Big Party Event on a Budget

We had 3 months to plan my daughter's Quinceanera-15th Birthday Party from the time she sprung it on us ("I want to have a Quince for my birthday") to when her Bday was (more here).

It turned out great, and although people can spend a fortune on these, like a "Super Sweet 16", but even worse. The dress alone can cost thousands. Also, I got to live out my dreams of doing a "DIY" wedding (mine) that did not happen because my parents demanded on paying for the flowers and stuff...pshaaah!!!

Luckily, I am a plucky sort, and so is my girl, so we searched high and low for her dress (one requirement: it had to be RED...and have a big ballroom skirt). We ended up in downtown L.A. and after a few moments of bargaining, had THE dress!

The dress is what inspired everything else...the color scheme (black, ivory, and touches of that cherry red).

The kids performing the Waltz

The venue (because my girl has LOTS of friends..and our familia is HUGE too) was a lovely golf course with a clubroom. We got a special rate on that, too, because we booked it at one of their special event open-house nights. Score! It included all the linens and the floating candle centerpieces. I opted not to have the cake/coffee and we applied that money saved for a fabulous candy-dessert bar. I made the programs in Word and glued them on some decorative scrapbook paper I got in one of those huge books at JoAnns (with my coupon, of course)

I did it all on a tight budget. I got many of the decor ideas on Pinterest, such as the flowers. I only used a few strategically placed arrangements, again in a very tight color scheme of mostly white and some red. I went to the Los Angeles Flower Mart the day before and bought armloads of gerberas, lovely white roses ("old one" so they were 10 bucks for 2 dozen!!)and glass vases from the Dollar Tree.

We scored a photo booth rental from Groupon for a third of the price they normally go for...it was a HUGE hit!

Our DJ was a friend of hubs contracted at a great rate. Our photographer was our cousin.

It was Beautiful and worth every cent. We are so proud of our big girl!

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

p.s.... I wanted to add many more pics, but Blogger was taking 7000 years per photo upload! Anyone know wassup w dat???

Quinceanera Girl

A typical Quince dress...no this isn't my girl

My daughter is half Italian (me) and half hispanic (Mexican/Salvadoran blended Hubs). This year, she tells me she wants a Quince (Keen-Say) for her 15th birthday.

A Quinceanera is like a sweet 16 but at 15. For hispanics, its a very big deal. Almost like a debutante coming-out party, a girl-to-woman ritual type affair with close ties to the church.

I have learned a lot. We went downtown L.A. to the garment district to find a traditional Quince dress, like a cross between a fairy princess dress and a ball gown. She chose a cherry-red tulle number with rhinestones and sequins. Yeah, she looks like a princess in it. And she is definitely NOT having a sweet-16 party next year, this is IT!

She has chosen 6 girls and boys to pair up and act as her "court". They will learn to waltz later this week so they can perform a dance for the guests. The party will be held at a local golf clubhouse room, and I am excitedly planing to go get flowers at the flowermart the day before.

It's  a big party, but I am proud of my girl and glad we can do this for her. Here she will be with all her friends and family, everyone who loves her, celebrating her growing up into a young woman.

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Another Dresser ReBorn!

This dresser was FREE on the curb. FA-REEE!!!

Normally, I would pass up piece like this, it is all MDF/laminate, has drawers that are not dovetailed, and just not great quality (although I know these cost a pretty penny new) But, it was in mint condition, except for the top which was water-damaged and swollen under the laminate. Its a great size for my Tween's room- longish and very narrow, with plenty of storage. Plus did I mention it was FREE. Rules are meant to be broken sometimes, right? ( Did I mention the dresser was FREE?)

I knew I had to do something about the top. I am on a modge-podge kick, so of course that was the solution. I figured even if I couldn't sand out all the bumps, the scrapbook paper plus the modge podge would cover it...plus it would soon be covered completely with all my daughter's treasures, so it didn't need to be 100% perfect.

I sanded the bejeeesus out of the top. Down to the MDF, which started to look like hay. I sanded all the other surfaces lightly, just to scuff it up enough to accept the primer. I then used 3 coats of Kilz Oil Based primer, with a roller, sanding between each one after it dried. The roller leaves an "orange peel" finish, so sanding is imperative. This process of priming and sanding took an entire weekend.

I then shopped for mod looking scrapbook paper**.I went with orange, which is my girl's fave color anyway. (her room is orange, pink and brown, predominantly...with some apple green accents)

**Now, I originally wanted to do fabric modge-podge, but I chickened out... you have to first modge podge the back of the fabric, let it dry, then place it on... I was too impatient. And you have to cut it very precisely, and I need something more forgiving. I am not really a precise person when it comes to measuring. If you'd like to try this, see a tutorial from JCarolineCreative here, its great

I then painted the dresser with my favorite paint from Home Depot: Behr SemiGloss Latex (off the shelf-no wait for mixing!) in Swiss Coffee. I also love their Off-White off-the-shelf color, btw. This paint goes on so smooth, and thick, it covers great. The primer really helped. I sanded between coats, total of 2 coats (I really let them dry good before sanding: ie. overnight) I actually LOVED the look after I sanded, the corners kind of showed through to the MDF, I thought about adding dark brown glaze to distress it, but this daugher is NOT impressed by distressed furniture.. she says it looks like it needs to be repainted..haha! (Note to self: laminated MDF CAN be painted and CAN be transformed to a distressed piece!)

Now I was ready for the paper....I measured, then I cut my paper to fit. Now, I told you I am not precise, and I am always in a hurry.

The paper should be cut to fit like a puzzle, with no overlapping , just but up the edges of the paper together. Use an exacto or a rotary cutter and ruler to get nice, clean, straight lines.

I smoothed it out (much easier time then my last modge podge furniture project), applied more modge to the top, and then did the same thing to 2 of the drawers in a contrasting paper. Cute.

Now a coat of wipe on poly:

I WAS going to put on NEW hardware..but the holes were a wee bit too short than standard, and I didn't want to redrill holes. So, I did the next best thing and spray painted all the hardware with THIS paint, which is supposed to cover any surface:

BEFORE PAINTING

AFTER:

TA-DAH! Here she is!!

I will post more pics when it is placed in my daughter's room. It should be perfect!