Grand Opening! Etsy Shop & Giveaway

I have exciting news to share! My pegs are now being sold on Etsy in my store called Craft That Party!

To celebrate my Grand Opening, I am giving away a $30 credit to the store in Kate Lander's MEGA HUGE 1st Birthday Giveaway!  Hope you will head over and enter, I would love to see lots of you win prizes over there!

Here are some of my newest designs...

Gingerbread Boy and Girl Set

 Owl Always Love You 

First Birthday Peg Doll

Hope you will add my store to your favorite list and check back often. I will be adding peg ornaments and new peg designs for the Holidays!

Guest Post on Tori Spelling & Peg Doll Tutorial

Recently I guest posted on Tori Spelling's site, I thought I would share my full peg doll tutorial here in case you missed it! 

What baby gift do you give to a crafty celeb momma of four kids? I wanted my gift to Tori to be personalized, handmade, and inclusive of her newly expanded family. If you enjoy painting, peg dolls are a fun craft to make. There are so many ways to get creative with pegs as cake toppers, Valentines, ornaments, and even necklaces. 

Here is what you will need:

Materials:

Pencil

Acrylic Paint

Fine Tip Brushes

Clear Acrylic Sealer 

Wood Pegs sizes 2-3/8" (Dean), 2" (Tori), 1-11/16" (Liam and Stella), and 1-1/8" (Hattie and Finn). 

Directions:

1. Find an inspiration picture. Use a pencil to draw a simple design on the peg doll. 

2. Start painting the top of the peg. Let each color dry before moving to a new color. 

3. When you have finished painting the entire peg doll, let it dry 1-2 hours. Use an eraser to lightly remove any pencil marks. Place pegs on newspaper and spray the front and back with one coat of acrylic sealer. Let dry, then repeat with a second coat. Place peg doll in a well ventilated room to dry overnight. 

4. Lastly, I created a special keepsake box for the pegs by attaching a chic label {designed by Blush Printables} to a plain white tin from Michaels. 

Pick Your Plum Deal of the Day: Stamp Set & Spoons!

Every once and awhile a deal comes along that is too good to pass up,

love these Type stamp set & wooden spoons from Pick Your Plum today. 

Seriously, stamp sets in these adorable wood cases are $4.95 each!

So many possibilities...

teacher gifts

holiday gifts

hostess gifts

or

keep 'em for yourself and make adorable spoons for every occasion!

Remember these sweet spoons I had made for our Nautical Party?

To order, head to Pick Your Plum

or

Just click the widget on my sidebar 

Yes, I love Pick Your Plum so much that I can check their daily deals right from my own page!

Have you ever bought from Pick Your Plum before? What was your best deal?

New Peg Designs!

Here's a few of my latest peg doll designs.
I've been making lots of wedding toppers and custom orders lately.

Elvis has left the building!

Wedding Pegs

Hansel and Gretel, custom made for the most fabulous 

candy themed birthday party by Giggles Galore! 

Tori, Dean & family, as seen on ediTORIal!

For custom peg orders, send me an email. I have a few openings left for October!

Also, check out my Hand Painted Party Pegs page  for more designs

TuTORIal: DIY Peg Dolls

I'm happy to announce that I am over on Tori Spelling's website today with my 4th guest post. I am sharing a tutorial on how to paint those cute little peg dolls! Stop over to see the pegs I made for Tori, Dean, and the whole family!

Blogger Makeover Ambush!

Last year I nominated my friend for a day of pampering with the Ambush Pittsburgh team. I got to tag along on her day of fun. She was so surprised and looked completely amazing! Well, the favor was returned to me and little did I know the "thank you nominator breakfast" I was attending was actually my very own ambush!

Let's start with the before and after, shall we?

As moms, we never seem to take the time to rest, relax, and pamper ourselves unless someone forces us to do so.  The makeover came at the perfect time... I attempted some highlights in my hair and had not been back to the salon in 6 months (eek!). Needless to say the girls were very happy to hear that I was ready to change that hair color!

Brooke of Brooke Rockwell Hair Design blended the perfect redish/brown fall color for my hair. 

Julie of Pittsburgh Makeup worked her magic on me next. 

Time for a new outfit generously donate by my sweet friend Becky!

They even got me in skinny jeans! 

I cannot even bring to tell you how much better and younger I feel after those precious few hours of pampering. Julie and Brooke are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. They dreamed up the Ambush Pittsburgh concept and each month generously donate their time and talents to do something nice for others. There are not enough words and thank yous out there to express how grateful I am. 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU Julie, Brooke, and Becky for everything!

If you live in the Pittsburgh area and would like to nominate someone, visit the Ambush Pittsburgh website!

Happy Birthday To Me

One thing I have realized more and more with each birthday is to cherish these moments...  small, quiet reminders that life is good.

Mr. Bugger bakes me a special cake every year

The buggers greeted me in bed (very, very early) this morning, wrapped gifts in hand. 

My gifts, peg dolls of mommy. (Right- I am wearing a headband and my fish dress)

Seeing those proud, happy smiles this morning is the best birthday gift of all.

Halloween Milk Bottles, Full Tutorial From The Party Dress Magazine

I love this time of year when we start discussing Halloween costumes in our house and pull out all our Fall decorations. Here is a Halloween tutorial that I created for the Fall Issue of The Party Dress Magazine.  I used glass milk bottles, but you could easily use paper cups or even water bottles. 

Materials:

Black and Orange Crepe Paper 

Scissors

Sewing Machine

Tape

Directions:

Step 1. Measure and cut a 36" piece from both the black and orange roll. 

Divide the black piece in half, cutting down the center. 

Step 2. Place the black crepe paper in the center of the orange. Pin down the middle to secure.

Step 3. Remove pins and bunch the crepe paper with your fingertips as you sew a straight stitch down the center of your crepe paper. 

Step 4. Cut the sewn crepe paper ruffles into (roughly 9") pieces that fit around the milk bottle. Tape one end of the ruffle directly to the milk bottle, then wrap the ruffle around the bottle and secure with more tape. 

A special thanks to my fabulous vendors:

Glass Milk Bottles: Sweet Lulu

Milk Glass Cake Plate: Mosser Glass

Fondant Oreos: Love & Sugar Kisses

Be sure to check out the latest edition of The Party Dress Magazine (available in online, the App Store, and in print) for lots of fabulous Fall entertaining inspiration from top bloggers, party stylists, and designers. 

30 Days Handmade

Charlie Brown Inspired Birthday-In-A-Box

I shared this over on Piggy Bank Parties this week and thought I'd post the rest of the pictures here in case you missed it. My sister-in-law and her husband always sneak off to a secluded beach when their birthdays roll around in August. Each year I send them off with a birthday-in-a-box. It's a fun way to be part of their celebrations, even if we are hundreds of miles away. They are both huge fans of Charlie Brown, so I used the Piggy Bank Parties Charlie Brown inspired collection this year, though a birthday-in-a-box could be done in any theme!

Total spent on the birthday box $6!  Most items can be found at any store... candles, balloons, cupcake marshmallows, glow wands, and paper plates. I raided my craft supplies for the bitty bags, divine twine, and paper straws. 

I wanted to do something extra special this year, so I painted them Linus and Charlie Brown peg dolls and added my favorite quotes from each character. Happy Birthday Ann & Tim, wishing you a year full of happiness and health!

The entire Charlie Brown Inspired Party Collection is available over at the Piggy Bank Parties market!

Minnie Glam Peg Doll

Announcing new peg doll sizes! 

The new larger peg dolls are 4" tall,  perfect for toddler hands!

Have a glamorous weekend everyone!