Wow! We had the Call-backs today in Lexington. We had to take half of the fees, which we have collected completely from sponsors and they went over all the things the girls will be doing during the pageant. They practiced walking and turning, interviewing, and their personal interview. We have lots to practice but Ashlyn is so excited.
I have also started on the dress. I thought I was going to have to take in the pattern to fit but when I cut it out of the old sheet to practice it ended up being too small. So I cut it out again from the sheet and I think it is better. I am going to have to run it by my mom via video chat tomorrow to make sure the arm holes aren't going to be too tight. If that is the case I may have to go and buy another copy of the pattern so I can use a larger size. Oh well, even if I have to do that I will still be spending WAY less on this dress than buying one from a specialty store.
We have eight confirmed sponsors, so we only need two more to commit $44 each and we will have the full amount. Now that we have most of the money and I have started on the dress I am feeling much better about this!! :) I just know Ashlyn is going to have fun. Will post some pics when I get some.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Well, so far we have six confirmed sponsors giving $44 each and one person who gave us a small donation to help. We are more than half way there and we still have several small, local businesses we can visit this week. I haven't started on the dress but I need to get going on it soon since I will be starting classes again in two weeks. I really wish my mom lived closer because I am a little nervous about doing this by myself. I do have a friend who has offered to help if I need it though, and I really appreciate that!
This Saturday is the call backs. They are going to teach Ashlyn how to walk on stage, use a microphone properly, and how to interview with the judges. I ordered her shoes, I just hope they get here before Sat!
Not much else to report right now. I will keep you posted as things progress. Thanks for reading. :)
This Saturday is the call backs. They are going to teach Ashlyn how to walk on stage, use a microphone properly, and how to interview with the judges. I ordered her shoes, I just hope they get here before Sat!
Not much else to report right now. I will keep you posted as things progress. Thanks for reading. :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I never thought I would be blogging about pageants but because my daughter Ashlyn is going to be in one, I thought I would document our journey. Partly to have a record for Ashlyn, and partly because there doesn't seem to be much out there talking about the behind the scenes stuff. We are doing this pageant on a budget, and I want to share how we are doing it in case it can help someone else.
It started about a month ago. We received a letter in the mail inviting her to an open call for the National American Miss pageant. We went to their website and signed her up to go. We almost didn't get to go to the open call because she had a softball game scheduled for the same night, but at the last minute it was rained out and we were able to go. When we arrived they asked us to fill out an application and gave them the picture we brought. Then I went into the room and Ashlyn had a short interview with one of the representatives from the pageant.
Once everyone had finished filling out their paperwork they started the presentation and explained all about how the pageant works. National American Miss pageants are not the glitz type of pageants like you see on those TV shows. There is no makeup allowed for contestants under 12, all clothing must be age appropriate, there is no swim suit competition, and talent is a separate - optional - competition. I would not have even considered doing this if it was a glitz pageant, we just aren't in to that kind of thing. This pageant is a state pageant and the winners go on to the national pageant in California. Anyway, we listened to all the information and at the end they told us they would be making calls over the next three days to let people know if they had been selected. There were lots of girls, and even though I know my daughter is beautiful, I wasn't sure if she would get selected or not.
The next day I was on a field trip with Ashlyn's class and got a call. I was surprised they were calling so soon and then even more surprised that she had been selected. So, now to the preparations...
The entry fee is $440 for just the basic pageant. There are several optional competitions but most of them cost extra, so I think for her first try we are just going to stick to the basics. The pageant director suggests getting sponsors to help cover the costs so I decided we were going to have to find some people or businesses to help. So last Saturday we went to several local, small businesses to see what we could do. I had Ashlyn work out an introduction to tell the owners what she is doing and ask if they would like to sponsor her. I think they were so impressed with her that they wanted to help. We are looking for ten sponsors to give $44 each and so far we have had four people say yes, and one who couldn't do the whole amount and she gave us $5. It was much easier than I thought it would be. We still need a few more but I am feeling a bit more confident about getting it now. :)
We also went looking for a dress. Ashlyn has to have a formal, floor length dress. We looked at several department stores and a couple of consignment stores and had NO luck finding a dress that was long enough. I then got the idea to go look at a fabric store to see if I could find a pattern that would be simple enough, yet elegant enough, for this purpose. I have some experience with sewing so I figured I could make her a dress without too much trouble. On the way to the fabric store I saw a bridal/prom store that said pageant dresses on the window. I figured we would go look but I knew the dresses would be too expensive. They had one dress that was Ashlyn's size but it was about $150 and I would have had to pay someone to alter it because it was not quite right. So we went on to the fabric store. I was able to find a pattern, material, and everything I need for $30!! I haven't started working on it yet, but I will keep you posted.
So, that is how we got to this point. Ashlyn has to go to call backs on June 12th where they will show her all the things she will need to do at the pageant. They are also going to teach her how to speak properly into a microphone and teach her some interview skills for when she interviews with the judges. She is very excited and can't wait for me to start working on her dress. Cross your fingers that we can find 6 more sponsors and the shoes I ordered fit her. :) Stay tuned for more on our road to the pageant.
It started about a month ago. We received a letter in the mail inviting her to an open call for the National American Miss pageant. We went to their website and signed her up to go. We almost didn't get to go to the open call because she had a softball game scheduled for the same night, but at the last minute it was rained out and we were able to go. When we arrived they asked us to fill out an application and gave them the picture we brought. Then I went into the room and Ashlyn had a short interview with one of the representatives from the pageant.
Once everyone had finished filling out their paperwork they started the presentation and explained all about how the pageant works. National American Miss pageants are not the glitz type of pageants like you see on those TV shows. There is no makeup allowed for contestants under 12, all clothing must be age appropriate, there is no swim suit competition, and talent is a separate - optional - competition. I would not have even considered doing this if it was a glitz pageant, we just aren't in to that kind of thing. This pageant is a state pageant and the winners go on to the national pageant in California. Anyway, we listened to all the information and at the end they told us they would be making calls over the next three days to let people know if they had been selected. There were lots of girls, and even though I know my daughter is beautiful, I wasn't sure if she would get selected or not.
The next day I was on a field trip with Ashlyn's class and got a call. I was surprised they were calling so soon and then even more surprised that she had been selected. So, now to the preparations...
The entry fee is $440 for just the basic pageant. There are several optional competitions but most of them cost extra, so I think for her first try we are just going to stick to the basics. The pageant director suggests getting sponsors to help cover the costs so I decided we were going to have to find some people or businesses to help. So last Saturday we went to several local, small businesses to see what we could do. I had Ashlyn work out an introduction to tell the owners what she is doing and ask if they would like to sponsor her. I think they were so impressed with her that they wanted to help. We are looking for ten sponsors to give $44 each and so far we have had four people say yes, and one who couldn't do the whole amount and she gave us $5. It was much easier than I thought it would be. We still need a few more but I am feeling a bit more confident about getting it now. :)
We also went looking for a dress. Ashlyn has to have a formal, floor length dress. We looked at several department stores and a couple of consignment stores and had NO luck finding a dress that was long enough. I then got the idea to go look at a fabric store to see if I could find a pattern that would be simple enough, yet elegant enough, for this purpose. I have some experience with sewing so I figured I could make her a dress without too much trouble. On the way to the fabric store I saw a bridal/prom store that said pageant dresses on the window. I figured we would go look but I knew the dresses would be too expensive. They had one dress that was Ashlyn's size but it was about $150 and I would have had to pay someone to alter it because it was not quite right. So we went on to the fabric store. I was able to find a pattern, material, and everything I need for $30!! I haven't started working on it yet, but I will keep you posted.
So, that is how we got to this point. Ashlyn has to go to call backs on June 12th where they will show her all the things she will need to do at the pageant. They are also going to teach her how to speak properly into a microphone and teach her some interview skills for when she interviews with the judges. She is very excited and can't wait for me to start working on her dress. Cross your fingers that we can find 6 more sponsors and the shoes I ordered fit her. :) Stay tuned for more on our road to the pageant.
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