Practical tips, tricks, recipes, and decoration ideas to help you throw a kick-ass party.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Free/Cheap Halloween Decorations

Halloween Parties are alot of WORK. A LOT OF WORK. (Yes, I use "a lot" instead of "much" - grammer police, come get me!) But they don't have to cost a fortune. Most of the decorations you can come up with for Halloween can be homemade. You will have to weigh the value of you own time, of course, but in this economy, it doesn't make sense to pay a ton for things you will only use one weekend a year. And the thing about Halloween parties is that if you have another party next year, you don't want to bore your guests with all the same decorations two years in a row. There's nothing scary about seeing the same old ghoul year after year!
This year I made our bathroom into a BATroom. (Hahaha, chortle at the cleverness!) Superfluous number of guano jokes aside, it turned out great. The cost of decor for the entire room was $1.15. We were lucky enough to borrow the bat-shaped lights to place around the mirror, but any old Christmas lights would have been sufficient to set the scene. The idea was that bright, overhead lights wouldn't looked very bat-cave-like. If you have a strobe light, it looks cool flashing behind the shower curtain. Unplug before showering.
In the picture above you can see various black bats. I purchased one piece of black poster board for $1.15. Found a template on the interwebs for a creepy bat (try a Google Image search for "bat template" or "bat clip art".) Traced and cut out fifteen bats from the poster board. (Your hand will hurt if you cut those all out by yourself. Take frequent beer breaks or get a significant other to help you. You may actually have to bribe the significant other with beer to get them to help. Please note that the quality of cut out bats will decrease after three beers, so moderation is the key.) Hang up the bats around the room. Tape some, hang some from string for a more "flappy" look.
I also thought, if I were a bat, what would I have in my cave? The answer was a framed picture of my best friend - in a bat's case, the Count from Sesame Street - and a picture of the coolest car ever - the batmobile. Again Google Image search for the pictures, then printed them to the size I needed. I already had the frames, just replaced the pictures (Sorry, picure of Grandma, you can return after Halloween.)
So, put your mind to it and you can come up with creative Halloween decorations without the scary pricetag.


Here's a link to another of my posts with a DIY Halloween project. 

Monday, September 19, 2011

Scary Blood-Spatter Halloween Decoration

Looking for a NEW cheap and terrifying Decorating Idea for your Halloween Party? 
I am a huge fan of decorating for Halloween.  I am also a huge fan of NOT spending a ton of money.  This idea combines those two goals into one easy and fun DIY project.  Enjoy!



BLOODY TARPS
Someone (Dexter?  Freddy?) committed a horrible bloody murder in your basement, hallway, or garage!!! Basically these are red paint splattered lightweight plastic sheets.  This decorating idea has BIG impact. The tarps can instantly transform your charming country living room into a scary warehouse murder scene. Sweet! The other awesome thing is that you can hang the tarps in front of stuff to hide it.  For example, if you want to keep people out of one side of your basement (maybe so they don’t see all the junk you store down there), a tarp can be hung across the middle of the room, blocking your dirty secrets (and Christmas decorations) from sight.                         

Total cost: about $11.

Materials needed:
1 Quart of Blood Red Paint – go to your local hardware store and have them mix up the bloodiest red you can find.
3 large clear plastic painters’ tarps.  Also available in the paint aisle.  Get the cheapest quality you can find.  You don’t want these things to be heavy, or they will be difficult to hang. 
Paintbrush
A rubber glove – I just used an old one we had under the sink. Bonus!
Duct tape

How To
Hang up one tarp outside, or in your garage, or any appropriate painting area - well-ventilated with a lot of space.  (I held up my plastic tarp by tucking the top edge under heavy stuff on a high shelf, but you could also use duct tape.).  You want the tarp to be hung up while painted, and not flat on the ground, because you really want those awesome bloody drips to form.  Place one of the other tarps flat on the ground underneath the hung tarp.  You don’t want the ground to be covered in paint. 

Dip the paint brush in the red paint and flick red paint onto the hung tarp, creating a blood splatter effect.  Start in the middle of the tarp.  (If you get too close to the edge, the paint might spatter off the sides, getting your yard or garage paint-splattered.)  Randomly spatter paint and brush paint in a slashing motion all over the tarp.  You can also write “Help” or “Beware” or “Die” in messy brushstrokes. 

When it looks sufficiently bloodied, put on the rubber glove and dip your hand into the paint.  Make a few bloody handprints.  I liked the effect of dragging my hand across the tarp.  Like the victim was trying to escape or something.  (I like to think I am theatrical and not a sick, sick person.) 

After the paint drips down the tarp to your liking, lay it flat to dry.  Takes a few hours to dry.
Repeat the process for the other two tarps.  (One tarp could be enough, depending on your party needs, but a quart is enough paint to do three tarps, and since the tarps cost about $0.79 apiece, why not do more?  Go big or go home.)

Now it’s time to decorate your party space!  The plastic tarps I used were so light that I could hang them by duct tape, or in places, by tucking the tarp under something heavy on a high shelf, or by poking a preexisting nail through the plastic. 

When the party is over, fold the tarp gently, paint-side-in.  Note that a bit of the paint may chip off in places, so when you open it next year, maybe open it outside first so you don’t get red paint chips in the house.

Caution - bloody tarps may cause guests to pretend to stab each other.




Friday, September 9, 2011

Wedding Colors - Tips, Trends, and Choices

Picking your wedding colors?  It's kind of a big thing, isn't it?  Color has to be decided for the bridesmaid dresses, the flowers, the napkins, cake, and the invitations, among other things.  Much has changed since your mother made your father wear a powder blue tuxedo to their 1976 wedding.  Read on.

The Basics of Wedding Color

Pick a color scheme and stick with it.  Receptions look amazing when things are coordinated.  (Note, coordinated is not the same as "matchy-matchy."  Don't go totally overboard making things match.)

There are NO rules on how many colors you can have for your wedding.  Go monochromatic, or have the whole rainbow.  It’s entirely up to you.  Also, color can be a focal point, or it can be completely understated.  Either option can be totally beautiful. 
The elusive "Understated Multi-color Look".  So beautiful!

I would advise that you keep some white or ivory or some muted color in the decoration scheme.  Some brides have brightly colored or black tablecloths and it ends up looking like a prom instead of a wedding. (Unless "Enchantment Under the Sea" is the wedding theme you are shooting for.) 

So, how to choose your wedding colors?  

Some brides just KNOW what colors they want, and others have a really difficult time making a decision.  I've come up with several ways to choose wedding colors.  Which one works for you?

1. Consider my post on choosing two wedding words and how your two words can impact your color choice.  Your color can really help the mood you are trying to create for your wedding.

2. Consult your bridesmaids on what color dress they would like, or alternatively, what they would HATE.  Or at least think about their skin tone/hair color when choosing a dress color.  With their preferences in mind, choose a dress.  Then use that dress color as the main color for the wedding, or pick one or more colors that coordinate with that color.  Those colors are your official wedding colors.  Good to Note: all the dresses don't have to be the same color.  I saw a stunning bridal store display with alternating bridesmaid dresses in green and yellow, surrounding a white clad bride.  Talk about a striking combination!  

3. Look at your venue for the ceremony or reception.  If the entire church is salmon colored, don’t pick bright orange for your flowers and bridesmaid dresses.  Talk about clashing!  Gross.  If your reception is at a college, and school colors dominate the room, choose colors that are the same as those, OR that coordinate with those, OR at least don’t clash with those.  The colors of your reception space could really help with the overall design of your reception, IF you work with it and not against it.  For example, if your reception site has navy chairs, go with a color scheme that incorporates navy.  Then there is zero need to buy chair covers and your decorations will really coordinate with the space.  Also, if you are having a destination wedding, such as at the beach, go with “beachy” colors like blue, white, and tan.  Or if your destination is New Orleans, think about the traditional Mardi Gras hues of purple and gold.

4. Consider the season.  Great choices for particular seasons are:
·         Winter 
o       Navy and silver
o       Icy blue and white
o       Crimson and green
o       Green and ivory
o       White and silver and ivory
o       Gold and red
o       Purple
o       Black and white
·         Spring
o       Yellow and green
o       Yellow and red – think tulips, not McDonald's
o       Green – different shades
o       Light blue and green
o       Pastels – think charming English garden bouquet
o       Pink
o       Light blue, yellow, white
·         Summer
o       Bright multi-color – all the brightest summer flowers
o       Red, orange, yellow, green
o       Blue
o       Pink and green
o       Yellow and ivory
o       Grey and any bright accent color
·         Fall
o       Brown and lime green
o       Brown, orange, red/yellow
o       Your football team’s colors
o       Wheat and green/cream/orange/brown
o       Sky blue
o       Purple
o       Red
If you have any more ideas on favorite color combos for a particular season, please leave them in the comments!
Good to Note - the Two-Color-Combo trend is kind of over.  When you want two dominant colors, like say, yellow and blue, don't stick with one bright yellow and one shade of blue for everything from flowers to dresses to bows.  Consider doing a mix of lemon yellow, pale yellow, navy, baby blue, beige, and white.  This really takes your pallette to the next level in terms of sophistication. 

5. Speak with a florist.  Talk to your florist about what kinds of flowers she recommends, especially for the time of year of the wedding.  If she can show you a must-have, fabulous bouquet for your wedding, just go with that color scheme for everything else.  They have bridesmaid dresses in every single color of the rainbow, so I’m sure you’ll be able to coordinate.

6. Is there a color that is meaningful to you and your spouse?  For example, the colors of the school where you met, or maybe your unique engagement rings has emeralds and you want to go with an emerald color scheme.  Which color makes you HAPPY?

7. Head to the paint store with your fiancĂ© and choose a few colors that you both like.  It’s not rocket science!  Maybe you’ll think up some amazing combinations together.  Do you want to go with pale blue, midnight blue, a swampy green, or all three? 

8. Be practical.  Your best friend got married last year and is willing to give you all of her red, black, and white centerpieces, candles, and gorgeous table runners.  The money you will save on decorations might be enough to convince you that red, black, and white are your new favorite colors!

Charming DIY paper and cloth decorations by bride Shannon Reitz Nye gave her late
summer wedding a fun burst of color.  Photo by Eileen Magno Grubb.