It’s almost here: Sharknado 4! I’ve been slowly getting ready for this weekend, and I thought I’d share with you a little of what I’ve been up to, including this free printable I’ve designed for serving up some fun Sharknado themed snacks.
Have you got plans to “celebrate” the fourth installment in this epically ridiculous movie series? Share your Sharknado party ideas in the comments below!
Fortunately, Jessica at Shower of Roses has done pretty much all the prep work for you, complete with a printable banner and food labels, and resource-inspired menu (see the Cupcakes of Catan above). All that’s left to add is a night of gaming fun!
Do you host themed gaming nights at your homestead? What fun elements wow’d your guests? Share your party prowess with the geek-crafting community below!
You’re throwing a party, and you want to have fun party favors to give to your guests, but you can’t find anything you like? The company Spoonflower just shared this great idea for making your own slap bracelets using their woven peel and stick wallpaper sample. The sample measures 2′ x 1′, so it’s a very generous size, and it only costs $7.50. You can use existing designs from any of their thousands of indie designers, or you can customize your own. They even have a template you can download and use to customize your bracelets, and the tutorial has step-by-step instructions with great pictures too. Just imagine, you can custom make party favors to match your party’s theme. Just be sure to give yourself enough time to order the wallpaper sample since it can take about 2 weeks to get the finished product in the mail.
Isn’t this pinata stunning? It’s almost like Sauron is right in the room <shudder>. It literally made my jaw drop when I saw it, so I knew I had to share it here.
When Melody at Blossomingjoy.com hosted a Lord of the Rings themed party for her son, she pulled out all the stops. Party-goers attended in costume, there was a mega-brownie Mount Doom, the jaw-dropping Eye of Sauron pinata, handmade party favors, rice krispie lembas bread, and a Hobbit version of a Toastmasters 60-second speech exercise. Whew! What a party! And lucky for us, she wrote up all sorts of great details and how-to’s in her blog post.
Have you been to any geek-themed parties? What’s your favorite theme, or one you want to host in the near future? Sound off in the comments below!
A Monster to Love is this great online shop where, for every cute little monster doll you buy, Sam, Ben, and their dad Ray, donate a monster doll to a kid in need. They partner up with children’s hospitals and even the World Relief Refugee program out of Atlanta.
I ran across their awesome work about a year ago on Craftsy, including a pattern to make your own monsters to donate to local kids in need, or send off to Ray and his boys in Colorado so they can donate the cuddly little monsters to kids in need.
I try to organize a Monster Making Party at least once or twice a year–they’re fun, and pretty easy to do. Here’s how:
1. I buy a couple yards of fun colored fleece fabric when it’s on sale (usually in the summer). You can get quite a lot of monsters out of a yard of fleece, or even half a yard. Just be sure to shop when it’s on sale! Along with fabric, I’ll pick up a box of stuffing when it’s on sale too (or with a coupon). One box can last a long while and stuff a lot of monsters (probably around 30). I’ll also purchase Safety Eyes for the dolls, which can be attached before sewing, and don’t require any sewing knowledge to install. I purchased my Safety Eyes here, but there are tons of vendors and craft stores out there that sell them. The 18mm sized ones are what I used, and I liked to mix and match colors too. 15 pairs of eyes cost about $15. You can also use buttons for the eyes, but make sure they are SEWN on really well. If the eyes are not sewn on securely, Ray and his boys can’t use them. Do not glue on eyes. Ray and his boys can’t use the monster dolls if the eyes have only been glued on (hello choking hazards!).
All in all, I spent about $40 on supplies for making the monsters, but I did it over the course of a couple of months.
Angie brought her own sewing machine and helped build a couple monsters. That’s my mom in the background stitching away madly.
2. I set up a FB event and ask folks to bring their own sewing machines if they’ve got them, but I also tell folks that there’s plenty of other ways to help too: attaching eyes, stuffing, cuddle testing, and hand stitching are great ways to get even the most novice of crafters involved in a Monster Making Party. Along with the fabric, stuffing, and safety eyes, I also bring along thread, scissors, and hand sewing needles for people to use. If you’re worried about materials cost, you can always ask people to pitch in a couple bucks to help out.
3. I cut out at least some monsters before the party so there are dolls ready to be sewn. I also set up stations for people to work at installing eyes, stuffing the monsters, and hand sewing the monsters closed after stuffing, and even cutting out more monsters if necessary.
Here, my friend Chrystal is stuffing a monster.
Eunice is hand sewing the monster closed.
4. We have music playing, and I ask folks to help out with some food (like chips and dip, cupcakes, and frosty beverages). And I invite folks to come when they can and stay as long as they’d like to. It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening.
5. I’ve found three hours to be a great length of time for a Monster Making Party. You can get a lot done, have time to chat, and still steal a cupcake too. Once the party’s over, you’ll want to box up your magnificent creations and mail them off to A Monster to Love! Their address is on the last page of the PDF.
All our Monsters boxed up and ready to go!
If you have your own Monster Making Party, be sure to take pictures and share!!!
More Links of Interest
A Monster to Love: check out this great online shop and see where they’ll be selling their cute little monster dolls next!
Check out the story about A Monster to Love on Craftsy
Got a party occasion coming up, and looking for a geeky party favor or decorations? Lisa Kay Tate of Minion Feeding 101, and contributor to Geek Mom, has ya covered!
She offers a geek-tastic round-up of five ways you can put your crafting superpowers to use, spanning a variety of fandoms. Using plain cupcake or bonbon boxes you can find in the baking section of most major craft stores, she gave them each a makeover to depict the Tesseract Infinity Stone, Shakri cubes (which she calls Countdown Cubes) from Doctor Who, Minecraft Creepers, Rubik’s Cubes, and Portal Companion Cubes. Her post includes printables downloads and links to templates, so be sure to check it out!
How have you used your crafting superpowers to create geeky party favors or decorations? Please share with a comment below!
