Prom Dresscue-The “Twisty” Middle

The humidity was high as Emily, Bella and Xernay worked to get their hair and makeup just right.

Prom Prep 1

Prom Prep 2

Prom eyelashes

Black clouds rolled in, the winds blew and it began to rain…..really rain.  We were the lucky ones.  Unknown to us, Springfield, Westfield, Brimfield and across Western Massachusetts tornadoes rumbled. Here, they don’t have the tornado sirens I remember from Wisconsin.

But these beauties kept on…

PromPrep 3

With dress shoes in hand and umbrellas we all headed out to Limo Central.  It seemed outdoor pictures were going to be out of the question. The car ride to the Leeds Limo was hazardous at times, rains whipping across the windshield blinding our view.  We muddled onward….and by the time we got to Dan’s house the rain’s had stopped and clouds were moving quickly east.

Flowers were exchanged as we waited for late comers and cameras were at ready.

Prom at Dan 1

Prom Dan 2

Prom Dan 3

Prom Dan & X

Prom in front of limo

Prom parents

Prom Off in limo

And they were off…to official picture taking that was suppose to occur in Child’s Park.  Due to the wet grass, this happened in front of the high school, were limo after limo pulled up and dropped off the relieved Prom goers.

Prom NHS 1

Prom NHS 2

By this point, the tornadoes had touched down in Springfield and were moving easterly.  The damage heavy. The Prom goers shuttled on over to the Log Cabin, Holyoke which is up on top of Mt. Tom.  I’m pretty sure they saw the spectacular sunset which cast an orange glow across the Valley.

Sadly, just after 8:30 pm or so, and post dinner-I received a text message telling me: Prom was canceled.

By 10:30 the fancy Prom dresses were exchanged for more casual attire and the party had moved to the Post Prom locale.

Oh, and of course Prom Dresscue bucks the going trend, noted in today’s  New York Times article: The Prom Dress Moves Into the Designer Leagues.

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Prom Dresscue-The Beginning

It started about a month ago now. From the local thrift store a lilac pair of size 18, elastic waist pants came home with Xernay.  The cost? Under $2.  The vision?  Dresscue these pants and create Xernay’s prom dress. Luckily, since Juniors wear short dresses to the Senior prom, I felt we had enough “fabric” to pull this off.
Prom Original pants

Prom_1The fabric is a permanent crinkle. in a lightweight polyester fabric of some sort.  The inspiration for the Dresscue came from Elie Saab’s lavender couture dress that Mila Kunis wore to the 2011 Oscars.

Prom inspiration front

Click for a slightly larger view

Prom Inspiration backOf course, given the origins of these pants, the inset lace wasn’t possible.  So, I navigated towards the drape, fabric, lace and some rhinestone trim.  To get the shape, I cut off the pants just below the pockets and ripped the sides to create the arms and shoulders.

This is the front starting to take shape

This is the front starting to take shape

Then, I worked the back of the dress

Then, I worked the back of the dress

It worked best to remove fabric as we went along the process of many try-on’s, pinnings and bastings.  I made a couple of trips to several stores to find the chiffon and trims.

Prom Trimming5

Stay tuned for the big reveal….tomorrow.

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On Wisconsin!!

I’ve mapped out how long it would take to drive to Wisconsin.  A large portion of my Wisconsin family are teachers and I would like to be in Madison to join and support the protesters who are marching against Gov. Walker and those who wish to take away our power.

University of Wisconsin student Matt Wisniewski features three days of footage (Feb 15-17) from the Madison, WI protest against the SB11 budget repair bill. This is a wonderful video, very inspiring.  Well done Matt and thanks!

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

I also recommend these words from one of my favorite columnists: Paul Krugman Wisconsin Power Play

On Wisconsin!  Stand firm on Collective Bargaining!  Power to the Democratic 14!

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MasterMind Meetups

LogoDropShadow

I’ve been working with the members of my own Mastermind Group: two women with whom I have been meeting with-virtually- now for over a year.  We just launched our own website  MasterMind Meetups which is built to support you as you grow your business by integrating technology with networking.

Here, you no longer are limited physically when networking. We give you the opportunity to share, create and look into new mastermind formats, which enable you to create new alliances and accelerate your business.

We will assist you in connecting with others by:

  • Guiding you in choosing a Focus Level best suited to you.
  • Offering Group Forums for chatting, document storage, emails and an Interactive Community.
  • Pushing physical limitations and providing access to experts and information you might not otherwise encounter.
  • Sharing cutting-edge technology and tools to enable you to thrive within your mastermind network.

Allow us show you how-to use technology to connect virtually.

Join Now_banner

Are you using technology to grow your business network?  Would you like the ability to connect with other like-minded business people so you can create new alliances and explore fresh business concepts -on a global scale? 

If so, join us today and sign up for a free trail subscription!


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Small Business Saturday

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Web Colour

Colors of the Web

Color is such a vital element of design.  Here are the Colors of the Top 100 Web Brands.

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IMPRINT: Great Design

I had forgotten about this design magazine
Check it out: IMPRINT

Lots-o-good stuff.

stevenheller

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Hold Those Pesky Papers

To say it’s been busy around here is an understatement…..work is buzzing along nicely.  And, I’ve been meaning to get back and show the final shelf in A’s Workspace. Ta Da!

Wksp after A

Each project now has its own box which holds those pesky papers.  The second shelf holds all the project boxes and the table top is now clear and clean. He’s streamlining his work now and much more efficient.

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Yoga Posture Clinic

standing bow

Last Sunday, I spent 8 hours in a hot room [I mean really hot-like 105 degrees of hot] studying Bikram yoga postures with Diane Ducharme of West Roxbury, MA.  Diane was amazing!  Her energy is other worldly, matched only by her ability to move her body.

standing head to toeA

We all learned to move our bodies in new and unusual ways. Case in point, as Diane helps a student move thru a 360 degree forward bend.

standing head to toeB

By pulling on our heels, tightening up our quad muscles, we are able to pull ourselves into what amazingly feels good.  No really, trust me on this.  If you’ve never stretched like this, you should try it sometime. This bending motion stretches the legs, hamstrings, lower back and upper back….all while working out the biceps.

Which is good, considering that is what we came to do.  After the 6+ hour clinic, we did our usual 1.5 hour practice.  That last 1.5 hours flew by like nothing I have ever felt before.  Quite amazing!  Now, where is the Advil?

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Coming Soon: WordCampNYC 2010 Oct 16-17

Coming very soon is WordCampNYC 2010. I attended this conference, in NYC, last year and expect this year’s event to equally spectacular.  Details coming soon.

WordCampNYC 2010

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