My Girl’s Pink Dress

My 16-year-old found out about a contest called Own Your Look put on by JoAnn’s craft stores where girls ages 14-18 make their prom dress!  She asked if she could enter…. and showed me the prize list…. unbelievably, first prize is $50,000 for college.  I said, “Of course you’re entering!”     Duh!

Larisa has sewn before… but not a prom dress.  She’s made quilts, purses, funky skirts, groovy t-shirt modifications, pillows, etc.  This was one small step for man and one giant step for mankind.  So……. Day #1….a day of prom dress shopping commenced, including lunch at the mall, of course.  She tried on all sorts of dresses and she fell in love with one.  A simple gray number with one rose-covered shoulder and a high waistband.  It fit her perfectly. 

Day #2… shopping for a pattern.  This sounds all easy and fun, and it kind of was.  It was just long and drawn out and we should have gotten ice cream first… or at least some chocolate.  We did locate and purchase a pattern however many alterations would be necessary to build the gray dress.

Day #3…. shopping for fabric, zipper, thread, mask, feathers, etc. etc.  We took Grandma along that time because she took home ec for 14 years.  (haha) As soon as we picked her up, she said we should start with Starbucks!  (See why we brought her!)  We wandered around and around JoAnn’s looking for fabric in the right color and right texture.  We wandered so long that Grandma had to go sit in the pattern book section while Larisa and I wandered some more.  THEN, with the cart full of goodies, Larisa casually commented, “Mom, you know I don’t have a date for prom and I’m not old enough to go alone.”  WHAT?!?  Maybe we should have talked through this little blip before Day #3!  All was finally settled.  She needed the money for college.  We would find a date.  Turns out the homeschool prom allows girls to invite girls.  Good!  (Good grief!)

Days #4-23 were spent praying on our knees before the sewing machine.  (I’m kind of kidding.)  Larisa did a marvelous job sewing this dress!  I did not sew one blinkin’ pink thing on the gown.  All her!  And her hand beading is meticulous and gorgeous. She designed fuchsia flowers, instead of the common roses, with beads hanging out of each one.  Beautiful.  She found a fuchsia drawing online and reworked it to fit the waist band…. I am so proud of her.  She also made a mask, as an accessory for the contest.  Enjoy the photos!

The contest isn’t until summer, but believe me, I’ll keep you posted!  Did I mention that I’m so proud of her!?!

Breaking Headline News

Yes, I’ve been absent from MSJ for a week!  Eeeegads!  I do declare that I’ve been a tad on the occupied side.  Here are the latest headlines that should shed light on my week:

Forty-Four Year Old is Elated with Chair.  This, of course, makes my fantastic, new, green, down-wrapped reading chair sound fuddy-duddy-ish, but it’s not!  It even came with an ottoman…. and it matches my bedspread perfectly.  If you know me at all, or even slightly, you may be aware that I am a reading fiend…. a book hound… honestly, I have a wanderlust for literature.  Up to ten tomes can be found on and under my bedside table at all times.  Topics range from Christian Historical Fiction to Adoption to Devotionals for Women to homeschooling to encyclopedias to Arizona History and even Strunk and White Elements of Style.  All that to say…. I can hardly believe that I waited until my 44th birthday to request a reading chair for my bedroom.  It is a little green slice of heaven for me sitting there in my room!

Sixteen-Year-Old Sews Up $50K!  This is a prophetic headline, as my daughter finishes hand-beading and sewing her prom dress that she is entering in the JoAnn’s Prom Dress Contest.  I knew this kid had talent…. but seriously, she can sew straighter lines than I can…. and I’ve been sewing for 127 years!  And Beading!  Be still my bead-loving-heart!  The contest prizes are almost unbelievable!  $50,000 + $1,000 JoAnn’s gift card for first place!  WOW!  Can you say C O L L E G E?  Second place: $20,000 + $500 gift card.  Can you say C A R?  Third place: $10,000 + $250 gift card.  Can you say A W E S O M E   V A C A T I O N    W I T H    M O M?  Ten runner-up prizes of $1,000 + $100 gift card EACH!  Can you say S A V I N G S   A C C O U N T?  The winner is not announced until July or August, but when Larisa wins one of these fantastic prizes, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be broadcasted live here!  A sneak peek:

Children Dragged Through Museum.  This, again, sounds harsh and un-fun.  But no.  Yes, it was my birthday yesterday.  You usually get to do things you love on the day celebrating your birth, right?  Well, I’m a closet history buff who stores trivial historical knowledge in my head.  Take me to a museum and I start to salivate.  Drop me off in an old cemetary with simply a canteen and I’ll be overjoyed.  It was my husband’s idea too, not mine.  When he suggested we tour a Native American museum on the day celebrating his wife’s birth, I was all for it.  A lively, minute docent leeched onto our family and was thrilled that I asked questions and needed detailed information about all the fascinating items on display.  My family slowly distanced themselves from me and my new friend.  Off in the corner I heard my husband tell our children while nodding toward the tour guide, “THERE is your mom when she’s 63!”  Grief!  And on my birthday!

There’s more… but I’ll save some for tomorrow!