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Painted Pumpkins For Fall and Halloween Party Decorations

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Decorating a pumpkin doesn’t have to involve a sharp knife. We haven’t carved a pumpkin for several years at our house. We paint them!  Painted pumpkins will last longer than carved pumpkins do, and you can get very creative with paint. Here are some cute and fun painted pumpkins for inspiration.

You can use any acrylic paint, and top it with a coat of polyurethane to give the pumpkin a shiny finish.

Image via flickr

Dress them up like your favorite character, better yet make a pumpkin look alike for everyone in your family.

Here are some painted and carved pumpkins.

Image via boliyou flickr

Any of these would make wonderful Halloween party decorations, or a wonderful addition to your fall outdoor decorations.

When Do You Open The Gifts?

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When do you open the birthday presents? The trend today is to not open birthday gifts until later, after the party is over, or to wait until the end of the party.

Opening gifts used to be part of the entertainment at a birthday party or wedding or shower, but more and more people are opting to wait until after the party to open the gifts.

There are several reasons why there’s a trend to not open gifts until later, here are just a few:

1. Saves Aunt Bessie, and Aunt Jean embarrassment if  they both purchased the exact same gift.

2. Leaves more time for other party activities, like food, games, and just socializing and hanging out.

3. Gifts can’t be compared to each other, smaller gifts may be just as special as grander gifts.

4. It’s a hectic time for the birthday child, or guest of honor. They don’t have as much time to enjoy each gift as they open it, without pressure to get the gift opening done so party goers can move on to something else.

If you don’t plan to open your gifts at the party, state that on the invitation so party guests won’t be disappointed, or ask them to omit gifts completely.

Don’t forget to send out those thank you cards!

Cucumber Sandwiches

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I have an easy Summer party appetizer or finger food recipe to share with you today. Cucumbers are a cool refreshing taste of summer.

Cucumber sandwiches are super simple to make. They’re great for bridal or baby showers, graduations, a summer garden tea, or backyard cookout.

Cucumber Sandwiches

Mini pumpernickel bread (in the Deli section at most supermarkets)
1-2 cucumbers~ sliced
Dill weed
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1~ 8oz cream cheese (at room temperature)

Mix the Mayonnaise and cream cheese together with a blender until smooth. Spread the cream cheese Mayonnaise mixture on the pumpernickel slices, then top each one with a cucumber and sprinkle with dill on top for garnish and flavor.

Cut Some Fresh Flowers For Your Summer Party Decorations

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Fresh spring an summer flowers make fabulous table centerpieces, and decorations for your outdoor or indoor party. Just walk out in your garden and clip a handful of your favorite blooms, and arrange them in a vase.

A couple more quick flower arranging tips:

1. Use the freshest flowers possible.

2. Clip your flowers early in the morning, late in the evening, or just after a light rain. The flowers will be holding more moisture at these times. The extra moisture will keep them fresh longer.

3. Carry a pitcher of warm water with you as you clip, and put your flowers in it as soon as you cut them. This helps keep the stems open, and helps the plant continue to take up moisture.

4. You can use almost any flower in your arrangements. If you’ve got enough flowers, you might want to do a practice run ahead of time to make sure the flowers you pick will hold up, and to check out what looks good together.

5. Even tiny flowers can be used in small vases, or glass jars to make a cute table display.

You can’t go wrong with cut flowers for a summer party centerpiece. It’s really hard to make a floral arrangement look bad if you include an assortment of different flowers, and plenty of greenery! Just have fun with it!

Graduation Party Themes

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Every graduate has their own unique personality. You don’t have to stick to caps and gowns for your graduation party. You can create a party that’s as unique as the graduate themselves.

Here are a couple graduation party themes and some basic ideas to go with them. Over the next couple days we’ll expand on some of these themes, and give you more food, decorating, and cake ideas.

  1. Do you have a music fan? Someone who loves to play the guitar, drums or any other instrument? Plan a music themed graduation party. Use music notes, or cardboard cut out musical instruments to decorate for the party. Music note cupcakes, a keyboard, or guitar shaped cake would also be fun.
  2. Plan a graduation luau, complete with roast pork and grass skirts.
  3. Is the graduate into sports? Either playing a sport, or a spectator, plan their party around their favorite sport or sports team (high school, college or professional). Decorate your party with team colors and memorabilia.
  4. Plan a Mardi Gras theme graduation, use the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold to decorate. Hang brightly colored streamers and and masks for decorations. Let New Orleans influence your menu choices.
  5. Make graduation a red carpet event. Take photographs of the graduate and their friends as they arrive, and let them walk the red carpet, just like the stars. Serve a star shaped cake, or add star sprinkles to your cupcakes.
  6. Does your graduate speak a foreign language? Are they thinking about studying in a different country? If they’re fluent in French or Spanish use those cultures to influence your party decorations and food.

For personalized graduation invitations, cake ideas, graduation postage, banners and more, make sure you check out Graduation Party Ideas and Supplies.

If you have a unique graduation theme party idea please share!

Graduates Image: istockphoto


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