Are you ready for some football!? Or at least some football homecoming mums?! LOL! I loved all the comments yesterday... some of you knew what mums were, but most did not. So, I found this comedian from California who explains what a mum is from a 'non Texan' point of view, lol!!!
That video cracked me up! She's right too... you just have to see these things in person to really grasp the sheer size, lol! But, let me try to walk you through the process. First, comes the shopping... The trinkets are anywhere from .33 to 5.99 each and there are tons and tons to choose from. The ribbons are .75 to 4.99 per yard and that's just the basics!
There are specific traditions that MUST be observed... for example, all the seniors' mums are all white. Everyone else's are the school colors, but the only color allowed in a seniors mum is gold or silver.
You can get away with the graduation cap and gown or just a touch of color, but it is suppose to be only white.
This zebra print mum was at the mum store and it is the first time I have ever seen a break in the traditional colors. I love it though and my daughter would have loved this one!
And there are absolutely no limits on size! Stacy, my son's best friend's mom, is standing next to this huge mum... it is to be worn like a breast plate and would swallow most high school girls whole! hehee
The other tradition is that the boys give their homecoming dates a mum that is pinned to her shirt and the girls give the guys a mum garter to be worn on their arm. During the mum season (also known as football season) mums can be found in many places... Michaels, Hobby Lobby, grocery stores, floral shops... you name it. And yes, they are pricey... some can cost up to $200!! Crazy, huh?! I have always made the mums for my kids and sometimes their friends. Not only is it much cheaper, but it's alot fun too.
So let's get started...
You need three of the round cardboard pieces, which you can purchase at the store OR cut them from PLANTIN SCHOOLBOOK! The size will depend on the size flower you are using. Then you cut ribbon in strips and start looping or twisting them and stapling them on.
Our school colors are Navy Blue, Gold and white... I just loved this navy blue zebra print.
I also made a smaller one for my nephew who is in 4th grade, his was mostly navy blue with a gold football in the center... he plays football for our little league.
Adding stuffed animals to the center of the mum is very popular... the mum below is for my son's date.
Now to start laying out all the ribbons and trinket strings...
Stacy is working on a mum for her son's date, Josie. These things can be so cumbersome that sometimes you just have to get on the floor with them! lol
Here is my friend, Leeanne, with the start of the mum garter that she is making for her daughter's boyfriend. We had a little mum-making party at my house, lol!
Here is my son, Matt, with his mum garter on his arm and the garter we made for his girlfriend on a hanger.I should have gotten some close up photos of the ribbons and all the cricut letters that I used for their names and spirit sayings and stuff. But, I was lucky to get this shot as he was rushing out of the house this morning... I mean, seriously! He had a busy schedule to stick to today!
Here's my nephew's mum... recognize the football on the window behind him? It was cut from SPORTS MANIA at 11" with white and brown vinyl.
The VARSITY CRICUT LITE CARTRIDGE is my absolute favorite cartridge for school related projects! It is available at Walmart for $39. I cut 'Jake' (very left side of mum) and 'Lobo' (very right side of mum) at 1" out of white vinyl.
Can't leave the moms out... I made these spirit ribbons with my nephews photo and name for my sister, mom and myself to wear to his game today! His little brother, Elijah, isn't playing football yet, but he will! So, of course, my sister needed a ribbon for him too! :-) Again, VARSITY was used for this project too.
Well... that's what Texas Homecoming Mums are all about! I made my first mum years ago when my oldest was a Sophomore and my daughter was in Jr High. Since my youngest son is a senior, this was the last time I will be making homecoming mums... I'm gonna miss it!
Cricutingly yours,
Tammy
42 comments:
How fun this must be Tammy! As much as we love our football, I'm thinking it pales in comparison to Texans! My daughter is a senior this year too, but our school doesn't do half the fun stuff yours does (decorating the parking stalls was the BEST).
Enjoy the rest of your "baby's" senior year.
Blessings...
Tammy! How funny! Don't kid yourself girlfriend about this being your last year to make mums! My kids have been out of high school for years ~ youngest was three years ago. I am still making mums for the high school kids! They will remember your gorgeous mums and come back for more! LOL! Enjoy!
Big Hugs!
Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!This is hilarious and OH SO TRUE! Greg and I can't can't stop laughing. The mums seem to get bigger every year. Well, this is proof...everything is bigger in Texas. I love the mums ladies. GOOD JOB!
Debbie from Ft. Worth
i never knew ..... i wonder what else is going on in texas none of us know about .... jk wow - what works of art.
You are the BEST mom ever. Thanks for sharing. This would be a great teacher gift too. We do not do anything like this. It seems great. I really really really did i say really love your blog. You did this Faithbook that i hope you do more of cause i started, but so need more ideas. I really need to call you sometime cause my husband loves what you do and wants my to do it also. Which i have startd, but just need more help. thanks for all your inspiration.
hugs
dawn
weezie143@att.net
LOL_-i am from Florida and until I moved to Georgia I was ignorant to mums, however, I've been in Texas a little over a year (my second homec oming season) and Georgia pales in comparison. Ironically my kids are in elementary school and they have awards ceremonies every six week, the next ceremony is homecoming themed, sooo I guess I will be making some mums. Oh, and Tammy we are neighbors, I live in Little Elm.
Thanks, Tammy, for the wonderful directions for making Homecoming Mums and for sharing the hilarious video. What a riot!
I may hire you to make a McKinney mum next year!
Thanks Tammy for the explanation and what a great tradition. Love the 'mum' you made for your son's date and for your nephew.
Kim xXx
Yep, I bought all my mum supplies yesterday to make my son's girlfriend's mum. I had to hold him back from buying the 3 mum heart shaped one! I told him his girl could barely support the double mum:-)
I REMEMBER MY MUM!!! I grew up close to Houston! Mine was the colors of my high school...red and green. I twas so big I had to wear it as a necklace (I actually think it was a triple mum). The ribbons were about as long as I was (I am 5'4") and it has all kinds of stuff attached to it. I had candy nad mini game (my favorite was mini bop it). I think mine weighed like 50 pounds. It was crazy!!
And it's something only Texans understand...
Thanks for the video Tammy! That is SO TRUE. I grew up here and never knew that people DIDN'T know what mums were - that is foreign to me!! I had the priviledge of making a mum for my son's girlfriend this year (they are sophmores). He and I had a lot of fun making her mum and I had a lot of fun looking at all of the over the top ones at our homecoming game last night!! Thanks for sharing!
Haha! Thanks for the explanation. It had both my husband and I captivated as to what a "mum" was. :)
You're the best!
Thanks Tammy - I learned so much from you today. Thank goodness mine are still a little too young but I had no idea about the white-only rule for seniors. Good to know when the time comes!
Holy Moly Mother of all MUMS!
I had no inkling into this tradition. The comdedian video was the perfect explanation. They are so garish but clever at the same time. I want one... lol
I live in the Shreveport, LA area and thought everyone had Homecoming Mums. When I was in high school I don't remember being so big, but by the time my daughter reached that age it seemed to be a competition to see who had the biggest one. Enjoyed your post today.--Ryansmaama
gkburrow@cmaaccess.com
Cute video!
Oh my!! This is the absolute best! DH had to come watch the video after he heard me in here howling! I can't believe how big those things are!! Happy Homecoming!
i am from western pa and our high school football is crazy here too. i wish i would have seen this sooner. we just had our homecoming dance tonite. thanks for sharing
michele
LOL - My first job was working for a flower shop in Oak Cliff. That would have been in 1969. Football mums started at $2.50 (yes, two dollars and fifty cents) and you could add on from that. You had a choice of cowbells, horseshoes,plastic footballs and HAND GLITTERED letter sreamers! I got really tired of writing 'Homecoming" And there is your football mum trivia history for the day! Sandye Jack - Dallas
That is too funny. I came to Texas from the midwest 6 years ago and just found out about the mums recently. I am a crafter and my son in 7th grade, I'm wondering if I should start gathering my supplies now, because if I have to make one I am definitly going BIG.
Gloria
Thanks for this! In a 20 mile radius of my house in Texas there are 6 high schools. The entire month of October is filled with Homecoming Mums of all colors - yes as the video said including our local grocery stores. I love to craft, but these things are ridiculously gaudy!!! I noticed in FB pics of friends' kids this week the new "style" is to make it a "necklace" to give it that extra support. These girls look like they have a frilly noose around their neck! :) Okay, to be fair though... I still have my mums from H.S. 15 years ago in a box in the attic... along with my "New Kids on the Block" stuff!! Why? I have NO idea!!
WOW Tammy...those pics sure brought back memories of my making those for my daughter's in Middle School and High School several years ago...I sure wish I had a Cricut and Varsity Lite cart...I would have saved a fortune in lettering !! LOL Your MUMS looked fantastic ....oh to be young again and wearing a MUM !
I love it Tammy! I too am from TX and had my mum's through school. Our school colors were black and gold so our senior ones were allowed to have the yellow gold, but not the black. Right now I live in ND and am moving to Abilene in a couple of weeks. I am so excited to be coming back to TX, but I will miss the homecoming this year. Guess that I will just have to look at all your pictures and live through them. The mums that you made are wonderful.
Tammy,
That is crazy! What fun!!! :) You did a great job on them (your son's and nephew's)! I bet everyone was super happy with them!
Thanks for sharing,
Jennifer
Oh that brings me back over 30 years ago. My mom used to take us to the wholesale floryst in san Antonio to buy the supplies. Wow it was so much fun making them. here in Louisiana they don't do these. boy are they missing out. Than ks for the trip down memory lane. :)
WOW!! Thank you for the great explanation! They look like so much fun. I went to high school in South Florida....I would of loved these. I love the video it was great. I just love the one you made for your son's girlfriend.
WOW Tammy! Those look AMAZING! I'm soooo glad I don't live in Texas...cause that looks like a lot of work! tehehehehe
You know you can still continue to make them for your nephews.... :o) Just saying! What a great Aunt you'd be! :o)
When MJDesigns went out of business several years ago, they put all their homecoming supplies on 75% off. Since I live in TX and have 2 boys I thought I'd be wise to grab as much of that stuff as I could get my hands one. Guess what? My oldest son took a girl to HC his freshman year and my younger son NEVER took a date to HC. Fortunately, I have used the stuff to make mums for some of the coaches daughters and my friends little girls.
I was at a Hobby Lobby in Quincy, Illinois in August and it was so weird to be in a HL and NOT see an entire section of the store devoted to HC mums!
These types of mums aren't limited to HC any more...Michael's has them to celebrate the birth of babies and they are way cute!
Very funny. Never heard of this before.mississchic @ yahoo dotcom
These are Awesome!!! I didn't know what mums where before you explain. Thanks
I love this post about the mums. I still have some ribbon from my Senior mum. It was much to big to store and move with me everytime we PCS (my hubby is in the Air Force.) Your mums are fantastic!! I miss making them with my mom! I'm sure you can expect someone to hit you up to make their mum next homecoming.
These are totally amazing! I shared this with my DD to see what she thought - she thought it was so cool how everyone gets into it. We don't do anything like that in MN. Thanks for sharing!
JeanH
This is the first time i"ve heard of mums. looks like fun. Your football looks great on that window. I have all the stuff for vinyl, but still have not used it. I need to try it.
cornerstone(dot)cs(at)cox(dot)net
OMG, that is so funny. We do not make mums here but I think it is a really cool idea and it looks like everyone has so much fun with it. TFS
Wow! I have never heard of Mums before. Very elaborate. I guess I am kinda of glad it has not caught on in Illinois. They do look like fun to make but as if Homecoming was not complicated enough.
Being from the Northeast, I've never seen or even heard of mums before. I guess everything is bigger in Texas...that's the biggest 'corsage' I've ever seen! Loved the comedian's interpretation! TFS!
Wow! The mums are awesome. We do not celebrate nearly as vividly as you all do. Love them!!!
Love your mum story! You have so many talents too! Hope your youngest has a fabulous senior year!
This looks like so much fun. I have not even heard of this before. You guys are crazy for football!
okay, we do Mums here in Alabama, big ones too. But never big enough to have to wear as a necklace. My youngest is in middle school. I really need to try making one for when he gets to high school
Wow, that is quite a tradition! I think I've heard of mums before, but never actually seen one. That video was awesome!
Love the Mums. I can see where it could get really costly, but then it only comes once a year ") TFS
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