TOY STORY Party

As huge PIXAR fans, my husband and I wanted to host a "TOY STORY 1 & 2" movie night for our friends and their kids, before "TOY STORY 3" came out in theaters. Using a photo of and "Etch-a-sketch" online, and a free downloadable "Etch-a-sketch" font, I created the invites:

I thought it would be easy to find Toy Story toys at garage sales and on eBay that I could use to decorate with, but with the new movie coming out soon, the toys online were in high demand. I managed to find a few for under $5:

Buzz and Woody are having out on the food table, and you will notice I used my silver letters again to show the party's theme. Because we invited our friends and their children, we wanted the food to be kid friendly (and honestly, who doesn't love pizza bites and corndogs?!). Here's Rex hanging out with the pizza bites:



And Bullseye hanging out with the corndogs:

I kept bright colors with the plates and napkins and serve ware, and added some Dollar Store Slinkys and army men to scatter around the house. Here you'll find the amazing 7-layer Mexican dip and chips.... a huge hit!!!

And Peanut butter, M&Ms, and chocolate chip cookies. I used some clip art in both spaceships and sheriff's badges to make food labels.

And what movie night is not complete without popcorn! Buttered popcorn and kettle corn were served in mini bags, which I found on clearance after Christmas, and just kept in the closet for a special occasion. Kids (and adults) don't like to share popcorn, so everyone got their own bag!

Kids got a goody bag to take home. The bags were left over from another party and tied with some leftover ribbon. I used the same clip art to use name tags, and the bags were filled with "Toy Story" stickers, "Toy Story" gummi snacks, silver sheriffs badges, and Slinky's. I used a vintage Slinky to decorate the bowl.

We watched both movies back to back on the lawn, and I think everyone had a great time. We're all ready to see "Toy Story 3".

Sorry for the absence...

For about 2 months now, I feel like I am spinning the wheel in the game of LIFE. No, there are no kids yet, but I feel like I keep landing on the space where unexpected things come up, one after the other. The two flat tires on my car. Fixing something on the house - every weekend. Continued education courses. Family get-togethers. It is never ending. The game of LIFE has temporarily replaced some things I used to do regularly, mainly this blog.

While I have been away, the creative juices have still been flowing. It may take me a week or so to get a few posts going, but I promise to get this blog back to where it used to be. After all, summer is the most exciting time for get-togethers and fun, fresh food. I hope you all will come back and visit the blog often for great summer ideas!