Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn

My sister (Kandi) was raving about this delicious chocolate drizzled Kettle Corn that she had at her MOPS group. It was so good and such a hit with the ladies, that she brought it to our Super Bowl Party. Yummmmm!!!

I encouraged sis to blog about it, but she didn't...so I'm going to!

Simply buy a bag of Kettle Corn (mine was from Costco) and some chocolate Almond Bark.

Spread a thin layer of Kettle Corn on a sheet of freezer paper (or parchment/waxed paper, or a cookie sheet, whatever).

I melted six squares of the Almond Bark to drizzle on my large bag of popcorn. (Use your judgment here...you can always melt more.)

Note: Fancy Kandi put the melted chocolate in a baggie and snipped off a corner. I ended up just drizzling mine off the edge of a spoon. I had fun creating designs and trying to get a little chocolate onto every piece...to me it was an art project.

Let the chocolate dry/harden and then put it back into the bag that it came in for transport.

#1: I didn't know that you could buy Kettle Corn in a bag.

#2: This snack is delicious, fun and easy...

perfect for a special occasion (like the Oscars tonight)!

Oscar Party Gift Basket Ideas

I'm not 100% sure how I ended up having the "sister" Oscar party every year, but today I'll be sharing my 2011 gift basket items (SWAG) with you.

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille..."

(Note: Spoiler Alert for Kayla and Kandi!)

I always try to keep the entire gift around $10 for each sis. This year my items were mainly from the dollar section at Target, with the soap from Walgreens and the Turbie Twist from Home Goods. (I consider the turban to be my "Pièce de résistance" at $4.99!)

Very Hollywood, right?!?

(I also love the "Strawberry Champagne" bubble bath and hand sanitizer.)

I'm really looking forward to Sunday night!

**********************************************

Are you wondering about my Oscar picks?

I don't want to give too much away, but the actor from
The King's Speech may be my...

"FIRTH" choice for an Oscar this year! :-)

Posh Sugar Scrub

I recently made a "Posh" Sugar Scrub to put in my Oscar party SWAG baskets. (The Oscar telecast is Sunday, February 27, 2011...I'll share the contents of my gift baskets later this week to give you some ideas.)

Find any recycled, clean jar with a lid. For my baskets, I used my handy-dandy jelly jars. However, I made a larger version for our kitchen using an empty olive jar.

The key to this sugar scrub is Dawn Hand Renewal with Olay Dishwashing Liquid (in Pomegranate Splash Scent).

Simply fill your jar with sugar and then pour the "measured" sugar into a mixing bowl. Cover the entire top of the sugar with dishwashing liquid. Carefully mix it up. There is no "correct" measurement for the dish soap, just add more Dawn until you like the consistency.

Scoop your concoction into the jar and squish it down with the spoon. I drizzled a little more Dawn on top (and didn't mix it in) before I screwed the lid back on. Decorate the jars with stickers, ribbon or colored paper.

NOTE: Be sure to use it up within a few weeks, or your Sugar Scrub will be as hard as a rock!

To use: Take about a teaspoon of Posh Sugar Scrub and massage it into your hands (do this over a sink, it's kind of messy). Wash it off with warm water and pat your hands dry on a towel.

Now would be a good time to give yourself a manicure. Finish with some lotion and...

Your hands will be ready for their close-up!

"You like me, you really like me!"

You may recognize that quote from Sally Fields as she accepted her Oscar...

That's how I feel right now! Krista from whilehewasnapping just awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award.

Krista, I'm thrilled...thank you for my very first blogging award!

The rules say that I'm supposed to share seven things about myself with you...

Hmmm, let's see:

1) After staying home with my kids and then working part-time for many years, I just (this week!) went back to work full-time. So far, so good...I like it!

2) Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not very "kitchen-y". Hubby is making Friday night popcorn as I type this.

3) I don't swear, but I make up words for when I'm "extra frustrated". My current word is "DRINGLERS!" (Try it!)

4) I lead Sunday School singing once every three weeks and my son (on guitar) plays for me. (Why does he have a speech tourney AND a gig every time it's our turn so we never get to practice?!?)

5) This "sharing" thing is hard for me...I'm kind of a private person! (I'm counting that as sharing!)

6) Oh, I'm "symmetrical", too. Sometimes I try to tilt a picture when I'm scrapbooking to "change things up", but I always end up straightening it...I just can't do it!

7) I think blogging is fun!

Oscar Party Ballot and Bingo

I'm starting to think about my upcoming Oscar party. Even if you aren't having a party, it is still fun to fill out the ballot. Here is a link:

83rd Academy Awards Oscar Ballot.

I also found a FUN Oscar Bingo link, specific to this year. There are 12 different cards:

Oscar Bingo 2011.

If you mute the commercials and long-winded speeches, it makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch.

(Oh yeah, and critique the clothes/makeup/hairstyles!)

Start planning your party...In my upcoming posts, I'll be giving you some simple, inexpensive ideas for your SWAG baskets!

(SWAG = Stuff We All Get)

Here's a link! Oscar Party Gift Basket Ideas

Silly Snake Game/Gift Idea

Goodness Gracious, Snakes Alive...

The gift: Print this tag and attach it to a

package of Pull-n-Peel Twizzlers:

The game: Have each player peel off one "string" of licorice and insert the end into their mouth. Without using their hands, they race to see who can get the entire string into their mouth the fastest.

This is fun...keep it in mind for a birthday party game, too!

Hugs and Hisses!

Magic Towel Gift Idea

Magic Towels were another "find" at Dollar Tree...

It is a fact that those of us who live in the "frozen north" are getting very tired of winter! I thought this would be a cute idea to announce that you are...

going on vacation
OR
heading to a local water park!

(I'm sure you know this, but these Magic Towels turn into washcloths.)

I used them as Valentine's,

but I like the vacation idea better...

in more ways than one!

Star Wars Themed Valentine Idea

I've told you that I recently discovered Dollar Tree...so here is another Valentine idea for you! I found these cool, puffy glow sticks and I thought they would make nice lightsabers.

I had seen a Valentine idea where you take a picture of your child with their hand outstretched. Then you cut a little hole in their hand and insert a sucker (and it looks like they are giving it to you).

Well, my kids weren't around (and I thought they were too old for that), so I decided to try using the dog. I put his paw on my knee and took his picture:

Through the magic of Photoshop, we removed the background and added the Star Wars Cape.

Obi Wan Ken-CODY

I printed the image onto cardstock. Then I cut an "X" near his paw and inserted the glow stick as his light saber.

The kids loved this one, too!

Here are the lightsabers "in action"!

(Note: It is OK to use this image for personal use...simply hover over the picture, right click, copy, open your word processing program, paste and print!)

My kids have ideas of their own...the oldest taped his light saber to a stuffed animal that we are calling "Yoda". (It cracked us up!)

This reminds me that I think...

"YODA" best for reading my blog!

I Dig You, Valentine!

I just discovered Dollar Tree and everything truly is $1! I love this store! Here is a Valentine idea for you:

(Note: It is OK to use this image for personal use...simply hover over the picture, right click, copy, open your word processing program, paste and print!)

I found this dinosaur egg at Dollar Tree and it reminded me of when the kids were little...

Reminiscing here: About eight years ago, we wanted the kids to have "dino-mite" birthdays...so hubby and I made Quikcrete dinosaur bones! This was one of our more creative (and labor intensive) ideas. We buried the bones in our barn and the kids had to dig them up and assemble the dinosaur.

Most of the bones were around for many years, living in our sandbox. Awww, aren't they cute?!?

Mine are teenagers now and reluctantly "test" stuff for my blog, but I'm telling you...

This idea was a hit!

I wrapped the dino egg in craft paper, and added the "I dig you, Valentine!" tag. This idea is messy, so they used the wrapping paper as their "dig site".

The tools are included and you tap and scratch your way through the dirt to extract the bones. This part took my teens about 10 minutes. (Note: The package say 4+, but I think it will be less frustrating if the kids are older.) The last step is to assemble the bones.

TA-DA!

This was fun!

I dig Dollar Tree, I did this idea and...

Easy Super Bowl Game Board

(Updated) Click here for the free printable 2024 version!

It is easy to make a "numbers" game board for your Super Bowl party! Even people who only tune-in to watch the commercials will have fun keeping track of the score (if they have a chance to win prizes)!

Start with a 10x10 grid. (I made mine in Excel, but you could simply draw one.) Print one team name across the top and the other down the side. Remember to leave blank spaces for the numbers that will get added later.

There will be 100 spaces on the board that need to be filled in...

Let's say that there will be 10 people at your party. Have each person sign/initial 10 random squares on the board.

Now you are ready to add the numbers! From a deck of cards, take out one Joker (for 0), plus Ace through 9. Shuffle your mini deck and flip the cards over one at a time to fill in the top of your board.

Shuffle the cards again, and do the same thing down the left side.

Now everyone has their numbers!

I'm going to award a prize after each quarter. (The prizes could be: candy, small amounts of cash, scratch-off lottery tickets, gift cards...whatever!)

To determine the quarter winner: Let's say the score after the first quarter is Green Bay 14, Pittsburgh 10. Go to the Packers "4" on the board, and the Steelers "0" and see where they intersect. In my example, Cody would be the first winner!

This is fun! Give it a try, even if there are only two of you watching the game...the "prize" could be who does the dishes all week!

We'll be rooting for the Central Division...

Go Packers!

Dill Pickle Gift Idea (Valentine)

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and make a purchase, I receive a small commission on the sale at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Today I have two free Valentine gift tag options for you. A "regular" gift tag and one if you have a dill pickle lover in your life.

Note: You can go old school and attach the "punny" tag to a jar of their favorite Dill pickles OR you can think outside the box and gift Pickle Chips, Pickle Candy, Pickle Soda Pop, etc.

I used these pickles - notice that they are "hot & spicy". 😀

Here are some other fun ideas from Etsy:

Simply click the link below and download the tags to your computer. Print the tags on a color printer and trim them to size. Either punch a hole and tie it onto your DILL-ightful pickle-themed gift OR simply use a tape loop on the back of the tag.