Homecoming corsage problem

[Tina Semock]

Oh my God, I've had a horrible homecoming weekend. I opened my business in Nov. last year. I did corsages for winter formal, Prom, father daughter dances and a few weddings. and some just for practice and learning how to use oasis glue. Never had a problem with them coming apart. To start my week off my wristlets and magnetic bout covers did not come in till Friday and were expected in on Monday. The black beaded were shorted as well as the silver bout magnets. Then i opened the Black Fitz Bout magnets and they are different then they use to be. Smaller and i think kind of cheep looking (what does everyone else think) and not what i had showen customers. So i dealt with that by calling and switching black and silver gum drop bracelets, just used the black bout magnets and wrapped stems with silver wire and cut magnet off the black ones for the silver ones. That problem was solved. Then i made everything, everyone picked up and was very happy, lots of complements. Yea!
Then 9:00 pm i get a call (my cell phone is my business phone) one girls corsage had falled apart before she left home, Aunt had bought it for her, she didn't see it. She would bring it in to the store tomorrow. Ok WTF maybe the kid did something to it? Both my kids were at this dance, so when i picked up my son i asked if there were any problems with any that he knew of he said yea his friends girlfriends fell apart, but his date's was fine. So now i'm worried, my daughter comes home Her's fell apart. Great, now i know i have a problem. Get to work this morning (shops in an old house with multiple business) one of the ladies had got two corsages and both came apart. This really sucks. So in total about half of the corsages came apart. I called every customer asked about there corsages and everyone was very nice and understanding, and appreciative that I was calling to make good on any problems.

So now to the real question, what happened? This is how i assembled them, what do you think?

I made all the bows, then took two small salal leafs and glued them to the rubber piece on the wristlet, putting glue on the leaf and rubber. Then i glued on the bow, then added Roses, filler, bling, the problem with them all was seperating bow from leaf or leaf from rubber. Salal leaf seems to be the common factor, but why? Any ideas?

 

[concord]

I was taught to attach a chenille stem in a figure 8 to the ribbon on the rubber disc and then glue to that. It seems to hold better than a leaf to plastic. Last year was the first full season that I used glue, being that I'm used to the old way of wire and tape so I was skeptical, but had no issues. I was also told not to bag them or refrigerate them until the glue dries. I'm sorry you had such an awful experience! Is this the first time you used salal?

 

[Tina Semock]

Yes its the first time for salal, before sometimes i wasn't happy the way the foliage was going in with the bow on first so i thought this would solve that problem. I didn't bag until everything was done so i don't think that was the problem. Thank you for your help, i think i'll try the chenille. I have another homecoming this weekend.

 

[anytimeflowers]

Oh Tina, what a nightmare!

First congratulations on taking the bull by the horns and calling everybody, you have made points with the community on that one!


I ALWAYS use the attached ribbon to tie my bows on, then everything gets glued to the rubber and within the bow. It sounds as if the flowers themselves did not detach? As long as the roses didn't fall out, people are usually more understanding.

This is definitely a mechanics issue. You absolutely have to be sure that everything is ATTACHED SECURELY! I even do a shake test with every corsage after it has dried the last time after spraying with crowning glory. I would not use salal, it is rigid and keeps it's shape so it probably is not getting glued securely enough to the rubber. If you want salal as your base, you should still figure out how to use those attached ribbons.

Just for the record, after tying the bow on, I glue Italian ruscus onto the rubber for the skeleton or shape I want the corsage to be and let it dry completely before going on and putting in the flowers.

hth

 

[concord]

Tina, Just remembered that I attach the bow to the chenille and then tie that all to the rubber with the ribbon that is attached. Then I add the greens, like Linda, I use Italian Ruscus sometimes ivy or Fl Ruscus, pit, but I have never used salal. I think you should def NOT use salal again. Good luck with the next round!

 

[Tina Semock]

Thank you Linda! Salal will never be in my corsages again, tying the bow on is also a great idea. I guess its a learning experience. I have a few test corsages i did at the shop today to see which holds the best. There is another homecoming this coming weekend, do want any more problems!

 

[Tina Semock]

Thanks Helen, no more salal for me!

 

[CHR]

I made all the bows, then took two small salal leafs and glued them to the rubber piece on the wristlet, putting glue on the leaf and rubber. Then i glued on the bow, then added Roses, filler, bling

The bow is your anchor. We always attach it to the bracelet or wristlet with a tying media - thin ribbon, taped wire, etc....

The flowers add a lot of weight to the bow and the weakest point is where the bow is attache to the base. Glue isn't usually strong enough to support all that added weight.

 

[Carrieann]

I also tie my bow with the attached ribbon, really really tightly. This is a must!

I use myrtle leaves, they are much cheaper, you get more leaves per stem, and they are still very pretty in the corsage. You also get a variety of sizes per stem to choose from.

I always do "shake test" twice. Once after I am done designing the corsage and once right in front of the customer at pick up. If anything comes off, you can make a joke and go fix it. Better it happen at the shop than later after they get it home or at the dance. They seem to really appreciate this extra step.

I have to give it to you for taking the time to really find out what went wrong and doing everything you can to fix it. That is a sign of a great designer. You did not let your pride get in the way. Good for you!!

Good luck with this weekends corsages. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Snapdragon Studio]

I don't have any additional advice than what's already been given, but I wanted to give you a pat on the back for handling this problem in such a professional and humble manner. I believe this will plant lasting seeds of "excellent customer service" for your business.

Good luck this week!

 

[lil_goldie]

on ubloom.com Lee Ann Kessler has a great video on corsages (I think there are two videos, but one deals with just bracelets, the other with technique)

 

[Tuberose]

Sounds like the salal is too slick and the glue has trouble adhering to it, I always use a 3 leaf setup wired together of the dreaded silk leaves and hot glue for all it's worth and then tie the ribbons around that base, then hot glue the bow in and then oasis glue the flowers, greens, etc into it. I've never had one fail even after being in the cooler, I always do a shake test too. The little plastic bases don't give you much to work with support wise so I usually work those ribbons around the base and thread it into the beads more further out the end of the plastic and double tie it, doesn't take long but I feel more secure that the plastic has more of the beaded bracelet to hold onto, maybe keeps the flowers from flopping around so badly and maybe having a better chance of coming loose. I have used salal on the regular elastic bands and used the prong things to stab up thru the salal, clamp shut and then the bow has the metal prongs to glue to with Oasis.

 

[CHR]

Salal glued on the under-side of the leaf holds well. The top side of the leaf is slick and more likely to have the glue pop off. (Also, make sure your foliage haven't had some sort of leaf shine treatment when used with glue.)

Basing with salal and adding ribbon treatments can be done days ahead and they store nicely when bagged and refrigerated.

 

[Snapdragon Studio]

I also use those lovely fake leaves to create a base sometimes... blush: They creeate a nice sturdy base for larger designs. I just cover them with flowers and greens and no one sees the cheesiness. It's a nice alternative when you're not using ribbon (I do mostly wedding work, so I don't use much ribbon).

 

[Carol Bice]

I have never had trouble with salah holding. But, I wonder, like Cathy, if you might have used leaf shine on them. Glue will not hold onto anything that has leafshine on it.

 

[Tina Semock]

No i didn't have leaf shine on them. I did some test subjects yesterday and when i came in this morning the wristlet with salal came apart with little effort and the wristlet with a bow just glued was not coming off. With alot of pulling i was able to peel the corner up. So the Salal must have been my problem. Carol do you glue the salal right to the rubber on the wristlet?

 

[herndonflorist]

We always tie the bow on to the wristband and then glue everything else into the bow as a base. Def. use oasis glue....I think the salal leaf would be very stiff and tend to break away from the rubber on the band pretty easily. Good job on the recovery though! Good Luck this week

 

[Carol Bice]

No i didn't have leaf shine on them. I did some test subjects yesterday and when i came in this morning the wristlet with salal came apart with little effort and the wristlet with a bow just glued was not coming off. With alot of pulling i was able to peel the corner up. So the Salal must have been my problem. Carol do you glue the salal right to the rubber on the wristlet?

I have tried every way mentioned and really have no problem. What kind of glue are you using? I do prefer to use maybe a silk leaf on the wristlet before I glue on the salah.

You know all those silk leaves that you throw away when making a permanent arrangement....just save them for times like this.

 

[Kristine]

like Carol, we save those silk leaves from the silks used in arr. I also cut a piece of #9 velvet ribbon and glue that to those rubber pads (fitz bracelets) and then begin the design on it. velvet seems to hold much better.

 

[theflowersmith]

We use half a chenille instead of wire to make our bow. The rubber pads all have holes in them. Just feed the chenille through the holes and secure on the back side. You can then glue into the bow and onto the pad. Have never had a corsage fall apart using this technique with oasis glue. Also, fuzzy materials seem to help. We add plumosa and filler after the bow. You can always use ivy or pitt, etc. in addition if you're not a fan of plumosa.