Grapevine woman crafts iconic Texas homecoming mums for over 30 years
GRAPEVINE -- It's the most iconic Texas homecoming tradition, and no one knows it better than one Grapevine woman who has been designing mums for over 30 years.
Cecilia Valudos, the owner of Regal Homecoming Mums, is in high gear for mum season.
"I started with my boys when they went to high school. Then it just evolved from there, doing their friends, and then from there, so on and so on," Valudos said.
What was once a bedroom in her home is now her business headquarters filled with backers, ribbons, and bling.
"One mum? It probably takes a whole day to do one mum, from start to finish."
On average, Cecilia makes roughly 500 boot and peewee mums and 100 big mums every homecoming season.
The boa balls, custom senior ribbons, and perfectly tied bows have become her signature items, making homecoming dreams come true, one ginormous mum at a time.
"When I first started, it wasn't very big. It had one flower. If it had two or three, it was massive. Now it has evolved into having huge mums, different shapes, and every color. Everything has evolved," Valudos said.
In the heart of Texas, mums are a homecoming tradition that embodies the essence of the Lone Star State, where everything is, indeed, bigger.
Cecilia remembers the most unique mum she's made to date. It was for a Pilot Point senior two years ago.
"A dad came in, and he wanted one that he could give his senior daughter because he always told her he was going to do this for her, and it was going to be massive. And it was. It was 48 inches wide. He barely could hold it up."
The hours, days, and years Cecilia has dedicated to mums is not only to make the biggest and brightest. It's the detail.
"It's a way of expression. This is the only time in their life they don't have everything that they could express themselves with before in school. So now they're expressing themselves on their mums. And that's really where they shine," Valudos said.
The most special part of it all and what fuels the desire to set up shop another homecoming season are the reactions.
"A mom came in here the other day, and picked hers up, and she looked at it, and she said, she got home, and she texted me back, and she said, I sat in front of this mum, and it's so beautiful that I cried."
As the mums bloom across Texas high schools, it takes us back to our roots, school, town, and traditions.
"It gets in your blood. I mean, you know, as many times as I say I'm going to retire and not do this anymore, I'm always back at the craft table the next year doing it."