80s party decoration

I made two big statement pieces for the decoration of my husband’s 80s-themed 30^th birthday party:

This Pac Man maze mat was a great addition to the theme but not only that, it was perfect to protect the carpet from the inevitable drink spills!

The base of the mat were three BBQ mats (the ones that are used to protect the floor from fat drippings etc) joint together. Another option would have been a black tarp, or anything else that is black and big enough to cover the area you’ve got.

I’ve used blue and white masking tape to mark the maze. It’s a really easy material to work with as it always gives you a straight line and if you make any mistakes you can always peel it off and stick it back on without any damage to the mat.

The little ghosts where made out of cardboard drums covered with fabric (I’ve found everything for a bargain at Reverse Garbage). To make the eyes, draw two circles in an A4 paper with a black circle in the middle, and use blu-tack to stick them on.

My bookshelf was the perfect base for this Donkey Kong platform. Each platform and set of stairs was made with cardboard that I painted in black. I then used red and blue masking tape to add the details.

To make Donkey Kong himself, Mario and the barrels, I’ve simply printed them off in A3 size and paste them in a piece of cardboard. Because the original images were quite small, enlarging gave them this great pixelated look.

To complement these two big statement pieces, I’ve scattered cassette tapes, VHS, LPs and 80s movie posters – everything from Reverse Garbage. They make great conversation topics and the LPs even double up as big drink coasters!