The ants go marching one by one...

Let me start by saying I hate ants. As in, I despise them. I am really not fond of any insect, but ants are on top of my hatred list. So guess what I've been battling with since we moved to Georgia? That's right, year-round ants. In our house. And in random places! The coat closet, my office wall (they taunt me with one or two running up the wall right in front of my desk), the coffee table... the list goes on. Most recently they are congregating near our 2-year old's toy bins in the family room. I've washed all of the toys, and the bins, and called our quarterly exterminator (twice recently) to have them exterminate these tortuous creatures and guess what? They just moved to the other side of the room. Ugh. I could go on for paragraphs about this and how it's bringing my neurosis to an all-time high, but I will instead try to make lemons out of lemonade and let these little guys be my inspiration. That leads me to ideas for picnic invitations...

Here is one featuring the little ants:

Since I have the cliche ants on a picnic invite, I opted to go a different route with the colors, which could lead to some really cute decor.

And if ants creep you out as they do me, here are some invites I've done in the past that are also great options for picnics and summery outdoor affairs, and most with the more traditional red and white color scheme.

 

 

To warm up your thinking and move from snowy days into warm summer nights, here is a little inspiration...

Bandanas as napkins are so cute. And they don't have to be red. You can get bandanas in pink & green, too, if you want to go with a preppy watermelon theme. Or pink and orange for just a fun summer feel.

I love this vinyl pillow idea from Martha Stewart. 

Directions on how to make these sand candle centerpieces can be found here.

The parasols add a nice touch. You can find directions on how to make them here. But if you are more the buying-type, than the crafting-type, you can easily get printed drink parasols here.

And lastly, what is a picnic without an ice cream sundae? I adore these holders for sundae toppings, and you can make them with any patterned scrapbook paper so it's easy to have them match the rest of your color scheme, whatever that may be!

And if you just can't wait until summer, why not cure the mid-winter blues with a red hot indoor barbeque or picnic? You can do all of the same decor ideas, maybe hang some chinese lanterns over the buffet table and keep it light and festive. And you can add *flip flops required* to the invitation!

Whatever season you choose, I highly recommend making Paula Dean's Texas Style Potato Salad as a side. Not only does it have bacon in it, the potatoes are boiled with bacon grease in the water. I know, not really for those dieting, or even thinking of dieting, but it sure is tasty!