Mini-Homecoming Mum

I'm from Texas.  When you think of Homecoming and Texas, one of your first thoughts is the traditional Homecoming Mum that the girls wear all day on the Friday of game day.  The Homecoming mum is mainly given to the girl by her boyfriend but it can also be given to her by a family member or she can buy one herself.  What fun, joy and pride it is to wear your Homecoming mum on that Friday to celebrate along with all the other festivities going on (pep rallies, painting junk cars with team spirit logos, etc.,).  What a surprise it was for me that no one here in VA ever heard of the Homecoming mum during Homecoming!  Come to find out, it's more of a Southwestern tradition.  I seriously thought it was a tradition all over the country.  Well, this Texas girl just wouldn't have it.  Last year for Homecoming, I made a few mini-homecoming mums for the girls in my family as well as for the coaches wives at LU.  They seemed to really like them so this year I'm making them again.  They were very small and I had to make the "mum" with yarn and then cut it into a pom-pom.  This year I'm going all out.  I purchased all the official materials and trinkets from a store online and I plan to have a Girl party - Homecoming Making Mum Shindig at my house this weekend as I'll need all the hands and glue guns I can get at least to get me started.  The last thing I want to do is wait until the last week to get started on them as I'm trying to avoid burning the midnight candle.  Not that I'm speaking from experience of course! ;)  I went ahead and made "mine" tonight so that I can show you step by step on how to make one.

Items needed:
3  3" circles
1 4" white mum
4 3" long ribbon strips (1" wide) (all ribbons and strings should be according to your school colors)
4 4" long ribbon strips (3/4" wide)
2 10-12" long ribbon - red (5/8" wide)
2 10-12" long ribbon - white (5/8" wide)
2 10-12" long ribbon - blue (5/8" wide)
Hot glue gun & glue sticks
Plier stapler
1 12" pipe cleaner - blue
24" star wire strand folded in half
Embellishments such as a mini helmet, mini cowbell, mini football
Blue and Red fabric markers
Corsage pins

Take the four 3" ribbons (1" wide) and fold in half - fortunately these had wire in the edges so they were easy to keep folded

Staple them to one of the white circles like so

Now take the 4" inch ribbons (3/4" wide) and fold like so, then....

staple them in between the other ribbons.  You may be thinking that all the staples and rough edges are making this look very tacky - don't worry - we're going to fix that later

Take the hot glue gun and put some glue around the center hole and around the ribbon edges.  Don't be shy, pump that glue out!

Take another circle and put it on the hot glue,  press down firmly to make it stick well.

Cover the new circle with a lot of glue

Next, take the flower mum, poke the stem through the center hole and carefully glue the mum to the circle.  Press firmly being careful not to burn yourself with the hot glue.  Set aside.

Get the 12" ribbons ready (2 red, 2 white and 2 blue)

Take the mum and turn it around to show the backing.  Run a strip of hot glue across the top.  

Take each color strip and stick to the glue.  Run another strip of glue at the bottom of the circle and stick the rest of the ribbons there.  So now, to tell you the truth, the bottom ribbons should of been done before the top ones.  Oh well, I worked it out even though it was a little awkward but do-able.

Turn it around and it should look like this!!  Yay, more than half way done :)  I'm soooo excited!!  49 more to go!!! :)

Trim the end of each ribbon at a slant

Now, take one pipe cleaner, fold it in half.  Take the folded end and wind it around the stem of the mum that's poking out the back.  Keep winding the pipe cleaner until it's one stem.  Take some hot glue and glue the base of the pipe cleaner.  Don't be afraid to douse it with glue.  Fold the pipe cleaner down.  This will be used to help pin it to your attire with the corsage pin.

Once again, douse the whole backing with hot glue

Run the 3rd and last circle through the pipe cleaner then over the hot glue, be careful not to burn yourself.  Press firmly

Now all that ugly mess is hidden

Have you ever heard that saying, "Don't do as I do but do as I say"??  Well, this is where I tell you that.  I really should've done this step before I put the final circle on.  I'll remember to do that with the next 49 mums. Anyway let's pretend, we haven't glued the last circle just yet.  Take the 24" strand of starry wire, fold in half and glue the folded edge to the backing.  Make sure to use a lot of glue to make it stick, let set and dry before the next step.

Take what embellishments you may have.  Here I have a mini helmet, mini cowbell and a mini football.  Aren't  they adorable??

Take one of the starry wire ends, thread to mini cowbell, twist and secure.  Repeat the same with the mini  football

I glued the mini helmet to one of the folded ribbons off the mum.  Use a lot of glue to make sure it's secure and doesn't fall off.

Write on the ribbons team spirit slogans, such as "BEAT COASTAL", "GO Flames" and on one of the ribbons, write your last name....., just because.  It will make it easier for me when I make 49 more, easy to make sure everyone on my list gets one.

One of the ribbons must say, "HOMECOMING 2011"

and there she is!  Isn't she a beaut!!????

I can't wait until Homecoming - we're going to look SOOOO cool!!

Until then, this is where it will stay and wait for me

Most all the materials shown were purchased through www.monsterspirit.com

If you're interested, I found this insightful article on Homecoming Mums in a 2004 Issue of Texas Co-op Power, titled Mum-a-Mia.  Since 2004, the Homecoming mums have gotten more expensive and gaudier, if you can imagine that!  Click here for article:  Mum-a-Mia

FIVE DAYS LATER.......

I don't have anyplace to store them so I hung them around the football jersey and window in our Chick Cave.  We're a little more than halfway done.

This post was shared with:
Dittle Dattle's - Amaze Me Monday

**UPDATE** OCTOBER 12, 2011

9:43a

I completed putting all 40 mums together this past Monday evening (the Monday before Homecoming).  I am now writing in all the names and such.  Will wrap them in clear cellophane and then distribute them.  Because the mums have been laying around, the ribbons will bend in any position so I've been busy "uncurling" them with a small hair straightener.  That was just an added task I did not need during this very, very busy time :\   I will hardly be doing any blogging until next week some time due to the craziness of college Homecoming.  I love this time of the football season!! :)  ~iSTW

**OCTOBER 17, 2011**

IS THERE LIFE AFTER HOMECOMING??

I love reunions, no matter what kind.  I love going to my high school reunions and catching up with former classmates, I love long lost parent-child reunions on tv, I get all sappy and happy at the same time.  There's just something about connecting with someone from your past and catching up which is why I love homecoming at our university.   So our homecoming has come and gone.  We had a houseful of company, alumni's needing a place to stay.  I was thrilled to offer them a place to stay in our new home as there's plenty of room compare to our previous place.  I cooked a big breakfast on Saturday, fed a former football player who knows how to put it away - (saying that in love Stephen ;) ) but it was my pleasure too.  I must say though, the week leading up to homecoming as well as the homecoming weekend totally wore me out.   It's so sad, I'm not as young as I used to be!!  The homecoming game was totally awesome, it was a very important conference game and let's just say we blew the opponent away not only because it was a conference game but because they beat us last year, so we were hungry for revenge.  Anyways, here's a picture of some of the recipients of our homecoming mum.  We received many, many compliments on them, everybody loved them!  What fun it was making them and I look forward to it again next year!

Aren't they beautiful?!?  I'll post a pic of me with my mum as soon as it gets sent to me.