The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are coming up this weekend (Sunday, March 7), and regardless of how into the actual ceremonies you are, the Oscars are always a fun excuse to have people over! You can chat with friends over casual cocktails & appetizers while the red carpet fashions and award presentations are going on, or create a more formal affair, complete with a fancy dinner party and Oscar Ballots for your guests.

So… for the next few days I’ll be featuring some different types of Oscars party inspiration for both casual & formal affairs, starting right now with one of my favorite (EASY!) decor ideas: Photo-Wrapped Cylinders.

This concept is simple, but there are so many great things you can do with it! All you need are inexpensive glass cylinder vases (widely available in craft/home stores and online) and images of movie stars or movie scenes/posters.

You can opt for current-day stars and films (maybe even some of the current Oscar contenders) or go for an “Old Hollywood” vibe as demonstrated in the examples shown here (which are from an event I did in LA last year).

The best places to find movie images are magazines, calendars, and books. You’d probably be surprised how inexpensive some of the coffee-table-style picture books can be in the special “discount” section of your local book store! I’ve honestly found great books with TONS of images for as little as $5 in these sections before.

Wall calendars are my personal favorite for images though – the pictures are huge (about the size of a typical sheet of scrapbook paper) – so they go a long way in the decor department with 12 big images for a typical price of anywhere from $8-$20!

Once you have your images picked out, use them to cover different sizes of glass cylinders to create Hollywood-themed vases, candle holders, and pedestal risers (for elevating everything from dishes on the appetizer buffet to floral arrangements!).

I also like to experiment with extra embellishments like ribbon, rhinestones, hanging crystals, and decorative trims.

Red or gold satin ribbon works great for a Hollywood Glam vibe, and you can also find rhinestone word stickers that say things like “fabulous“, “celebrate“, or “cheers” at most craft or scrapbook supply stores.

You can also set the wrapped cylinders on top of candlestick holders to give them extra height – as seen in image #2, above. *Note: Make sure to use a reinforcement like glue dots, sticky tack, or hot glue to help secure the cylinders on top of the candlesticks during the party, especially if there’s any sort of candlelight involved!

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