{inspiration party} are you ready for some football?

It's that time of year again. Time for the normal Joe or Josie to turn into a crazed football fan. In just a few days, the meat packers from the north and the steel workers from the east will be cheering on their team at the grand-daddy of the gridiron clashes!

{Translation: Fans of the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers will be cheering for their team during the Super Bowl.}

I thought it was the perfect time to share a little inspiration for creating an amazing football party! It's time to open our PIGGY BANK for our next DEPOSIT sent to us by Stephanie of....

Stephanie's team recently designed this inspiration party with a twist on the classic football theme. Here's what Stephanie had to say...

Since the Super Bowl is coming up, I wanted to share a dessert table we have put together using our new Football Fun Collection. With these printables we wanted to address an issue faced in many families when it comes to party planning--your child wants a football theme but you want something with creativity that's not commercial. We thought the unique color palette and fun illustrations of this collection would satisfy mom and son.

We also thought the dessert table should be a combo of easy to eat, game day snacks as well as easy to eat cupcakes--especially if there is game watching involved in this party. To make things even more simple, we did a shopping list of what was used. I shop in a Canadian city of about 150,000 people so we know a lot of people will have easy access to this stuff.

Here's the shopping list:

• Cake Shop: 18 "novelty" cupcakes or make on your own!

 

• Grocery Store: Bag of large pretzels, bag of your favorite flavor of chips, bag of popcorn, water or other drink

• Craft Store: Pack of small kraft bags

• Dollar Store: Roll of twine, 3 small bamboo cutting boards, small clothes pins, wine boxes (painted white to act as risers)

• Around Your House: Containers for popcorn and chips (we used ramekins and mason jars), table cloth, napkins, bull clip for sign

• Spaceships and Laser Beams' Football Fun Collection: Banner, sign, 1 inch decals, straw decals, favor tags, napkins rings, bottle labels, cupcake wrappers, placemats (for popcorn), tiles (for flags)

• Etsy Shops: Felted football and paper straws

• Hardware Store: Small wooden dowels (each dowel makes two flags)

Mere words cannot express how much I LOVE this inspiration party! Stephanie's team did a great job of creating a party that is affordable and attainable. L.O.V.E. Aren't you amazed that a lunch sack and a clothes pin can look that good?!? My favorite thing is the BANNER! I love the crazed fans with letters on their chests--BRILLIANT!

Hank's Hint: Kraft lunch sacks, glass jelly jars, white ramekins and servingware and plain cloth napkins are standard go-to party supplies. They are affordable and can be dressed up to fit any party theme. We're adding clothes pins to that list!

I wanted to get to know Stephanie a bit better. Here's my lil' interview with her...

Do you do this as a full- or part-time job or is it just for fun? Spaceships and Laser Beams is an Etsy collective made up of designers who work in the corporate world by day but have been wanting to unleash our inner child. It's fun, but we consider it a business.

How long have you been in business? We officially launched in late September 2009.

How did you get started? When I was looking for ideas for my son's first birthday, I found that there was a lot of awesome stuff out there for girls but very few options for boys. We wanted a place that was "boys only."

What penny pinching ideas/tips went into your event? This table has a high-low scenario. We spent in some key areas that would have huge impact, like the printables and the cupcakes but balanced it with dollar store finds and gathering things from around the house.

Here's a little more info from Stephanie on Spaceships and Laser Beams:

• We only do collections for boys--or "non-frilly" girls: We're a no princess zone.
• All of our illustrations are 100% original and drawn by hand, they won't be found anywhere else.
• This collection was designed by Andrew--more of his personal work can be found at kolbisneat.com.
• Because we believe that happy childhoods are about making every day feel special, 5% of all sales goes to the YMCA Strong Kids campaign--to help young boys grow in to strong young men.

I am INSPIRED by Stephanie and her crew for giving back to their community! I also applaud her team for creating 100% original illustrations drawn by hand just like our Piggy Bank Parties crew! It's rare to find printable designers who actually create their own original artwork and even fewer who illustrate by hand...BRAVO!

I hope you're INSPIRED by Stephanie's party. I know I AM!

I wonder if the Canadians know there's no 90 yard line in REAL football, eh? {wink!}

Stay tuned to Oink! for more inspiration... 

P.S. Please note that I LOVE Canadians and Canada!

I lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for a year

and watched countless hours of Canadian football!

I also love fries with gravy but that's beside the point!

Sources:

Football Fun Collection :: Spaceships and Laser Beams

Cupcakes :: Cake Box

Felted Football :: Gar's Sticks and Strings

Paper Straws :: Hey YoYo