Thread: 2010 Romp in the Swamp - Louisiana Theme

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One of my resolutions this year is to create and stick to a realistic budget for my party, so I'm trying to accomplish that through a lot of organization and pre-planning. In the past I've spent a lot of money on things that inspired me, but didn't end up coming to fruition or being a big part of the final party, so I hope to change that.

This is the thread I'm hoping to keep going with all of my ideas and updates this year. I plan to "borrow" heavily from those of you who did "Voodoo on the Bayou" and similar parties in the past

This year's theme will be Louisiana based - I'm looking to incorporate a few different aspects:

-Mardi Gras
-Voo Doo
-Vampires/True Blood (huge fan, had to work that in for my friends who all gather to watch it together, but didn't want to be too limiting for those who don't watch it)
-Swamp/Alligators/backwoods

I'm doing different rooms in these different themes, and since Mardi Gras is coming up I'm hoping to snag some great stuff on clearance. Turns out, the scene setters I was looking at from M&NInternational (which also does business under a thousand other names) are 40% off THIS week - I'm trying to decide if I should buy them or not. I looked at them at Party City last night, and can't decide. Anybody used them? I've had mixed results with plastic sheeting in the past, the rolls worked great, but anything folded was much more finicky.

Check out some of my posts from last year. I did a similar theme. Feel free to "steal" whatever. I saw you did Alice last year, which is weird, since there's a pretty good chance I'll be doing that one this year.

I would buy lots of mardi gras beads from Party City after Mardi Gras cus they mark them down a lot. Get one of those cheap nature cds from Walmart with natural sounds from a swamp and out it on a loop. those are two cheap ideas for your party. the beads go for a bout a dollar a dozen and the cd is like $4.

Maybe chew on this I made on a whim with some Bag Of Bones...

Halloween Forum - Yubney's Album: Yubney - New projects started for H10

As I was making it I thought it could go either way from my witches scene or with a voodoo. Heck maybe she will evolve into a voodoo witch? I'm going to make something similar as a purch for my owl in her shack. I was also thinking it could be used to hold tiki torch (minus the top of course).

Great party title, Romp in the Swamp. You're off to a good start.

I've bought scene setters and some other brand of scenery before and they're okay. Most of my stuff is in the roll format which still has folds. If lighting is low you don't notice the folds and seams as much. Could you link to what in particular you were thinking of using? BTW I've used most of this stuff outside attached to fences and outdoor walls, so not sure how well it works with the recommended sticky tack indoors. You might experiment with using a hair dryer on a warm setting to see if you can release some of the folds and wrinkles before applying the tape. BTW Shindigz is a good place to look for scenery and party items.

Here's some ideas that may or may not be what you are looking for:

Thinking of keeping the budget low, you could see how tea-stained or green-dyed cheese cloth works for you if you want to add some Spanish Moss-type hanging elements from your ceiling, lamp shades, etc. Maybe add some Great Stuff or glued on cotton balls material for some texture. Before putting it on something test it to make sure the color doesn't transfer.

If your party scene is an abandoned haunted Southern Mansion you could cover all the furniture with white sheets and use candles (real or battery powered) for lighting. If you use some lamps inside maybe connect them to an F/X lighting box so that the lamps can be dimmed and flicker.

Cob webbing is pretty inexpensive--don't forget doorways, hallways, around mirrors.

I always associate fine old New Orleans mansions with beveled glass windows and items like silver candlabras and cut crystal (search out resale shops like Goodwill for bargains on this kind of stuff)--just an air of elegance.

For food in the mansion area you could always serve tea sandwiches to help stretch your food budget.

You can cheaply make some family portraits by printing out photographs, age them with a tea, and throw them in frames from places like Dollar Tree or resale shops.

Look online for some inexpensive rubber alligators. Maybe one in your kitchen sink, in the refrigerator or in a bathtub would be a fun element of surprise. Of course one coming up from a toilet would be sure to get some reaction from people--you'll definitely need another bathroom for them to use of course. And I'd probably put a sign on the raised toilet lid saying "out of order" just to be safe from drunk and oblivious party goers who really have to go.

Back in 2005 I saw the movie THE SKELETON KEY with Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt and Peter Sarsgaard and would highly recommend watching it for ideas for your party. It's set outside of New Orleans in an old run-down mansion near the swamp and hoodoo plays a big part in the movie. It's a great thriller. I picked up a copy of it at ROSS DRESS FOR LESS or BIG LOTS a number of months ago so know it's still out there being sold. You can always rent it too. Here's a link to it over at IMDB: The Skeleton Key (2005) I jumped a few times in my seat during this one so hope you enjoy it.

BTW Yubney, the face you are making is terrific. I assume it's paper mache? That's a great, inexpensive material to learn to work with and it's amazing the kinds of things I've seen people on this forum make with it.

Check oriental trading, they have lots of Mardi Gras stuff.

How about making some blair witch creepy twig sculptures. Just some branches and twine, virtually free and a bit creepy.

Every Voo Doo Queen needs Shrunken Heads! I just posted a How-To in the Tutorials section.

I'm glad that Voodoo on the Bayou is "living" on!

another cheap suggestion, and what I did to get the most swampy feel but on the cheap, was dollar store leaf/lawn trashbags...cut down one side and the bottom, and then shredded and cut...throw them over thread or fishing line and they make for cool, room-darkening, stuff for folks to walk and look through...

They worked great for me and I liked the look...got lots of complements on how easy/cheap but great looking and effective my ideas were.

I also knew I needed some "real" looking plantlife around as well...watch Hobby Lobby for half off sales on floral....you can really really clean up there and get some cool branches, leaves, moss, foam, or even cattails that way!

Love the ideas! Thanks everybody Keep them coming!

My frustration with scene setters last year was also the folds - I ended up using table cloth rolls which worked GREAT, but fighting the folds in the actual scene setters (which were way more expensive) was too much to bear and I abandoned it. However I'm liking these sets for Mardi Gras:
http://www.partycheap.com/v/vspfiles.../mgmural70.jpg
I think I might go ahead and get them, and since I'm starting early I can always roll them to store more flat for the next many months, or "press" them or something if they're really wrinkled.

The shrunken heads will be EXCELLENT for my voo doo shop, and I never thought of moss, great idea! I don't know that I have the patience to make props like Yubney, but hopefully I can accomplish some smaller scale oddities.

Sadly, we don't have Hobby Lobby in MN, but I've been eyeing some greenery at Michaels I might start acquiring with my 40% off card (BEST DEAL EVER - if you they ever offer the rewards card again, totally jump on it! I've gotten hundreds in free gift cards back).

I'm hoping to start my first craft project for 2010 soon, I scooped up 4 ornate oval frames at the Goodwill, about 1' tall, just $3.99 each. I'm hoping to remove the boring farm house photo and replace them with something eerie, like Spookie was discussing I also got a bunch of "grow animals" - those gummy things that swell up in water - I plan to put them in glass jars on the walls of the voo doo shop. $0.99 section at Michaels, I bought out all their alligators and a few other strange looking sea creatures. My family is all on the case of saving glass jars and boxes for "potions" and "ingredients"

Originally Posted by HeatherEve1234

My frustration with scene setters last year was also the folds - I ended up using table cloth rolls which worked GREAT, but fighting the folds in the actual scene setters (which were way more expensive) was too much to bear and I abandoned it.

Thansk for the kudos.

I've not used scene setters, but if they are simple paper I would suggest a can of the spray adhesive similar to the 3-M mounting junk (I think it was made by 3-M too). Once dry it makes the back tacky but not permenent. Like a giant Post-it Note.