Wizard of Oz – Decorations

I’m not sure which of the decorations were my favorite, but they all pulled together nicely to create a cute Wizard of Oz theme.

I firmly believe first impressions are everything so I wanted to create a welcoming space outside that screamed Wizard of Oz. And we all know that the Wizard of Oz wouldn’t be complete without a yellow brick road. I researched a lot of different ideas on how exactly to do this, and ultimately came up with my own plan. I wanted to use something that wouldn’t rip, yet would be temporary. I decided to use yellow contact paper, cut into “bricks.” Fortunately for us, Grammy recently had surgery and was looking for “something to do” while she was laid up. We didn't hesitate to give her the project of cutting all the bricks out for us! Thanks, Grammy!

Chris had the job of “laying the bricks” and that proved to be quite a project. Auntie Kim and I peeled the backing of the contact paper just enough so he could quickly pull it off before sticking it to the concrete. After about 1 ½ hours, the yellow brick road was complete, and looking oh-so perfect!

Several weeks ago, we also began making red poppies (like those that put Dorothy to sleep in the movie). I thought these would look cute along the yellow brick road. I found red and black napkins at the Dollar Store in two different sizes. Madelyn and Chris even helped with this project! Madelyn trimmed and sliced many of the black center napkins (as did Chris), and I folded them together, tied them, and peeled them apart to look like a flower. These were so easy to make, and I couldn’t believe how good they turned out when they were finished. The link to the website I used with step-by-step directions doesn't seem to be valid any longer, but it was super easy!

We also included he Wicked Witch’s legs under our house. I found this cute prop on Amazon, and it was quite the hit with our little guests.

Can you spot the Wicked Witch legs?

We also lined the grass leading up to the brick road with these cute rainbow pinwheels. I happened to see these at the Dollar Store and couldn’t resist for a buck each. Who knew the Dollar store had so many great things!?!

As our guests entered the house, they immediately saw our balloon rainbow. This was one of the projects Daddy took the reins on, and it turned out perfect! I found the tutorial on Pinterest. We made it half the size as the one in the tutorial, but it worked out perfectly over the doorway in the living room. Chris added a tie in the middle so in our version it actually looked like a rainbow! :) 

Click this link to view the great step-by-step tutorial. 

As Auntie Kim and I were baking on Saturday, she asked me if I had seen another Pinterest idea that uses plastic table cloths. We looked it up, and decided since I already had rainbow-colored table cloths (from the Dollar Store, meant for another project that was reinvented). We also thought this would be a good project for Daddy. And fortunately for Daddy, Uncle Rick showed up just in time to help! It turned out great, and the little muchkins’ faces lit up when they walked into the kitchen! Here’s the link to the site we found the idea.

We also set up tables in the backyard with blue table clothes and added some red poppies as centerpieces. I had many, many poppies, and also put some in the grass. This really helped the look of the yard because all our plants recently suffered from four nights of freezing weather. (Yes! Freezing weather in Phoenix!) Some of the kids were excited to be able to choose a flower to take home (and Grammy decided she wanted the ones they didn't take for Easter). This made for an extraordinarily easy cleanup!

Each year I use Madelyn’s birthday pictures to cover the beer art we have hanging on the wall. This year was no different!