When celebrating this season of fun, fancy, and revelry, you will want a design with rich Mardi Gras themes! At ImpressInPrint.com, our Mardi Gras theme invitations are covered in masks, beads, feathers, and all things from your favorite Fat Tuesday celebrations. We offer colorful designs for the wild and crazy bash, as well as high quality and formal options with sparkle cardstock, pockets, and bows for the traditional masquerade. Whatever your needs, we have you covered during Mardi Gras! Let us help you personalize your custom invitations for a professional result.

Features:

• Mardi Gras Theme Invitation Wording
• Mardi Gras Theme Recipes
• History of Mardi Gras

These popular Mardi Gras theme invitations have all the designs and revelry of Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras is all about fun and celebration. Your festive and exciting Mardi Gras themed invitation should reflect the revelry and good-humored fun of the occasion. Mardi Gras is a time to be a little bit sinful without shame! Be sure to highlight the best parts of your party--whether it be the luxurious food, the dancing, the drinks, or the costume activities. Mentioning some of the traditional bits of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, such as beads, creole food, king cake, and jazz, is always a good idea. Here are a few ideas to get you started on the invitation for your very own Fat Tuesday theme party:

Dancing in the streets,
Feathers, beads & masks
What more do we need
To have a blast?
...

Please join in the revelry
At our
Mardi Gras Masquerade
creole food - king cake - jazz & beads
...

Life is a masquerade!
So, let's have a ball!
Mardi Gras Celebration
Laissez les bons temps rouler

One of the most popular Mardi Gras foods is called King Cake. Traditionally, a bean or marble is baked into the spicy, sweet, breaded dessert, and the entire thing shaped into a large ring. The person who discovered the bean in their own portion was to be crowned king for the day. This delicious treat is still used in celebration, and is generally covered with purple, green, and yellow frosting or sugar. Another favorite is a New Orleans themed cocktail to accompany the evening of fun!

King Cake
from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 5 egg yolks
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest



• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar



• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon multicolored candy sprinkles

Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and white sugar in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir the egg yolks and melted butter into the milk mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. Beat the flour mixture into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
3. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. Mix well. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 2 cups confectioners sugar, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix well and set aside.
4. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 6x30 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough. Bring the two long edges together and seal completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam-side down. Shape the dough into a ring press the baby into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Place a well-greased 2 pound metal coffee can the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the coffee can and allow the bread to cool. Drizzle cooled cake with lemon/sugar glaze and decorate with candy sprinkles.

New Orleans Hurricane
from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup ice
• 2 fluid ounces light rum
• 2 fluid ounces passion fruit flavored syrup
• 1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 1 fluid ounce 151 proof rum

1. In a shaker, combine ice, light rum, passion fruit syrup, lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage and lime juice.
2. Shake well and pour mixture into a Hurricane or other large specialty glass.
3. Float the 151 proof rum on top of the drink.

Colorful Mardi Gras designs that are perfect for celebrating Fat Tuesday with style!

Mardi Gras is a celebration intended for indulgence, that came about because it is the last day before Lent. Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French, and always takes place on the day before Ash Wednesday, or the first day of Lent. In many Christian traditions, Lent is a 40 day period during which a measure of fasting is expected of Christians as part of their religious observations.

It was originally intended that Christians would go to their priests for confession the week before Lent began to absolve themselves of their sins before the fasting began. Then, in order to rid themselves of the food they could not partake of during Lent, great feasts would be held including rich foods that generally contained eggs, sugar, dairy, and meats--all things that are expected to be abstained from. In the UK, Mardi Gras is better known as Pancake Day, and as the day suggests pancakes are made for feasting. Traditional pancakes (made of eggs, dairy, and flour) were served with meat stews in the UK and were a food of luxury. Now, particularly in the US and Canada, pancakes are served with sweet maple syrup, fruit preserves, or lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Mardi Gras was first brought to the US by French explorers sent to claim territory in then Louisiane. They made camp very near to present day New Orleans on Mardi Gras, and thus named their location after the celebration. The Carnival-like celebration of Mardi Gras was revived in the US in the 1700s, and has expanded across the US ever since.

In the US, common themes of Mardi Gras include plastic beads and the colors purple, green, and gold. The slogan "Laissez les bons temps rouler" has also been popularized for Mardi Gras, meaning "Let the good times roll." Other festivities include crowning a Mardi Gras king and queen, dressing up in masquerade costumes and masks, and eating king cake amongst many other rich or Cajun foods. Groups of revelers, known as krewe, put on fantastic shows during the week of Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras Stationery

Mardi Gras theme  papers for your Fat Tuesday celebrations! Use as invites or list the day's fun activities!

Easter Invitations

These Easter invitations are perfect for hosting an Easter brunch or an Easter egg hunt. Don't forget the colored eggs!

Easter Stationery

Colorful Easter themed papers for an Easter egg hunt with the whole neighborhood. Great as invitations, too!

Business Invitations

Formal invitations for business or corporate events. Perfect to send to clients and business partners.

Fiesta Invitations

Celebrate a fiesta such as Cinco de Mayo with our fiesta themed invitations! Colorful and fun!

Fiesta Stationery

Brightly colored fiesta themed laser paper perfect for any fiesta themed event or occasion!