Tips & Tricks: Wicked Wonderland Cheshire Cat Scene

I won't say the Cheshire Cat scene was everything I wanted, but it did the trick. I went with more plastic tablecloth rolls, this time in pink & purple like the Disney Cheshire Cat (most people's reference). I hung long strips covering our wall of bookcases in alternating stripes - this kept people out of all the junk we have on the shelves, and from setting drinks on them (we're protective of our books, and with all the spilled drinks, I'm glad we cordoned them off!) You can just see a touch of this in the photo below, but the bookcases make an L-turn and go down another wall as well.



On the wall above the TV I printed quotes from the Cheshire Cat - stuff like "Shall we make her really mad?" and "Can you stand on your head?." Like with the other rooms, I used the Beyond Wonderland font, laid the text out in PowerPoint, and printed them in colors matching the area - pink and purple.

On the bump down I hung more paper mache letters - smaller than the Wonderland marquee, but same general idea. I free hand painted them with craft paint in pink & purple to resemble an animal print, and I think it turned out pretty decent. I applied a self-stick tab to the back of each one made of thick acetate with a hole in it, which I hung from 3M strips all across the room. Here's a close up of the letters:



I had to add the apostrophe out of plastic, they don't exactly make them, I didn't think people would bat an eye but it made my husband crazy not to have it, so I just chopped one out of the remaining plastic :)

I wrapped purple lights that I already had in my collection around the two posts on each side, and on the far left I set up the mome rath scene. This wasn't as grand as it could have been, but I was rushed. I made the momes from fun noodles I found on clearance at Wal-Mart. I cut them into 6-8" pieces using a serated bread knife, then cut some of them in half again vertically. I used a glue gun to secure two alternate color pieces back together, so each "leg" was a different color. Then I used a 3rd color noodle, sliced apart the 5 "points" or "petals" with the same bread knife, and glued it on top of the two legs to be the hair. Some giant google eyes finished them off. Here's how they came out:



Not bad! In retrospect, the hair is a little off of the cartoon version, but who cares :) Since they didn't stand well on their own, I used clear packaging tape to tape them to the posts and plastic covered shelves. And of course I had to add the "Don't Step On the Mome Rath" signs, again these were just powerpoint slides, the font is Kristen ITC, printed on cardstock and hung with painter's tape.



I wish I had gotten better photos of this whole area, but you get the idea. If you search Etsy for mome rath there are some ADORABLE options that took a lot more time (and money) than what I did. And I had dreams of making Cheshire Cat grins, tails, and other "pieces" to hang about, but it just didn't happen - ideas for YOUR next party though!