Shark Birthday Party

 

I saw this shark head, believe it or not, on Pinterest from a Martha Stewart designed Shark Wedding.  I started searching on the internet, but couldn't find it ANYWHERE.

I went to VA Beach with my girlfriends for a few days.  We went to Forbes Candies to look for souvenirs, and there it sat on the shelf.  Since I will be throwing a "Don't Let Turning 31 Take A Bite Out of You" shark party for my daughter at the beach, it seemed the perfect time to use it.  Of course, since it's SHARK WEEK and we were playing Mahjong  in VA Beach, I had to put it on the serving table.  The ladies loved it.  After the beach, it's going to the office Margarita party to hold shrimp cocktail sauce in the shrimp serving dish.  ( I looked on the box for a manufacturer for you, but there wasn't one.)

I am updating this with the insulation foam shark I finished last night.  This was the left over piece from the Uncle Sam I built for the Fourth of July.  When I blew the shark jpeg up in Print Master, I used 4 x 4 sheets (20 pages) to make him 42" long.  I used the burning wand I bought to make Uncle Sam....only this time....I didn't stand on my porch saying, "I'm melting.  I'm melting."  I painted the sides and back flat black, then used the pattern I'd enlarged to make him.  See the darker blue and gray.  I used Sharpie Paint Pens with water to make the striations.  I am going to put him on a long dowel so that he can go to the beach AND INTO THE OCEAN.

 I found this little guy on Amazon.com after typing in RESIN SHARK HEAD ORNAMENT FOR AN AQUARIUM.  It was only $9.  It might be too small.  He's pretty much useless unless I am putting him in a small platter of shrimp.    Update:  I found the large plastic shark head from www.agiftcorp.com  at a Forbes Candies in Virginia Beach for $24.  




                 Below is one of the shark fun foam photo op masks I am making.

 Since Bethany Beach, Delaware is close enough for her friends to come over for the weekend (some stay all week with the family), beach themed parties are fun.
Last year's theme was a sailor theme, because she was saluting her twenties goodbye.    Anyway.... her friends like to take lots of photos...and play games.  So, I am making up some shark fun foam props.  You peek through the shark's mouth.  I have also make up a pattern in blue, but I haven't glued it together so that I can trace it onto the foam.

I haven't decided whether to keep it two-toned or just one color.  Below is a picture of the two most used items at the beach.  I found the first one, the orange lidded jar and straw at Costco and Target.  I bought as many different colors as I could find.  Every day, the family and friends grabbed one and filled it with their beverage of choice and took it down to the beach.  I bought the handled buckets to bring lunches down to the ocean.  One day, though, we floated one in the baby pool the house had and tossed the squirt sharks below into it for a game.  Everyone liked that.  We were chased from the beach a couple of days due to vicious biting flies.  A neighbor told us they came 5 times a year with a westerly wind.  So the game came in handy.

I ordered two dozen of these on Amazon.com to play "shark pong" on the deck of the beach house.  It's played like beer pong, but with sharks.  I'll bet you figured that out.  I bought these fabulous plastic handled  mason mugs.  We can use those as targets.

I am also building one of my insulation foam sharks with my new burning tool.  I made a sample with the fun foam glued onto it.  Then I soaked it thoroughly with the hose on my deck.  I wanted to see if it was semi waterproof.  I'm thinking since it's big, it might end up in the ocean for some photo ops.  If you'd like to see last year's beach prop, go see Sailor Boy Prop here.

The birthday girl is in the middle.  They loved the shark hats.

Shark Placemat I Made

If you want to make a shark cake, look me up as FunJani on Pinterest and go to my shark board.  I am making the cake with two round pans. Update, make sure to have confectionery sugar on hand for egg white frosting.  I used a can.  The family thought it was hysterical and looked like a muppet, but I was disappointed.

So...the next day I put the left over pieces in my large cake pan, frosting and all.  I spread a half gallon of vanilla ice cream on top, then added a meringue topping.  I baked it at 425 degrees for ten minutes.  The kids all watched in amazement as the ice cream did not melt.  This was a big hit.  Below are two pictures to prove that the insulation shark really was waterproof. 

Pirate Hats for Photo Op

I am planning a pirate theme for this year's annual Margaritaville Office Party.  I know that  clients and the architects who work with us won't wear costumes, as they will be coming straight from work.  I was going to just make fun foam eye patches.  Then I saw this clipart and wondered if I could make a "one stick" photo op piece.  I am going to make bunches of these.  I am also going to buy the Fuji Fun Camera so that I can post pictures immediately on a wanted poster.  So...how did I do this.  I made the hat in three pieces. They are below.  All you have to do is print them out 11" x 8.5" (landscaped).  Use the printouts as patterns on black and red fun foam.  Glue the three pieces together with tacky glue.   (Keep looking after the pattern for another hat idea).

Do you want to make one you can wear without a stick?

Go here to see pictures of hats at the party

I folded a large piece of black fun foam in half the long (or hot dog) way.  I measured how big across my huge head is. This is my daughter in the photo, not me.  I cut a half circle ON THE FOLD.  Leaving the foam still folded in half, I left 2" on each side and cut up gradually to the top of the hat and back down the other side.  I just stapled these two inch side pieces.  You could sew them.  Or you could punch holes and put gold brads in them.  I took the pattern from the hat above, and with a sharp pencil, outlined the skull and bones by punching holes in the foam underneath the pattern.  Then I took white liquid eraser (paint doesn't work) and filled in the pattern.  When it was dry, I put the skull features on with a black sharpie.  Believe it or not, the hat stretches over your head.  I made this for $1.