Because this Dress from 10K Starburst wrappers took about 5 years to complete, it only makes sense that it would take another 3 years to get the word out.
In fact, it went viral this past summer. I shared a few pictures of it on a site called Bored Panda and in less than 24 hours started getting calls from all over the world!
Word got back to the Starburst company who thanked me by sending a personalized jar full of…MORE STARBURST!
The note reads: “Hi Emily- We hope you enjoy this stash of Starburst! Looking forward to your next unexplainably juicy design. -your friends at Starburst”…..well challenge accepted then! I always said I wished I had made some more accessories to complete the outfit.
After only 4 months I used all the wrappers in the jar they sent plus a few extra wrappers from my stash. The purse ended up using about 2,000 wrappers and the shoes took 200 wrappers per shoe. I even made a new candy bag corsage to complete the look.
I covered an old pair of heels with the wrappers, but instead of sewing, I used my trusty glue gun to help secure the wrappers. Each shoe took about 200 wrappers and are fully functional.
The purse is also fully functional. Unlike the dress, I did insert a fabric inlay and used a real chain to hold the weight of the purse.
Purse: Inside
purse: back side
A lot has changed in the past 3 years. I’m glad the dress itself still fit!
Update: The timing of this was also an answer to prayer. Even if it takes years, God’s timing is always perfect. The amount of press I received from this project got the attention of Ripley’s Believe it or Not. I can now say the dress and accessories are in display at one of their museums and that my husband and I were able to pay off the last bit of our college loans as a result. Just when we needed it most. What a happy ending to our Starburst story!
To read the beginning of our story read The Process Behind Making a Dress From 10K Starburst Wrappers.