Middy Bitty Easter Bags

Looking for a cute way to display Easter goodies?  Here's a fun project I created for Whisker Graphics. I made my favorite little bags into Easter favors that could hang on each guest's chair. 

Materials:

Vertical Stripe Middy Bitty Bags

Ribbon

Paper hole punch

Printables (I used the Lots-O-Dots FREE printable party cards from Piggy Bank Parties)

Spring Party Ideas

Spring is here! If you are planning a Spring party, here are some of my favorite party collections to get you started.

Gardens

Grow-A-Garden Party Set by Bushel and A Peck Paper

The ant trail thank you notes are SO creative!

Rainbows 

Rainbow Party Collection by A Blissful Nest

Loving the chevron and pops of color in this collection

Gingham

Springin' Gingham Collection by Piggy Bank Parties

Earth Day/ Lorax Party

Dr. Seuss Lorax Inspired Collection by Gwynn Wasson Designs

Of course an Earth Day or Lorax party would be lovely this Spring.

So many bright and cheerful colors to work with!

Flowers and Bees

Bumblebee Collection by Pen n' Paperflowers

Don't you just love the mix of flowers, buttons, and bees?!!!

All of these wonderful collections are available and for sale on Etsy, 

just visit the links and get your party planning started! 

Whisker Graphics and Catered Crop Challenge

Got some bitty bags?

Got some crepe paper ruffles?

Then you've got yourself a party! 

The challenge over on The Catered Crop this week was to create something with stitching... so I lined a plain old boring paper cup with a Whisker Graphics yellow honeycomb middy bitty bag, sewed yellow and blue crepe paper ruffles,  and glued the ruffles onto the cup. Voila! Instant party fun!

Linking to: 

Thirty Days Handmade
Tatertots and Jello

Vintage Suitcase Invitation {A Military Welcome Home Party}

I have to gush for a minute about my favorite designers Do and J of Piggy Bank Parties. Their talent for creating, illustrating, and styling is astounding. They always exceed my expectations. I never worry about the quality of their products because they are perfectionists. They spend more time and effort on each project than they really should to make each design, each party perfect, flawless, and completely original.

If you are throwing a party, you must check out their shop. With their printable collections, you can throw a major party on a minor budget!

I sent Do and J some ideas for a Welcome Home party for a dear friend returning home to his family after 3 tours of duty. I really wanted this to be special, yet simple and masculine. I was blown away by the finished product.

My friend chose the theme "The Road Home", as it symbolized the journey her family has been on for the last 18 months. We decided to use vintage suitcases and luggage tags for this party.

Vintage Suitcase Invitation

We added this quote as a luggage tag tied with twine to the invitation:

No matter which road you take 

they all lead home. 

Know that now 

and it will make all the difference...

 then. 

-Raphie Frank

I will share more pictures after the party!

5 Reasons to Love Tori Spelling {Details of Our Skype Chat}

For those of you who don't know, I won a Skype chat with Tori Spelling. Her website ediTORIal hosted a scavenger hunt contest where you had to watch the season finale of her reality show and answer all the questions correctly. One random winner was picked to chat with the family...

I am still speechless that I won!

I am going to apologize for my lack of decent pictures in advance. Thankfully the hubs snapped a few as Tori and I chatted to show you that it actually happened! Please excuse the mess, the dining room table is my official craft space/ location to chat with celebrities.

1. OUR KIDS are the same age, so it was really fun to watch them chat about their pets, sports, and birthdays. Tori's oldest Liam is a total charmer, outgoing, sweet and silly. My boys loved him. J Bugger asked if we could have a play date at their house!

Fun fact: Their pet pig Hank is over 100 lbs and makes a great pet, who knew?

Hard to see but Tori is holding Hattie in this picture, now 5 months old 

2. Tori is a self-proclaimed CRAFTISTA. She loves fashion, party planning, and crafting with the kids. Her new craft line just debuted on HSN this week (she had just caught a connecting flight home from filming with HSN in Tampa). And she has a DIY jewelry line hitting Michaels and JoAnn's Fabric stores soon!

This is my favorite-- a zippered craft clutch, love it! Image via ediTORIal

3. Liam's SpongeBob beach party is scheduled for Saturday (forecast is calling for rain, boo!). She wanted to make pineapple Bellinis in actual pineapples, however the current price of pineapples is $5 EACH, so that idea got scratched. Doesn't get much more real than that!

Image Source

4. Tori said that as an actor you can feel really separated from people, but the reality show gave them an amazing opportunity for people to see her for who she really is. She said that she went from having fans to having friends. 

5. In the back of my mind I know Tori is a major celebrity, however talking to her feels like talking to another mom from school or finding a new friend with similar crafty interests. She is real, genuine, sweet, and compassionate. Our time went all too quickly.  I feel truly blessed and honored for this opportunity. 

Thank you Tori for taking time out of your crazy schedule and family time to chat with me. It was an experience I will never forget!  

The Incredible {Edible} Easter Napkin Ring

Here is an easy idea for Spring and Easter table settings.  I made napkin rings using edible candy grass.  After you find your seat at the dinner table you can eat your napkin ring as an appetizer, how fun!

Materials Needed: Edible Easter Grass Candy (found at Wal-Mart), 

flourish punch and scrapbook paper

Directions: Twist long strands of candy grass into circle, tucking in the ends. 

Insert into a napkin and embellish with a place card. Eat any loose ends, ha!

WINNER of the Origami Delights Giveaway & Nautical 1st Birthday Party Sneak Peek

And the winner of the Origami Delights Giveaway is......

#28 Dorangelawho said:

I recycle everything that I am able to!

Thank you to everyone that entered. I loved reading all the ways you help the environment! Congrats Dorangela of Two Prince Bakery Theater, hope you enjoy your rainbow recycled paper seed bombs!

................

Thought I'd share a sneak peek at the Nautical Party I have been working on... 

My sweet and always cheery nephew turned 1 and we celebrated in style. 

The pictures will be featured in the upcoming issue of Bird's Party Magazine (yay!)

Ultra adorable Birthday Hat by Prop Shop Boutique

Custom Nautical Plate by Magnolia Creative Co.

5 Reasons to Skip the Dessert Table!

In case you missed my Silly Sunday post over at Piggy Bank Parties, thought I would share it here as well. And don't forget to enter the Origami Delights Lorax inspired giveaway going on now!

I love a good dessert table, but lately I've been wanting to slim down the desserts and try something a little different. Here are 5 reasons to SKIP the traditional dessert table at your next celebration.

1. My FAVORite kind of table

In true Purple Pug brilliance, Kristy skipped the traditional dessert table at her son's Fly Guy Rave and opted to make her treats and trinkets favor table the focal point. There were no complaints from the kiddos as they filled their buckets with fun take home goodies. 

2. UPGRADE the beverage station

Try upgrading the beverage area by adding flavors, toppings, or fun garnishes. Fellow Piggy Bank Crew member Mariah from Giggles Galore created a cozy Hot Cocoa Bar. Mariah offered hot cocoa toppings in glass ice cream dishes, candy canes tied with bakers twine to mugs, and hot chocolate served in glass beverage dispensers. 

3. Skip the table, keep the DESSERTS

Christine from Pure Joy Events set the mood for her daughter's sewing party by beautifully displaying desserts on a vintage rotary sewing machine.

Christine opted again to skip the traditional table for her sister's baby shower. She used a sleigh crib and coordinating crib skirt to create this beautiful dessert area. Imagine how different both parties would have looked on traditional tables?

4. Skip desserts, feature the FOOD

This beautiful table by Karen Mordechai of Sunday Suppers  is an excellent example of making the food presentation extraordinary. The table has the feel of a dessert table with a variety of cheeses being displayed on cake plates of various heights and glass cloches. Yet there are only subtle hints of sweet flavors offered to compliment the cheeses. 

5. Move the party to the TABLE

Sometimes the tablescape is the best place to represent the party theme.  Piggy Bank Parties Jack and the Beanstalk is my most favorite example of this. The beanstalk is the focal point of this children's story, so why not make it the focal point of the party also? The beanstalk sprouting through the middle of the table is so unexpected and whimsical.

Special thanks to my favorite party gals for permission to share pictures of their ultra fabulous parties. Hope it has inspired some new and creative ideas for your next party!

A Lorax Inspired Giveaway {Origami Delights}

We are celebrating the opening of The Lorax in movie theaters with a fun giveaway thanks to Origami Delights! If you have read the book or seen them movie, you will know that it carries a message about being being responsible for our environment. I've seen a party trend happening that I just adore, going green! Many party planners are consciously making an effort to use Eco-friendly materials from reusable banners and tablecloths right down to their party favors.

Recyclable party favors leads right into today's giveaway...

Origami Delights is offering the lucky winner a set of 30 RAINBOW SEED BOMBS party favors!

Seed bombs are made of recycled paper pulp. Inside each one are flower seeds. Just simply throw the seed bomb where you would like flowers to grow, water, keep moist and watch your flowers grow!

Wouldn't they make a terrific party favor or gift to hand out in a classroom?

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this post on what you do to be more EARTH FRIENDLY everyday 

Additional Entries (Up to 4 extra):

- Visit Origami Delights on Etsy and leave a comment here about something that catches your eye from her shop
- "Like" Origami Delights on Facebook, leave a comment back here

- "Like" Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line on Facebook, leave a comment back here

-  Share this giveaway on Facebook, let me know you have done this and leave the link here

Rules: This giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on Sunday, March 11, 2012. The winner will be selected by random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to our notification email before another winner is selected. So please, pretty please leave a visible email address on your entry! This giveaway is open to US residents only. 

New Contributor for Bird's Party & Coffee Filter Roses

I have some fun news to share! I am the newest contributor for Bird's Party Blog.  Bird welcomed me with this very sweet introduction.  Bird is one of my favorite party peeps. She is an amazing designer, stylist, and editor of Bird's Party Magazine.  I am so honored to work with her!

I had to celebrate my great news with some beautiful flowers...

Rather, I had to celebrate my great news by buying making some beautiful red roses. Can you guess what they are made of?

Yes, coffee filters, water colors, floral tape, and wire courtesy of this tutorial from Martha. 

See, no water needed and cost under $2 to make.

Linking to: 30 Days Handmade, Whipperberry, Tatertots and Jello