party ideas

So I'm going through clips and news pieces to see what I missed at this year's San Diego Comic Con. I was entertained by Kevin Smith's talk; I drooled over a few of the vinyl toys; but I was partly stunned by this bit of news.

HBO announced it's selling Tru Blood drinks. A 4 pack will run you $16.00 plus shipping and taxes.

Apparently it's a blood orange flavored soda. They've already started coming up with alcoholic mixed drinks you can make yourself.

Meticulously crafted, the Tru Blood Drink is an exact replica of the bottle design as seen on True Blood. The 14oz glass Tru Blood bottle is stained in a rich red, with raised Tru Blood English lettering and matching Japanese Kanji.

Haven't posted noxious nosh in a while so here's a Halloween recipe idea from howstuffworks.com.

Ingredients:

6 ounces assorted frozen clam strips, breaded fish pieces or breaded shrimp

3 to 5 drops green food colouring

1 cup tartar sauce

6 (6-inch) bamboo skewers

6 dill pickles

2 pepperoni pieces, cut into 3 strips each

6 to 8 pimiento-stuffed green olives

Mustard

I've come across a couple of interesting ideas for serving watermelon at your next bone-bash. The first, a watermelon brain, comes from two sources and seems pretty straight forward.

You can try following scoochmaroo's detailed instructions (her melon brain is pictured right), or Disney's version.

Feeling a bit more brave and artistic? I got a good chuckle when I saw this idea of having the dead rising out of the grave (or melon, as the case may be).

I've tried to find the original source for this idea. I always feel a bit unclean when I post an image or idea without giving credit. Unfortunately, Kim's Halloween Recipes page where I found this image simply label it 'online idea' without a reference. If anyone knows who came up with this little beauty, I'd love to know.

No, you're not on the wrong website. I've just changed gears for today. Forgive my lapse into nerd-dom, but I am a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica, which means it's an exciting time for me.

Starting tomorrow (Friday) morning, the Space channel (Canadian version of the Sci-Fi Channel) will be starting a BSG marathon, playing Season 4 episodes back to back, leading up to the new episode tomorrow night at 10 pm.

To celebrate this, I've started throwing together an impromptu Battlestar Galactica themed mini party for Yetch and I (Yetch, you need to stop reading this post now. Spoilers ahead).

Here are some pizza ideas I used at this year's party. It only takes a few extra minutes to make your meals match the decor.

For one pizza, I had a tomato sauce, onions, mozzarella cheese, sliced turkey pepperettes and red peppers. I used the red peppers to spell out 'HELP' across the pizza...a cry from an employee in the kitchen.

The next was a giant sea monkey pizza (shrimp) with fresh basil, some mozzarella, and an artichoke and asiago cheese spread as the sauce.

"Shoot'em in the head and they'll stay dead". That is the basic premise for the game I created this week.

This game uses balancing skill. You have one 'bullet' to kill the zombie. As most of us know, a zombie only dies if you shoot him in the head. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the bullet (a tiny ball or marble) by tilting the picture box of the zombie back and forth, rolling the ball into the head shot hole without accidentally 'shooting' the zombie in other body parts or missing him completely (making the ball fall through other holes). It's super easy to make and you could change the image of the zombie to match your theme.

If you're interested in seeing how it's done, take a look in my Horrific How-To Monster Workshop, and peek in on other Step-By-Step Prop Projects while you are there!

I have 33 hours left to create before my party starts. Wish me luck!

Use this idea to serve your guests some authentic finger foods this Halloween.

Check your local dollar store - they often sell popcorn containers in their party section. If you can't find them there, head to the local party supply store.

Fill your containers with snacks and a few extra bits. Be sure to use food colouring for the blood effect, and you might want to give the body parts a rinse before placing them in the containers.

This is a simple game idea you could adapt for your own party. The object of the game is to predict where the ghost will appear next in the haunted house.

For my party, people will be earning tickets as they win different games. They will have a chance to bet some of their winnings (either against the house or each other). Get it right, they double their bet. Get it wrong, they hand over their tickets.

In my fair city there is a talented baker who runs the Wicked Little Cake Company, which started up in January of this year. Jaime, the Chief Wicked, uses fondant and cake batter like a sculptor uses clay. She can create almost anything you can dream up, including this bleeding heart cake.

Most customers have been family and friends, but with some more exposure, I imagine business should pick up for this independently run one woman baking machine.

I asked Jaime what she digs most about her craft:

I really like the jaw-dropping 'that's a cake?!' aspect of making sculpted cakes and trying to figure out how to make cake do things I never thought possible. Plus I've always liked playing with food - bonus if I get to play with other people's food!

A few years ago, I created a board game to play at one of my parties. It's acrylic paint on canvas (3 feet x 2 feet).

I made the playing cards to be shaped like toe tags, and even made little simple figurines to use as player pieces (these are currently in a box in the basement, so no pictures right now, sorry). I'll probably pull it out this year for my party.

In case anyone wanted a closer look of any of the pictures posted, I've uploaded larger images as well. Just click on the image you want to see and a bigger picture will load in a new window.