VERY Dedicated Mom Make Starburst Prom Dress for Daughter Out of Thousands of Wrappers

As a SNCM (Sewing Needle-Challenged Mother) who is proud when she’s able to properly reattach a button — okay, you got me, I’ve never been able to properly reattach a button — I am beyond impressed by (and a little concerned for) the mom who crafted her daughter’s prom dress entirely out of Starburst wrappers.

Yup.  Six years of collecting candy wrappers plus buying twenty pounds of candy at a time equals… er, one heck of a commitment on mom’s part.

Not only did Wisconsin high school senior Tara Frey end up with a sweet dress (see what I did there?), but her prom ensemble also included matching heels and a handbag — plus a candy wrapper waistcoat for Tara’s boyfriend, Zane Heinselman, who was escorting her as his date.

“Do I like it?” repeated a slightly sheepish Zane Heinselman when asked to share his feelings about the Starburst vest. “I don’t really have a choice.”

Meaning:  She had BETTER put out for me after all of this.

Tara’s very dedicated mom explained that each wrapper had to be folded eight times and pressed with tweezers to achieve a tight weave.  She even enlisted friends to help with the work.

“That’s why we call it a community project,” she said.

Although she was unable to estimate how much candy in total was used to make the final dress, she said it took FIVE failed attempts before her daughter agreed on a design.  Yeah, at that point, I’d begin to wonder who is really intent on a Starburst dress — me or my kid — or else I would threaten to make her wear a Laffy Taffy dress if she didn’t start cooperating.

With prom just over a week away, Tara admitted she was feeling apprehensive about her colorful wax paper dress.

“It’s going to be a little bit too much attention, but hey, she [her mother] worked hard on it,” she said.

If that’s not a rousing vote of enthusiasm, I don’t know what is!

Sweet on this style?  (Sorry, the puns are just too easy to ignore.)  More wrapper designs after the jump…