Hollywood Glam Masquerade Ball, 2013

I know I will be adding to this post, but if I did not get some of the pictures loaded, I know time would take a hold of me and you would not see these until next year.  

This is a masquerade ball I produced, for the public, with another decorator as a way to showcase our businesses, and it was a blast!  For months we were buying, creating, and scheming the design and look of the event and venue.  Below, are just some of the pictures.  

First, maybe I should tell you how we came up with our ideas.  While we chatting over a glass of wine, we thought it would be fun to have a story to follow.  I  already knew I wanted to create a "Hollywood Glam" theme.  I also thought it would be fun to involve Lillian Bond, a 1920's actress.  I have used her photo before on my blog and I think she is stunning.  So long story short.... we concocted the idea that Lillian, from the grave, wanted to host a party and hired us to plan and initiate it for her.  She was the Ghostess and we were the Hostesses.  It was also where "DUG" her proposed.  

Dug, (get it... dug?) has ring box and ring in hand while Lillian's first husband, well part of him, is by her feet.  These two were the hit of the party.  Everyone kept getting on the stage with them and had their photos taken with them

Here I am on the right with Dug and  Liz Taylor (Hollywood themed party remember :-)   )

The entry hall before all the guests arrived.  

Guests enjoying the cocktail reception and appetizers while the live band played in the ballroom

 

 The creation of my paper poms.  I have not made these since I was a child. I used to make them with my grandmother out of tissues from her tissue box, then again, I made them for a float for our town parade.  We had to make hundreds of them in red, white, and blue.  I created a "how .to" video, but that too will take forever to post now that we are so busy.

Here is the finished product.  We found glass cylinders at the start of this project and went from there to create a centerpiece.  While I made the poms, Laura strung Swarovski crystals and a spider to hang from the pom.  The final touch was adding small LED lights we found at a craft store to the centerpiece.  We tucked one under crumpled up opalescent tissue paper, and one inside of the top of the pom.

Placed in the entry hall, this dessert station  was also used for the appetizers when guests first arrived. :Laura painstakingly searched the woods for just the right branches, and set them in pots with bricks then expandable foam.  Smaller uns of hickory branches were added for depth and dimension.  During the night, our lighting company had this vignette enveloped in an eerie red glow. The "red glow" photos following does not do it justice.

We knew a candy buffet was a must, so deciding on a black, acid green, and silver theme, the hunt was on!  

Coming up with names for all of the candy was fun, we had ourselves in stitches laughing at some of the things we came up with.  And no, I cannot share them with you since some were not very lady like :-).  

 

New England Fine Living's Web site http://www.newenglandfineliving.com and this blog was created by Linda Smith Davis, The Fine Living Muse, as a Girl's Guide to Decorating in Style, Entertaining in Style, and Living in Style.

An Alien Masquerade Ball Fundraiser

Alien Created By New England Fine Living - Let Us Create Something Unique For Your Event! 

In 2008, I was asked to create a fundraising event for the Ipswich Rotary Club.  I suggested a black tie masquerade ball with an optional theme of  "Eras of Elegance",  for those who wanted to dress up, since the event would be the week before Halloween.  Four years and four themes later, I suggested "Out This World".  Voila! a futuristic and alien theme was born.  Now I had to figure out what to do for the centerpieces that would cost very little money, but offer a lot of impact.   But first... I thought a trip to my local costume store would inspire me for my own costume.  It would need to be comfortable since I would be working and dancing myself during the night.  

While in the store, trying on wigs, I could not help but notice the foam heads holding the long haired wigs. They had very long necks and I said to myself  "self... that kinda looks like an alien!"  That is when I got my "ah ha!" moment. 

I was lucky enough that the store, Jokers Wild, in Danvers, MA, was willing to call their vendor and see if I could order the heads in bulk.   Several weeks later, I was the proud babysitter of 24 white foam heads.

Having worked with foam on other projects, I knew that painting the head was going to be a challenge since the paint I wanted to use, eats at foam and makes it pitted or actually melts it.  I tested the spray from different distances, in cool weather, warmer weather, etc.  After a couple of attempts I found, for some reason, these heads liked to be worked on while they were cool, in cool weather, sprayed from a far distance, and needed several coats.  Below is the prototype. 

Now the fun really began (well not really, it was kinda a pain in the butt since the paint took so long to cure on the foam) and as you will see below, my sneakers are now a hint of green due to a wind kicking up while I was working on them outside. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I should have taken them off, but that would mean going in the house to change them, and I was just too darn lazy.

Since the foam still reacted a little to the paint (it was very soft and mushy and damaged easily if I touched ), I had to make sure the paint cured before flipping or moving them.   

Ugh.  I had these for a year and was able to keep the white, white, and the sparkles sparkly.  Oh well... another reason for a shopping trip!

Here I am setting up the room before the guests arrive. And yes, that is a wig I'm wearing.  C'mon... how can I buy all of those heads and not get a fun wig for myself?

This photo was taken just before the final fixing of the glow necklaces, removing some seating cards, and adding a necklace to the head, but you get the idea.  I am still waiting for some other photos that were taken with a better camera.  In the next photo, you might be able to see the glitter that we added to the eyes to catch the light of the flickering candles

I love this photo that was taken of the light show going on in the room.  I first had the mansion all lit with the same acid green of the heads, an hour later, I told my lighting guy to do what he does best.  The place looked amazing.  

Well, well, well, here I am again with some of my dearest friends from elementary school and high school.  

Another  successful fundraiser!  The dance floor was always crowded and the night was truly magical and Out Of This World! 

Photos by moi, Lorna Hood, and Aileen Ang.  

Are you an alien????

For the fourth year, The Ipswich Rotary Club will be hosting their Masquerade Ball at the Turner Hill Mansion, a beautiful New England style home that has been turned into an elegant function facility.  This kinda feels like my little baby since I created the event,  the themes, volunteered on the committee, and had so much fun decorating.   It has taken off and grown so much.   I can't wait to see how people dress up!  And for those who don't like to wear costumes and masks, (Can I call them party poopers?)  it is black-tie optional (hopefully masks will still be worn).  

Black and White Masquerade Ball! How Divine!

It's here!  The third annual Ipswich Rotary Masquerade Ball.  On October 22nd, The Turner Hill Mansion in Ipswich will be filled with 200 area residents from Ipswich and surrounding towns.    Come dance to the tunes of Boston Commons,  Enjoy A Fantastic Dinner, Enter A Raffle, and Dance, Dance, Dance.Oh and you will see a bit of my event styling work.   For more information about the event and to order tickets, click here