Thursday, May 23, 2013

Party Decorations on a Budget

I definitely love a party.  I love the frosting the best but what is a party without a few decorations?  The graduation party I just threw for my daughter for graduation was no exception and I was very concerned about being on a budget.  I wanted the perfect party with the perfect food and perfect decorations with a perfect pricetag.  Mission accomplished!  My last post had the party foods and recipes.  I hope you enjoyed that one.  Today we are going to talk about decorating on a dime. And here are a few things I picked up at the Dollar Tree that I used to decorate.

I got most of my decorations at the Dollar Tree.  Everything there is a dollar.  And if you don't know it already, so are their mylar balloons.  Anywhere else they are triple the price.  Seriously, mylar balloons with an anchor weight and everything for a dollar.  You can't beat that with a stick.  They have them for every occasion from birthday to Valentines Day to Mother's Day.  No excuse to not pick up a festive balloon or 12 anymore.

At the Dollar Tree, I bought two packages of balloons and made a cute balloon decoration.  I threaded a long needle with quilting thread and did not cut the end of the thread off.  I just left it on the spool so I could judge the length after I threaded the balloons.  I threaded one color then the other color and back and forth until I had used all the balloons I had.  You could make this longer or shorter.  It would even be cute to hang from a chandelier in short version.  These things at the party store are super expensive.  I have always admired them but never willing to pay the price for them.  SO, I created my own.  For the low cost of $2.  Two packages of balloons at $1 each and used thread I had at home to string them.  After I strung the balloons I decided how long I wanted them to dangle then tied the thread off at the bottom.  Then I hung them after I spread the balloons in a pleasing appearance.  It really made a nice decoration and a nice backdrop for pictures in her school colors.


Also at the Dollar Tree they had school colored small star shaped balloons.  I picked up some silver icicle things in the giftwrap aisle and stuffed it into a crystal vase I had at home.  Then I stuck the balloons down in it after I snipped the ends at varying lengths to add interest.  The Class of 2013 things in the arrangement came from the dollar aisle at Joann Fabrics.  I always like to look in the dollar aisle at Target, Joann Fabrics or definitely Dollar Tree.  For around $7 I had a nice table arrangement and I can save the balloons and icicles for when my son graduates.  Those balloons on a stick last forever.  Although this is not a picture of JUST the arrangement, you can get an idea of what it looked like :)


I made a memory board to display some old and new pictures of my guest of honor.  I bought one of those tri fold display boards at Walmart.  Then I covered it with dollar fabric at Walmart.  If they didn't have something in the dollar fabric I wanted then I didn't need fabric.  That was what I said to myself when I started looking.  Bingo!  Found some animal print I liked and got 2 yards to cover the board.  Covering it was easier than I thought.  I just stapled the fabric neatly around the edge and trimmed the excess.  I used E-6000 glue to stick the letters on that I cut out on a press.  If you don't have a press, then you could use purchased letters they have at Walmart.  The pictures I was a bit more picky about.  I wanted them back not damaged and not attached to the huge board.  So I used double sided tape, again purchased at the Dollar Tree.  The tape stuck the pictures very well but not permanently.  I printed some little captions explaining a few major life events and E-6000 them to the board.


I framed a few special items with frames I had around the house, like her scholarship award, a few special photos, her letter she got in band, and her acceptance certificate to college.  I also bought a small box from the Dollar Tree that I put index cards and a pen beside so that folks could write a piece of advice or a well wish on.   You could also use this idea for a wedding or even a birthday party.


Lastly, I got some streamer, you guessed it, at the Dollar Tree and twisted it up and taped a few balloons to the chandelier just to be festive.  Then I stuck a yard sign in the front yard that also cost a dollar and called the whole thing a party!


I hope you got some party decorating ideas from my blog today.  I am a girl who loves a bargain.  Thank you so much for reading my blog and please subscribe on the right.  Share me with all your friends!  Have a great day!


Jennifer

No comments:

Post a Comment