send these cool invitations that can be printed for free at Twig & Thistle.

A table decorated with photo cylinders like Hostess with the Mostess would be lovely.

I would print these ballots and popcorn bags also from Twig & Thistle---- isn't she amazing!

It would be fun to play How About Orange's Oscar Bingo during the awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has an Oscar Night Essentials Party Kit including recipes, party ideas, printable ballots, bingo cards and cross word puzzles.

I am always looking for appetizer inspiration! Delish and Woman's Day serve up some yummy ideas. Food TV shares some best supporting snacks. Food and Wine Magazine doesn't disappoint with their 10 Oscar Appetizers. Food and Wine Magazine also has a Make Ahead Cocktail  Party!

Movie themed food would be a must! Epicurious and Allrecipes have themed dinners for each of the nominated movies.

Gourmet and that's the spirit share the perfect cocktails to pay tribute to the nominated movies and actors.

We could also dine on tuxedo strawberries.

These Oscar Award Cookies from Bakerella would make a spectacular statement.

How about these Oscar statutes that were made from white chocolate and then painted with edible gold made by My Little Cottage in the Making. Served with a slice of cheesecake and a chocolate "Hollywood." Simply pipe melted chocolate onto parchment paper, allow to cool. Once hard, peel away from parchment paper and embellish the dessert.

My Little Cottage in the Making sent her guests home with some swag --bag full of candy, a bag of popcorn, a movie gift certificate, a Hollywood clap sign key chain and a pin in the shape of the pink stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame. I would want to do this also!

I would also borrow some of Cathy Filian's  great ideas for Oscar party decor, food and fun!

]]> http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/03/04/oscar-party-ideas/feed/ 6 http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/02/05/superbowl-xliv-panini-party/ http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/02/05/superbowl-xliv-panini-party/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:12:02 +0000 cindylouh http://www.skiptomylou.org/?p=11203 The girls from from You've Got Supper are back with a simple party idea for the Superbowl.

Susan and Michell write...

Superbowl XLIV Panini Party

If you’ve already had enough chili during the play-offs, change it up with a selection of “no fuss” paninis for your Super Bowl party.  Arrange platters with the ingredients for each panini and let your guests put together their own crispy, grilled sandwiches to watch in front of the game.  They may even be inspired to make their own creations.  Serve them up with salt and pepper kettle chips, fruit salad, or your favorite side soup.

Beef and Horseradish Panini

Mozzarella and Proiscuitto Panini

Turkey and Brie Panini

BBQ Chicken Panini

Cuban Panini
Don’t fumble dessert! For a Halftime Sweet Fix, we recommend keeping the panini press fired up. Put out a platter of white bread, thinly sliced pound cake, and croissants. Let your guests mix and match the fillings. Here are a few of our favorite combinations:

Nutella and bananas
Apples, cinnamon, and sugar
Brie and dark chocolate
Dark chocolate and strawberries

Note from Cindy - I use an indoor grill like thiswhen making paninis.

You might also be interested in You've Got Supper's  Superbowl Fiesta Menu, with Saints Rajun Cajun Shrimp Quesadillas and Colts Corn Quesadillas. You can even print off the shopping list! It doesn't get easier than that!

If you need some snacks you might try these Superbowl snacks -- Spicy Buffalo Dip and Honey Mustard Glazed Pretzels.

Blow up balloons and tape together in desired shape.

Mix up a thick soupy mixture of flour and water.

Cut or tear pieces of newspaper and begin covering balloons. The balloons will need 2-3 layers depending on the strength of the party attendees. Older children might need more layers.

Before final layer add a strong string for hanging the pinata. The string went all the way around the snowman to keep the head from being knocked off. Pieces of tape kept the string in place around the snowman until final layer was put on and dry. When paper is completely dry, cut a hole somewhere on the pinata (we cut the hole in the top of the head). Fill with goodies.

Fold strips of crepe paper in half. Make a slits on the folded sided 1/4" - 1/2" apart.

Glue uncut edges of the strips of crepe paper.  spiraling around entire pinata, cutting more strips as needed. Slightly pull crepe paper as gluing to allow the cut edges to pop out.

Allow pinata to dry and then add details. Hot glue construction paper buttons, eyes and a cone shape for the nose to the pinata. The scarf is made of felt (one piece cut in thirds lengthwise, sewn end to end, with slits cut on the outside ends to make fringe).

See the pinata in action at Bella's breakfast with Santa birthday party.

My husband painted wooden frames with chalkboard paint and drilled holes to make holders for two pieces of chalk.

This chalkboard frame gave them an activity to keep busy while all the girls were arriving and also served as a holder for their picture with Santa. We took the pictures at the beginning and then during the party my son and husband printed them and placed them in the decorated frames for each girl to take home.

Each little girl had a special place.

They ate pancakes, sausage and bacon while they

chatted and giggled with Santa!

Santa asked them about the letters they each wrote to him.

He read them  The Night Before Christmas

and gave them each a gift.

The gift...

a crayon holder (tutorial here).

Santa had to be on his way so we went outside (yes in our jammies and slippers) in the COLD for the snowman pinata.

It was "cool"!

We finished with loads of lovely presents and the best snowman cake ever (Thanks Aunt Jenny!)!

Ahhhhh to be 5!

See the party invitations here.

Not Martha's Meatloaf Hand

Spider Dip Bowl made from Rhodes Rolls

Mummy Dogs from the Picky Palate

Matthew Mead's Broccoli Soup with Eyeballs from Epicurious

Test Tube Tomato Soup and Ghost Sammies

Creepy Ladies' Fingers from Martha

Adam's Scary Apples from Mattbites.com

Graveyard Gravel from Better Homes & Gardens

Sunset's Meringue Ghosts

Joy the Baker's Sweet Bones and Blood Red Hot Chocolate

Loving these Candy Corn Parfaits made by Julie (thanks to Mischelle for sharing this awesome blog --- so many other ideas to enjoy on both blogs)

So clever, Candy Corn Look-A-Like Pizza (among other fun Halloween food ideas), from the great Our Best Bites blog.

Cute Candy Corn shaped cookies from The Recipe Girl.

Land O Lakes even shows how to make sparkling candy corn shaped cookies.

Of course Martha never lets us down and shares these so simple candy corn cookies.

Want something totally delicious?  Homebased Mom has outdone herself with this Candy Corn Bark -- oh my!

Homebased Mom also shares these darling candy corn cupcakes.

I didn't realize that you can even make your own homemade candy corn. Cakespy gives a great tutorial.

Adults might like a Candy Corn Cordial with candy corn infused vodka from the Food Network.

These candy corn cheese and crackers from Better Homes and Gardens, are a great way to keep the theme going.

Cupcake Wrapper Template Download

All you need is some scrapbooking paper! I did use scalloped scissors to cut across the top to give them a fancy edge. You might need to make slight adjustments for height and length depending on the size of your cupcakes. Fasten the wrappers together with glue stick or hot glue.

Come back tomorrow to for a free digital cupcake wrapper template with some different paper options to drop into the template and print! There will also be a tutorial on how to use the digital template.

You might also be interested in these Free Owl Cupcake Toppers.

First, she made these cute customizable Halloween Invitations. All you do is download the invitation, open with Adobe Acrobat and you will see instructions on how to edit the invitation. No handwriting involved and you have professional  custom invites for your party. They would also make great menu cards.

Free Halloween Printable Party Invite Download

Next we have cupcake toppers.

Owl Cupcake Toppers Download

Download, print on cardstock and cut out with a 2" circle hole punch. Glue two together back to back with a wooden pick in the middle.

You can also print the owl circles on sticker paper and use them for envelope seals ...... so many great uses for these cool owls.

We aren't done!  You still need envelope mailing labels, treat bag labels, food labels and place cards.  Skip on over to Whisker Graphics to finish downloading your party printables!

Enjoy!

Looking for more Halloween ideas? Try here.

Stephanie, at The Daily Digi, gives a step by step tutorial on how to swap out the papers, just click on the links.  She also gives illustrated instructions on putting the shoe together.

I am excited to learn more about digital scrapbooking. As you can see there are many uses for these digital techniques. Stephanie has agreed to help me learn and I will be sharing those tutorials with you. So please look forward to some fun templates in the next few months. I am thinking we will be able to create some fun party favors, party supplies and of course do a little scrapbooking.

A shrimp boil is one of my favorite parties -----no dirty dishes. This is also a completely portable party. My favorite spot is on the beach, but it is great in your backyard. When we have a large crowd, we borrow an extra turkey fryer or two. The following recipe uses 1 large 34 quart turkey fryer with a strainer basket that goes almost to the top of the pot. One pot serves about 10-12 people.

First cover your entire table with freezer paper, shiny side up. Let the cooking begin!

Printable Shopping List and Instructions

Fill turkey fryer about 2/3 full of water. Bring to a boil and add 2 pkgs of Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab Boil in a Bag, 1/4 - 1/2 bottle Zatarain's Shrimp and Crab oil, 1 cup of salt and garlic. Boil for 15 minutes

Add potatoes, boil for 7-8 minutes

Corn goes in next for 5 minutes (if corn is frozen you might need to turn up the heat for a minute to get your water boiling again)

Add kielbasa, cook for 8 minutes

Add onions, and squeeze lemon juice into pot and then toss the lemons into the water, boil 3- 4 minutes (oops picture is wrong - add the garlic at the beginning!)

Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp turns pink.

Turn off the heat, immediately pull basket from the water and let drain. The original recipe says to turn off the heat, add a large bag (as much as you can add without the pot overflowing) of ice and let sit 15 minutes. The food is allowed to absorb more of the spices this way.  We are usually in a hurry to eat, and the flavor is still good, so we turn off heat and drain. If you want it spicier be sure to try the ice trick.

Pour contents of basket onto your freezer paper covered table.

Serve with sliced baguette sprinkled down the table and bottles of squeeze butter, cocktail sauce and spicy mustard. Remember NO knives, forks, spoons or plates allowed! This is all finger food and condiments are squeezed directly onto the table! When finished just roll up the paper and give everyone a finger wipe! A big thanks to our dear friends Jeff and Cathy for showing us how to have the best party ever!

Put on some Zydeco
(zi-dee-coe) music and have a great time!

....and if you really want to party, we like to serve these awesome Margaritas(for adults only) at our Shrimp Boil

Simple and Delicious Margaritas

1 12 oz. can of frozen limeade
12 oz. 7-UP or Sprite (just fill up limeade can to measure)
12 oz. Tequila (again that limeade can is handy)
1 12 oz. Corona or Tecate Beer

Mix and serve over ice! Oh my these are good!

So if you are looking for a fun party idea for labor day that requires very little labor (no dishes) give a shrimp boil a try!  Have a great weekend!