d.i.y. masquerade party decor

I thought it would be fun to share a few simple DIYs I did for my Masquerade themed party last month. I love planning parties, my favorite part (and usually the most stressful) is all the stuff that happens "before" the party.
The pictures are pretty self explanatory but of course I included a step-by-step for each.

Ribbon Backdrop (this is my favorite)
Supplies: a wooden dowel (mine was 45" long), Ribbon (I had 4 colors, 12 meters of each color), Gold curling ribbon and scotch tape.

1. I calculated how long I should make each strand of ribbon in order to get the most out of the ribbon spool, making lengths of 24" and 30". 

2. start in the center of your dowel with the longer strips of ribbon, taping the ribbon to the dowel (I tried glue first but I am super impatient and it wasn't drying fast enough for me). Work your way outwards alternating colors and sizes as you see fit.

3. make random knots, on random strips of ribbon. Drape a few random pieces of curling ribbon over the dowel and your finished!

I just hung it with a piece of ribbon, at both ends, to my curtain rod. I had so much fun taking pictures in front of my Ribbon backdrop (you can see a couple here)

Flag Signs
Supplies: cardstock, hole punch, pattern edged scissors, glue and glitter.

1. cut your cardstock into 6 equal rectangular pieces. Punch hole's at 2 of your corner's and trim the opposite bottom with your scissors.

3. use your glue to create a letter and sprinkle generously with glitter. let dry. repeat until you have a word.

4. string all letters through your curling ribbon and hang.

A Simple Centerpiece and Mask Invitation's

Supplies (for 1 centerpiece. I made 4): a drinking glass, 3 bead necklaces, black cardstock, metallic sharpie's, small scrape feathers, a peacock feather, glue, sparkle embellishment, floral foam and a chopstick (I used a chopstick because it was more sturdy and my scrape feather had little bells on it that made it heavy)

 

1. paint your chopstick a metallic gold color. set aside to dry.

2. I googled free mask template and found this to be perfect for what I wanted. I printed it on regular paper and was able to get 4 traced on my black cardstock.

3. I took all 3 metallic sharpies and just started drawing random designs, starting with the outline of the eyes. I'm not super creative but I think I did a pretty good job. (you can also use glitter glue as another option)

4. use your sparkle embellishment for 1 (or both) corner's of the mask. and glue your small feathers to the back of one of the corners.

5. glue your chopstick to the back on the same side with the feather.

6. cut a small square of floral foam and strategically (yes, that's how I did it) place the peacock feather and mask (on stick) into the foam.

7. place the foam into your glass, and drop in the bead necklaces.

For my invitation's, I basically did steps 2 through 4 and printed all the details on a plain piece of paper that I glued to the back of the mask.

I LOVE doing things like this for parties! Super simple details make such a huge difference.