Gender Reveal Peg Doll Party by Marie Thomas Designs

I was so excited when Christina of Marie Thomas Designs contacted me about creating pegs for a Gender Reveal Party. I had never seen pegs used in such a creative way!  Her plan is to have the big-sister-to-be open a box with the special peg inside to reveal if she is getting a little brother or little sister.  Isn't that the CUTEST idea ever??!!  I love that the family will have the peg as a keepsake from their big reveal.

The family will not find out the sex of the baby until the week of the party, so we decided it was best to make  both a boy peg and a girl peg. I painted the baby boy peg in light blue overalls and the baby girl peg in a light pink dress and flower headband. Both with a teeny tiny curl of hair on top.

What will it be ... a little brother or little sister?

Christina designed this darling invitation. I am so smitten with it.  She has some amazing party details planned and I will be begging her to share pictures after the party.

I cannot wait to see how the party turns out

and see which peg is in that box!

Happy Friday & Girls Night In Cocktail Recipe

Happy weekend everyone! I hosted a much needed and very fun "Girls Night" recently. I set up a cute beverage area and served a signature cocktail that I found on The Sutter Home Blog.  It was a huge hit! I plan to make this again very soon.

Bugger Moments In Sports #MajorLeagueMom #spon

My two boys love anything that involve sports. It is a necessary outlet for their tireless amounts energy. They both are just entering the magical ages of playing on organized teams. This is new to us... we've always played pick-up games in our backyard. But now they are learning to play with their peers.

There are so many lessons to learn in sports. The boys are learning patience, compassion, and confidence. Every time they step on that field, they will be require they make their own choices. As parents standing on the sidelines, we hope they make the decision to try their hardest, be respectful to their coach and teammates, and most importantly to believe in themselves.

My youngest is shy, gentle, and sweet. This was his first season of tee-ball. We weren't sure if he was ready for it, but signed him  up anyway. He loved catching and throwing with his daddy during warm ups. When it was his turn to bat, he would always check back to make sure daddy was close by. His last at bat for the season, he hit the ball far, very far for tee-ball standards. He could hardly contain his bashful enthusiasm as he ran the bases. He tagged first base, looked at the mom standing there and yelled, 

I crushed that ball!

That was his moment (and my Kleenex moment for sure). This is his smile. This is why sports will always be an important part of my boys' lives. And that is why I will always be a proud momma, cheering on the sidelines. I will be the one cheering for the little men they are developing into.

Get a Kleenex custom oval BOGO until 11/15/12, just use the code PLAYOFFS at checkout on the Kleenex site. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. 

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.