Magazine pictures of celebrities in dresses, dark purple fabric and a pair of scissors covered a table in Carol Beard's Holt home on Wednesday.

And nearby, two of the apparel and textile design instructor's students cut out a prototype and compared fabric for a floor-length prom dress. The pace was quick because the women knew they had two weeks left to complete a project they had been planning for months.

This is the first year of Project Prom Dress - an effort by the Student Apparel Design Association to help area girls in foster homes have their dream prom gowns.

"I want them to feel like a princess that night, like Cinderella going to the ball," said Beard, who is the club's adviser.

There are about 30 MSU students working on six dresses. The fabric was purchased through proceeds from the association's annual fashion show earlier this month and several companies also donated material.

The work is divided among six groups of five students, allowing each group to make one dress.

Apparel and textile design senior Danielle Smith is the project chairwoman and said she first got the idea of helping the girls from a friend.

"A couple of people I know work at social services, a friend of mine does, and she was talking about altering these old dresses and in some way being able to get these girls dresses," Smith said. "She kind of gave me the idea, and I brought it back to everyone else."

The foster care unit of Catholic Social Services of Lansing/St. Vincent Home matched the group with six high school girls.

A 17-year-old senior at Lansing's Sexton High School, who can't be identified because of the foster home's policy, is expecting her dress in the next couple weeks. She said she was speechless when they told her about the project.

"I felt like it couldn't be me," she said, shaking her head. "Like uh-uh."

The MSU group recently brought some magazines to a meeting with the girls to give them ideas of how they wanted their prom dresses designed.

The 17-year-old said she chose a pink strapless dress with her back exposed. Her prom is May 13.

The 17-year-old said she imagines her prom to be like what she has seen on television.

"You know how you see the red carpet and stuff, that's how I pictured it," she said.

When talking about prom with her friends, she admitted that they become envious that she's getting some special treatment.

"They b e like 'I am so mad, how come I can't get my dress made? How come I can't be in foster care, you get all this stuff,'" she said.

And the 17-year-old said being a part of Project Prom Dress makes her feel special.

"I feel like I'm important, like I mean something," she said.

"You know how a superstar feels - that's how I kind of feel right now."

Lindsay Doyle, an intensive foster care therapist at Catholic Social Services, explained that something like this doesn't happen often.

"They are very excited about it," Doyle said.

"They know that they are going to get special-made dresses, and they know they won't show up with someone having the same dress as them."

Doyle said she hopes the project continues.

"It's a neat thing. It's exciting; both our organization and the SADA are looking forward to doing this again," Doyle said.

Smith, the project's chairwoman, said her group wants the girls to have everything - even more than the dress.

"We want to be able to get shoes for the girls," Smith said "We would like to find someone to do their nails, just like the whole package."

So far, three salons have agreed to do the girls' hair. The association also is still accepting donations.

Apparel and textile design senior and organization President Aimie Vredevoogd said finding funding for the project is hard work, but it pays off.

"It's really rewarding to be able to help someone else," she said.

"I mean, we do this every day in classes ... but this way, we can help someone by benefiting from our skills."

To donate services or items to the project, or for more information about Project Prom Dress, contact apparel and textile design instructor and SADA adviser, Carol Beard at beardcar@msu.edu.

Yvette Lanier can be reached at lanieryv@msu.edu.