party deets and did you see the Oscars?

just wanted to take a moment to show you how incredibly simple it was to throw a

 whang-bang-awesome-everyone-had-a-great-time-and-it-didn't-cost-a-fortune-like-on-that-TLC-reality-show kid party.

and also...

deets = details

(just in case)

Here's the run-down on what we made:

(we being the hubs, Aunt C, and myself)

1) invites-

*found these on Tip Junkie's site, dowloaded to Word, changed the name and date,

and printed on white cardstock.

total cost= 0

2) Death Star pinata-

*it had been quite a few years since I'd paper-mached anything, so I googled the recipe.

I went with 1/2 cup flour + 2 cups cold water because that seemed to be the most popular.

That worked great for us, but I did 2 complete layers since I knew little boys would probably whack through one layer fairly quickly.

oh what a good call that was

to make this we used one of those giant 'bopping' balloons with the string attached (bought in a pack of 8 at Target for around a buck fifty), a sack of flour from Wal-mart  (1.64), and water (from our faucet). The paint came from our stash, so that part was a freebie.

total cost = 3.14 (+ the cost of whatever goes inside)

once again, I have to give props to the hubs for his detail work on the paint job

3) light sabers-

as you can see, they were a huge hit.

(pun intended)

and here's the hubs, slaving away.

(actually, I think he really enjoyed it)

*we bought the swim noodles at Target (1.99 a piece), cut them into thirds, and made handles out of silver duct tape and black electrical tape.

He even went a step further and made different patterns on each one.

crafty, eh?

total cost for sabers = 5.97 (which made 9)

4) lego Star Wars character sign thingys-

since O specifically asked for a Star Wars LEGO party, I wanted another way to incorporate the legos (other than just dumping a ton of them into glass containers as decor)

*I took his lego Star Wars book, copied several pages onto white cardstock, cut out the characters, and hot-glued onto some wooden dowels to stick into the food/lego containers

total cost = 97 cents (wooden dowels, which came as a pack of 20)

5) party signs-

I know these totally weren't necessary, but I wanted them- mmkay?

*I found this super-think foam/posterboard at the dollar tree which I cut into thirds,

spray-painted black, and attached letters I'd cut out with my cricut

total cost for the signs = one buckaroo

(already had the black paint, cardstock, and glue stick I used to attach the letters)

6) printables in frames-

*I made this printable myself in Microsoft Word and stuck into the frame that was already there (totally free project)

and I'd downloaded this logo a few months ago for another project O had to make for school

(another totally free project)

for the rest of the mantel, (after removing the Valentine decor) I added an 'O' for Oliver (already had that in my stash), one of the hubs Star Wars legos, my canvas people canvas of my 3 kiddos, and the Happy Birthday banner I made last year.

(all free free free)

7) treat bag tags-

*agian, I used the same Star Wars logo I found after googling for images online, created the tags in Microsoft Word, and added text.

easy-peezy lemon squeezy

8) cake + cake pops-

all of the baked goodies at the party (including a yummy bacon + cheese quiche) were made by my fabulous Aunt Cindy

she even made these awesome styrofoam legos to stick the cake pops in.

Do you know about cake pops?

I've seen them all over blogland-

I asked Aunt C if she could make them, she found this book-

and whipped them up, just like that

here's Aunt C and MM

she also purchased the food-coloring pens that the kids (and a few grownups) used to decorate their cake pops.

Here's some of my mom's handywork-

All in all, I think the hours spent on making + planning all of the aspects of a party like this at home definitely = one very happy little brandspankin new 6-year old.

So- that's how we like to roll around here at the Mathews.

Maybe you saw something you could use/adapt for a party you'll be throwing in the future?

and, speaking of parties...

did you watch the Oscars??

I'm a award-show nut.

I eat them up.

And let's face it, the clothes on the red carpet are just as important as who actually takes home the trophies.

My fave of the night?

I think it was Gwyneth-

who was your favorite?

(this post is linked with Made by you Monday at Skip to My Lou, Craftomaniac Monday, the Mad Skills linky at Mad in Crafts, Marlet Yourself Monday at Sumos Sweet Stuff, the Pink Hippo Party at Pinkapotamus, Amaze me Monday at Dittle Dattle, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanabee, linkin with Lil Luna, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest, Friday Flair at Whipperberry, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Remodelaholic's Anonymous blog party, Fantabulous Friday at Momma's Kinda Crafty, Saturday Spotlight at Green Door Designs and SAS Interiors, Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different, Act Normal, The VIP party at Designer Garden)