Rose Parade floats in the making

Morgan Smith, 17, of Temecula and Kyle Le, 18, of Riverside work on the Western Asset float.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Samantha Yin, 18, of Temple City helps create a float sponsored by RFD-TV. All three major builders of Rose Parade floats rely on volunteers to apply the decorations.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Each float in the Rose Parade must be covered in unaltered organic material, such as flowers and seeds.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Austin Fagrell, 16, of Fallbrook, Calif., works on the Rotary International float.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Volunteers help with the Western Asset float.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Sunita Boddu of San Clemente works on the float sponsored by Kinect for Xbox 360.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Lofthouse, president of Phoenix Decorating, says he counts on 12,000 to 13,000 volunteers per week in December. The 2012 Rose Parade is Jan. 2.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)