MARDI GRAS! LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULEZ!

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

 MARCH 4, 2014

is 
MARDI GRAS!! 

Who better than Marie Antoinette who 

grew up in New Orleans to give us some 

lessons on this famous flamboyant holiday!

 So join us for some fun, beauty and 

celebration of a holiday that dates 

back thousands of years! 

 MARIE REMEMBERS MARDI GRAS 
IN THE "OLD DAYS"
*******************

Mardi Gras was a LOT different when I 
was a kid growing up in New Orleans - 
it was a family event. 

Here's a photo of me, my Dad and one of 
my brothers dressed for Mardi Gras.

I'm dressed as a Lady in Waiting. My dad 
and my brother are dressed up as pirates. 
Arrrrrr matey!  
We had lots of Mardi Gras celebrations 
with family & friends back then. My 
brothers & I were always amazed and 
thrilled by the incredible floats and costumes 
in the parades. Gorgeous colors, incredible 
masks, dancing, singing, crowds of people - 
so many wonderful memories! 

 I grew up in New Orleans for years and 
loved being with my Dad for all 
the fun & festivities for years. 

Then after I married, my hubby and I 
would watch the parades from 
the balcony of Big Easy.

 Hubby took this photo from 
that balcony. "Hi y'all!"

This giant Frankenstein made 
me look like a little 
Thumbelina! 

Here's a picture of me and 
the LAW!! LOL
(Isn't Marie absolutely adorable in these pics??)

  MARDI GRAS HISTORY
***********************

 Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday 

and a popular cultural phenomenon. 

The holiday dates back thousands of years.
In French, "Mardi Gras" literally means 
"Fat Tuesday", so named because it falls 
on the day before Ash Wednesday, the last 
day prior to Lent... a 40-day season of prayer 
and fasting observed by the Roman Catholic 
Church and many other Christian 
denominations, which ends on Easter Sunday.

 Also known as "Carnival", Mardi Gras is 

celebrated in many countries around the 
world. Brazil, Venice and New Orleans 
play host to some of the holiday's most 
famous public festivities, drawing thousands 
of tourists and revelers every year.

 AMERICA'S FIRST MARDI GRAS

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

 (found on MardiGras.com, this is only an exerpt)

The explorers found the mouth 

of the Mississippi River on March 3, 1699, 

Mardi Gras of that year. 

They made camp a few miles upriver, named 

the spot Point d'Mardi Gras and partook in 

a spontaneous party. 

This is often referred to 

as North America's first Mardi Gras. 

A couple of decades later, Bienville founded 

New Orleans and soon Carnival Celebrations 

were an annual event highlighted by 

lavish balls and masked spectacles. 

Some were small, private parties with 

select guest lists, while other were raucous, 

public affairs. 

Parades officially began in 1838. 

On Ash Wednesday of that year, the 

Commercial Bulletin read: 

"The European custom of celebrating the last 

day of Carnival by a procession of 

masked figures through the streets was 

introduced here yesterday." 

MARDI GRAS COLORS

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

Mardi Gras in Louisiana has official colors. 

Purple, Green & Gold were established by Rex 

(the King of the Mardi Gras) in 1872. 

Twenty years later, the colors were assigned 

a symbolic meaning each one representing 

a different facet of Mardi Gras culture. 

Purple symbolizes justice, 

green stands for faith, 

and gold represents power. 

THROWS

  *********
 The tradition of throwing trinkets to the 
crowds during Mardi Gras parades was 
initiated in the early 1870s by the Twelfth 
Night Revelers and has become a 
time-honored expectation. In 1884, the 
Krewe of Rex threw the first medallions 
(silver-dollar-sized commemorative coins 
later called doubloons) instead of the 
customary trinkets. Todays doubloons 
are usually aluminum and anodized in a 
variety of colors, depicting the parade theme 
on one side and the emblem of the 
particular Krewe on the other. 

Other popular throws are long strings 
of pearlized beads and plastic cups 
bearing the emblems of the Krewes.

The traditional cry of parade-goers 
who are pleading for throws is: 
"Throw me something, Mister!"

 MARDI GRAS BALLS
*********************

While most people think of parades when 
they think of Mardi Gras, there are plenty 
of other traditions too. 
The Carnival ball is a formal party 
given by a krewe for its members and their 
guests.

 It consists of a royal court with king and queen,
 dukes and duchesses and the like,
 who are presented in lavish costumes
 to an audience of invited guests.
 The King and Queen of 
each krewe (a club or social organizaton) 
work all year long for the big spectacular ball. 

 

The theme of the ball is a closely 
guarded secret and part of the mystique until 
the night of the Ball. 

Some balls are Masquerade Balls! 

The more traditional balls present tableaux,
 which are staged pageants that depict stories
, usually from mythology or history. 
A queen's supper, which might be a dinner dance
 or informal party, often is held after the ball.

 Sometimes balls are also cotillions.
  Debutantes are introduced at the 
Ball Tableau as a formal introduction
 to society. 

The climbing social ladder starts for 
the children serving as pages to the court. Women 
dress in ballgowns and hope to be issued a 
"call-out" card. If the debutante is fortunate enough 
to receive one, she is seated in a select area and 
waits her turn to be "called out" for a dance

by the krewe member who sent the card. 
A night of dining and dancing with a prince 
in formal attire - what a dream! 

 Attendance at the older, more aristocratic 
balls is by invitation only. No one really feels 
left out if they don't receive an invitation, though.
Lots of folks aren't invited, including some 
governors who wanted to attend. Originally, 
ball invitations were die-cut and printed in 
Paris; they continue to be quite colorful 
and valuable works of art. 

Carnival Ball Invitation, 1888

These invitations are collector items,
often framed for their beauty, and are 
interesting conversation pieces. 

Invitation from krewe of Rex 1882

Some large parades produce an indoor 
extravaganza the night of their parade. 
This is a wonderful way to experience Mardi Gras. 
Everyone dresses formally and enjoys the parade, 
entertainment, and food all night long.

THE KING CAKE
****************
King Cakes are delicious cinnamon 
roll/coffee cake pastry with icing and colored 
sugar on top. 

Of course the sugar is tinted in 
Mardi Gras Colors, purple, green, and gold! 
The cake is an oval shaped ring. 

It has a tiny toy baby hidden in it. 
The baby symbolizes baby Jesus, 
a reference to the religious aspect 
of Mardi Gras.  In Marie's family 
the person who gets the baby in their 
piece of cake has to make the King 
Cake the following year!   

Marie gave me this King Cake Mix 
to take home for the next year. 

You can also use this clever method
using Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in 
the tube and colored sugars. 
Click here for the directions.
 
It was great making it and 
remembering the good times we had. 

CRAWFISH
***********
Crawfish are in season during 
Mardi Gras! So a lot of them get 
eaten all through the festivities! 

When I went to visit Marie she introduced 
me to crawfish. Her hubby brought home 
a grocery sack full of crawfish! 
After they were boiled and drained 
the crawfish are spread out on 
newspaper and the fun begins.

So... you break the end of the tail off 
and suck the insides out of the 
crawfish. Yes that's right! 
It was really scary and kind of 
creepy at first but by the end of 
our crawfish feast I was a PRO!!

A good time was had by all!


LET'S MAKE A MARDI GRAS PARTY!
**********************************  

Here's a great site with lots of ideas 
to make some fun party items. 
 Mardi Gras Outlet
 (click here for directions) 

 Make a really cool wire crown. 

Attach it to a headband to make 
a "fascinator" to wear to a Mardi Gras 
festivity or if you just want to be 
a Princess!!

Or decorate a King Cake with a crown. 

Make a mask! 
Use one of these printables...
 

Free mask printables @ 

Activity Village 

Or one of these@
Mardi Gras Outlet
 

 You can use something as simple as 
a paper plate to make a great mask!

Or as easy as tracing handprints! 

How about a Paper Jester Hat?

Too cute huh??
 
Join us to celebrate Mardi Gras 
today! 
 
Laissez les bon temps roulez!
That's right... let the good times roll!

And then... on to observe Ash Wednesday 
and Lent in preparation for Resurrection Day.
Marie Antoinette & Edie Marie
XOXO 

Images courtesy of Google
Post by Edie Marie
Memoirs by Marie Antoinette
We sure do have fun together! 

We're joining: 

Ivy & Elephants 

Home Sweet Home

Craftberry Bush

IN LOVE WITH VALENTINES DAY !

LET'S CELEBRATE "LOVE" WITH 

A BANNER YOU CAN CREATE! 

 I chose the word "LOVE" because it 

conveniently only has 4 letters. (he-he) 

I used a Cricut Machine to cut out my 

shapes but you can cut them by hand 

into any shape you like. 

You'll need 4 pennant shapes cut out 

of scrapbook paper...

4 shapes of oval or round or 

 use 2 of each for variety and 

use different scrapbook paper 

for the different shapes...  

4 heart shapes in the same or 

different colors and shapes... 

 

the letters LOVE in whatever style 

font you like - you can just cut block 

letters that you've traced or purchase 

letters to use at your craft store. 

I used sparkly paper to add a bit 

of bling of course.  

 This step is totally optional. 

I wanted to ruffle things up a bit so 

I used crepe paper & craft glue to 

gather ruffles by hand and glue down. 

If you do this step make sure your 

shapes dry thoroughly. 

I use my Grandmother's extremely heavy 

iron to press things flat during the glue 

drying process. I also put the item on 

plastic so you can just peel it off in case 

it sticks by accident!  

Ta-Da! Fluff up the ruffles and

you end up with something like this. 

 I taped some paper doily edges 

around the oval shapes to give it 

a special look then used double 

sided tape to adhere them to the 

pennant shapes.

 Next it's time to attach the hearts 

and letters. I used "pop-up" adhesives 

to raise things up and give a dimensional 

look to the pieces. You can find pop-up 

adhesives at any craft store.

 You can see in this photo what 

it looks like popped up.

Now add bling!! 

 My, son the artist, felt the letters 

needed a bit more character so he 

took one of the fine artists pens he 

gifted to me and drew what you 

see below. I have to admit it does 

add something special!

 I had some red & silver sparkle hearts 

so they joined the mix.

To hang the hearts I used a double 

strand of 3" net ribbon in pink to 

thread the pennant pieces onto.

It needed something more... 

and in this case "more is more"! 

I made bows with the net ribbon. 

4 loops on each side, tied in the 

middle with pink curly ribbon. 

 Fluff the bows out and attach 

between the pennant pieces.

   I only added a sparkly gem on the 

point on each pennant.

 Oh you could add all kinds of glitter 

and sparkles, a lot more than I did.

 So here you have it. 

A banner of LOVE!

 I attached mine to my fireplace screen since 

I only have flickering lights in my vintage 

fireplace insert. No flames involved! 

You could hang this in a doorway, 

on a wall, in a window, 

on the headboard of of your bed... 

Ooh-la-la, you could make 

the banner say AMOUR!

Love is in the air so let's celebrate it 

and create something lovely 

for Valentines Day! 

*******

Here's a bit of my Valentine decor 

on Golden Pond.

A Valentine buffet fit for a Queen! 

Oh wait! We HAVE a QUEEN... 

Her Majesty, Queen Marie Antoinette!!

  

These treats are especially for you 

Marie. I've removed ALL the calories

just as you commanded. 

These are my faux desserts I created 

years ago to use for food decor. 

My little grands LOVE Grandma's 

fake treats! So fun for "make believe".

The 2 layer cake is made of a round 

paper mache box frosted in plaster 

and decorated with a pastry bag 

and tinted plaster. Then garnished 

with pearls. The centerpiece can 

be changed with the event. 

 The round chocolate torte is the lid from 

the paper mache box. Cookies are wood 

shapes frosted with tinted plaster and 

embellished with tiny beads. 

The brownies are cut from styrofoam 

and frosted with brown tinted plaster.

 The candies are stacked buttons glued 

together to make a scrumptious treat. 

Place them in candy papers and the 

illusion is complete.

 My tea service is ready for the Queen! 

Perhaps we'll have lavender tea.

 Maybe she would like a 

chocolate truffle made by the 

Royal Pastry Chef. 

They may be a bit chewy, they're 

actually candles in the shape of 

candy delights that I've had for 

some time now.

 The petit fours and cakes are made 

from styrofoam and lots of plaster 

frosting. Yellow paint on the  

 styrofoam makes it look just 

like cake! What fun!

 Of course the Queen may want a 

sip of champagne or moscata. 

Where are the champagne flutes?

Quick!! The Queen is almost here!!

 I've tucked some special 

Valentine touches here 

and there to add a 

splash of color.

 Vintage Valentines are so sweet.

 My Valentine girl from my 

childhood makes it all 

complete for me. She was given 

to me with flowers in the back 

of her skirt as a gift since I'm 

a February girl.

I'm ready for the Queen of Hearts!

 We're wishing you love, romance, happiness, 

hugs, kisses and more from 

Golden Pond 

& 

Peacock Paradise! 

Edie Marie & Marie Antoinette

XOXOXOXO

Banner & post: Edie Marie a loyal subject

Collaboration: Her Royal Majesty, Queen Marie Antoinette

(Yes, we have lots and lots of fun together!)


WE'RE JOINING: 

Linda @ Coastal Charm #197
& Coastal Charm #198 
& Coastal Charm #199

 Patti & Paula @ Ivy & Elephants 

Jann @ Share Your Cup Thursday 

Laurie @ 
Bargain Decorating with Laurie
 Valentines Party

 Etsy Cottage Style @ 
Cottage Paper Crafts 
Party