouragement to welcome alumni back home to their Alma Mater.

They were very basic with a few ribbons in the school colors hanging from the flower and possibly a name or mascot. Today, the silk flower has replaced the chrysanthemum as the centerpiece for homecoming mums. Now you can find them decorated with dozens of charms, feathers, lights, and even sometimes bigger than the child who needs to wear it. I guess that's where the "Everything is bigger in Texas" saying comes in. Take a look at some of the mums from the early 60's and 70's. The difference is astonishing. 

Mums of Yesterday!

The Modern Homecoming Mum!

In the past 20 years the Homecoming Mum has changed dramatically. They have gone from small single flower adornments to huge expressions of grandeur. Our most popular seller is a mum that for most of our customers engulfs there entire body. That's a grand jump from single flowers with pipe cleaners. Our biggest sellers are huge triples mums and a newer type that has become a huge winner the Diamond Quad! Most popular with seniors going for that last hurrah before they graduate. 

Design styles that have grown over the past years. No longer, are the young ladies looking for tradition, they are looking for everything BUT tradition. Almost a decade ago, when I started offering Homecoming Mums, we tried to add a little flair to our orders by offering methods for girls to stand out. It started with a little pink here and there. An occasional off the wall mascot like Hello Kitty. Today our customers are looking for Zebra and Leopard. Some of our customers even ask us to stray away from school colors all together. We have been asked to create custom designs and we are always asked to "Make it different from anyone else". This is our specialty. 

Mums of Today!

 

Now, when it comes to ordering I try to suggest looking at it by class i.e Freshman, Junior or how involved a student may be in Extracurricular activities .  Then consider adding themes for the students activities, we have something for about every possible activity. For ordering examples, see the reference list I have created below. 

Freshman - Single Basic or Single Deluxe - Great Starter Mums and it won't break the budget.

Sophomore - Single Works or Double Deluxe - Awesome choice for an upperclassmen or cheerleader\band member. This option doesn't break the budget but it is a great choice with a lot of bells and whistles.

Junior - Double Works or Triple Deluxe - Great for Drill Team Members or Student Council.

Senior - Single "Mega" Mum, Triple Works, or The ever popular dream mum the "Diamond Quad". These are options usually chosen by young ladies who want the biggest and the most unique for the last High School Homecoming. 

Of course these are all just suggestions, we have had Freshman order Quads and Seniors order Single Basics. It's all in the kids wants, needs and of-course their budget. At DK Florals we have something for everyone. If you have questions about ordering a Homecoming Mum or how to make one, email us at info@divinekreationz.com or comment on the blogs.

Sincerely,

DK Florals Inc.
www.dkflorals.com