How To Make Homemade Mardi Gras Decorations

By: Emma Larkins

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Knowing how to make homemade Mardi Gras decorations will take you a long way towards livening up your festivities while saving money. Or else, you'll have a lot more money to spend on food and drinks!

To make homemade Mardi Gras decorations, you'll need:

Fabric
Construction paper
Glue
Foam core
Paint
Craft store mask
Colored feathers
Sequins
Beads

Know the colors. Green, purple and yellow are the colors of Mardi Gras. Use them liberally throughout your decorating scheme.
Use what you have. You might be surprised to find out how many items you own in these colors. For example, you can use a folded purple shirt as a base, then place a green hat on top with a vase containing yellow flowers.
Get crafty. It doesn't take a lot of skill, money or effort to make homemade Mardi Gras decorations. Go to a craft store and buy a yard of fabric in each of the Mardi Gras colors. Use this fabric to decorate a couch, or to hang from a window or mantle. If you want to get even more creative, buy a piece of white foam core and paint it in swirling patterns of green, yellow and purple. A paper chain is another easy homemade decorating idea; cut construction paper into strips, glue the first strip into a circle, and then continue to glue paper circles together until the chain reaches the desired length.
Mardi Gras staples. Masks are often an element of a Mardi Gras decoration theme. You can use the construction paper to cut out a basic mask shape, or else buy a blank mask from a craft store and then decorate it with colored feathers and sequins. Beads are also a staple of Mardi Gras, and can be hung as decorations or displayed on tables.
Don't forget the food and drinks. Get creative, and extend your decorating budget by using food as a decoration. Make a giant bowl of punch with grape soda, and have bottles of green liqueur nearby. Serve grapes, kiwi slices and pineapple rings arranged in colorful patterns on platters - a tasty and attractive decorating idea!