help , inspiration and advice needed please

lisndai

Hi all ,
Ok i have been an avid fan of MSE for a while now and placed the odd post but nothing major ( i dont think ...lol. )

I love looking at all the wonderful pictures and posts of ongoing and finished projects , ive even tried a couple myself but no where near as much as most and im no where near as imaginative and creative as most .

So heres my big ask ....My DD is 18 in early 2010 she has said that she would love a big party , which is fine as this will be the first big party shes ever had it also has to be very MSE as like many of us i count for every penny hence the reason for starting now i know it may seem along time away but when every penny counts it isnt really .

I am not the most organised of people and tend to leave everything to the last minute i want this to be different and i also want it to be very special and amazing for her with a few surprises if i can !!

So can anyone give me any ideas where to start and what sort of things i can do please . Ive said i will do the invites and my DD has said she would like it to be formal ( if possible ) with a gold and black colour theme other than that im lost .

You are all so good and pulling out ideas with things like this any help would be really appreciated from us both .

Lisa

RustyFlange

not many ideas off the top of my head however you could start by putting away a few pound coins every week then when the time comes to start properly buying for her party you already have the money and it won't be so hard.

If you are thinking gold and black themes you could do some little pots of gold instead of party bags ... I did these for the brothers and sisters in our family and I think every scratch card won! ... however you don't have to use scratch cards.
Here is a picture of mine.

McKneff

lots of gold christmas candles are in the christmas sales at the moment.
they could be put away for the future

GemR_2

Tesco have got tons of black party poppers and large champagne bottle confetti poppers on offer at the moment for NYE. They will probably be even cheaper by weekend so could be worth buying now and storing. Also noticed in my local Tesco today that they had 'Finest' black and gold gift boxes with tags and tissue paper really reduced. Can't remember exactly how much but they were very nice.

A really large roll of good quality black fabric could be bought really cheaply and easily turned into elegant looking table cloths. It would also be really easy and cheap to make stunning table centres using a black and gold theme. Anything sprayed gold tends to look good. What about really tall vases filled with black and gold sand/pebbles/feathers/tissue paper etc topped with a plinth each with a different gold sprayed object on. For a girl's 18th these could be stilettos, handbags, etc.

Big twig trees sprayed black with loads of gold die cut '18's hanging off the branches?

Huge stars cut from MDF (can be done very cheaply) sprayed sparkly black and gold and hung from the ceiling of the venue?

I have heard of local college drama students hiring themselves out for functions and charity events as living statues sprayed head to toe in gold?

I've just realised I seem to be going a bit spray paint obsessed! It wasn't intentional:D

HTH I will post more ideas if these are of any use

s23xy_c

You could try finding some of the fake oscars and using them for invites.
Thats the black and gold statue right? (confusing myself now lol)
If thats the right thing then it would make it seem formal.

undercover_angel

I just wrote a huge long reply to this post and then lost it! grrrr!!!! So if this one is a little bit straight to point, I'm sorry but I have aching wrists! lol

- Choose your venue early to ensure you get the date you want and finalise what they are providing and what you will need to provide.

- Decoration:
Blow up some pictures in black and white of your DD over the years and frame them in large clip frames to place on the walls (I'm thinking this will be glamourous like audry hepburn styley)

Get a stack of black voile/muslin, drape it accross some of the walls and then add clear fairy lights for a pretty backdrop.

Use more fabrics over the tables then add some gold champagne bottle confetti. You could use large glass vases (£2/3 Ikea) for the centrepieces and fill them with gold baubles. Or you could use 3 helium filled gold/black satin balloons.

- Food:
Not my strong point at all so I won't even try to help here, I'll make things worse!

- Music:
Does your DD or you know any musicians/bands, you could ask them to perform for part of the evening and then for the rest of the evening, use a MP3 player, connect it to the PA system in the venue (if there is one) and just let it run.

I would just say that there is lots of times to get things just how you and your DD want them, so just keep an eye out when you're out and about for things you could use or new ideas. Have Fun Planning. I love planning!

lisndai

Hi everyone i hope you all had a good new year ,

Thank you so much for all your replies i love all the ideas ! i would never have thought of spray painting anything or blowing up photos .

Rusty my dd loves the idea of the pots of gold for everyone i will have to find somewhere to get the glasses though as we dont have an ikea near us which is a shame .

Im also going to do a book ( not sure what its called ...lol ) that everyone can write in for a keepsake i think this and the invitations are going to be top of my list as im going to hand make them but ive never attempted making cards so i thought if i start now theres plenty of time for mistakes :rotfl:
Just need to find the cheapest place for materials ...

Ive taped up a pringles pot for any odd change to put towards it ..

Thnak you so much again for all your replies and ideas they are all great and very appreciated and have also given my the confidence to actually realise that im not mad and may actually be able to do this .....lol

Lisa