A Pirate's Life

Arrgh!! Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day! So you scallywags, it's a perfect time to post about this past Tuesday when it was my turn to host our monthly Bunco game! If you don't know what Bunco is, google it because I'm not about to try to explain it to you. :) My theme was based on the movie "Pirate's of the Caribbean". As a child, it was always my favorite ride at Disneyland and I am a huge fan of the movies. So, after months of planning, making my own decorations and lining up a big secret surprise, the night finally came and it was a treasure trove of fun! 

Upon walking in the door, the girls were greeted with a shocking surprise: Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Billy Bones who then made them walk the plank to prove their loyalty to The Black Pearl!

I asked that everyone wear their best pirate garb:

Betsy had the funniest costume:

Cynde and Kelly had my favorite costumes of the night:

Here's the entire crew:

A look at some of my decorations:

The tables were decorated with old world maps in blue and topped with a treasure map and little candle lighted lanterns.

The table covers. I loved this fabric!

Treasure map and lanterns. The treasure maps were actually bandannas.

The table number cards

Treasure chest with scrolls, maps, jewels and gold coins.

The floating prize was inside this chest. It was a necklace made of seaglass from Scotland with a Sparrow flying over it. I also made a Davy Jones themed charm bracelet. I won my own floating prize! Yay for me!

The crew's mascot...a colorful parrot!

Centerpiece on the food table. An old chandelier becomes a very cool candelabra! 

The cutlery is wrapped, tied with twine and featured in a small treasure chest.

Pirate items surround it including a bottle of rum, snuff boxes, a compass that doesn't point north, treasure maps, telescope, starfish and gold coins.

My "Pièce de résistance" 

A 1" scale scene of Jack Sparrow stuck on Rumrunner Isle.

Dead Men Tell No Tales!

The coral was created by collecting discarded palm tree seed branches from my yard and spray painting them in lovely colors.  Add a message in a bottle, some gold coins, seashells, starfish and put it all on a fishing net. Hang a scary pirate with a stern warning and you've got a cool side decoration! :)

I made "Why is the Rum Always Gone" rum punch and bought plastic glasses with a skull and crossbones. To jazz them up a bit, I wrapped rope around them and then added a metal decoration to each one:

And to finally round out the decorations, I had two life sized stand ups of Jack Sparrow and Will Turner.

All in all, it was a successful hunt for treasure on the Black Pearl!  A Pirate's Life is definitely for me! :)