It's a Girl

Hi friends, I just have a really short post for today. I have been fighting the flu for over a week now. I just can't seem to shake it, so needless to say I haven't done too much at all this week. This is actually a party I did a few months back.  Nothing huge, but I was able to use one basic pinafore pattern from My Scrap Chick for the bunting, favor boxes and pinafore centerpiece pokes. 

I had decided on pastel polka dot papers, which I didn't have, so I just did it digitally and print & cut the pinafore patterns from my Silhouette Cameo Collection Papers. The Pinafore was actually a shaped card, folded over at the shoulder.  I wanted the look of puffy sleeves so I glued the front of the pinafore to the back, leaving the sleeves unglued. This way, I could thread the ribbon right through each puffed sleeve, in one-side and out the other. Just add some mini clothes pins to the line and you have a darling bunting! It would have been cute to tie some fabric strips to the clothesline between the pinafores...a very vintage looking piece.  Very Simple, but really cute too.  

I also made some Pretty Poke Pinafores for the table centerpieces. These will stand up alone or you can drop them into a vessel by making the rosette the same size as the bottom of the vessel.  I used the Easy Rosette  file from My Scrap Chick to create a base for each stem. Then, I glued the straw to the center hole. (add a stick to that straw for stability) 

  

I made sure the Rosettes were rigid, so it would allow the straw to stand straight up.  I like to add either a metal washer or a quarter to the bottom of the rosette, just to weigh it down a little bit. I love the way this came out and really only took a couple hours to get it put together.  More adorable files from My Scrap Chick!! It's nice to be able to build an entire party using only a few files.   

So thanks friends for stopping by.  I have a couple new parties I will be working on in the next coming weeks.  See you soon!  Happy Crafting!

~Margie 

  

  

Sprinkled with Love Baby Shower

Hi friends, I wanted to share this adorable baby shower I created for a little boy, titled Sprinkled with Love! The theme colors were shades of Gray, Yellows, and White. I mixed several files from some wonderful designers to complete this project. The centerpieces were created by two kits from My Scrap Chick; Cute as a Button Boxes and the Cupcake Stand File. 

So, let me try to explain how I did these little pedestals. I use them all the time and everyone is always amazed as to how it's done.  I use my kitchen stemmed water glass, similar to a wine glass with a bigger bulb. The stem and base are big and heavy so it would tip over.

I just place a luncheon plate over the rim of the glass. Be sure the plate rim is BIGGER than the opening of the glass, so it doesn't slip off.  Then, I take the top of the Cupcake Stand and place it over the plate, covering it completely. DONE! It's simple and darling.  Don't forget to fill your glass with pretty candies!  The ribbon on the pedestal is actually the printed cardstock cut into strips...nice took to tie everything together.  

I added double-sided Pretty Poke Storks from Little Scraps of Heaven, which were poked into the floral centerpieces on the dessert table.    

The Chevron Banner Round is from the Silhouette On-line Store from Snapdragon Snippets.

The little watering can with heart button and little boy rompers were added to the bunting to break things up and tie it all together.  Matching ribbon came from Hobby Lobby!!!  Too cute for words!! 

 

I don't do many little boy showers so this was really fun. I love the colors and the theme. Very simple but still elegant.  

On to a BIRTHDAY PARTY BOUQUET for this week friends.  Happy Crafting...stop by anytime!!

~Margie

    

Margie's Tearoom

Margie's Tea Room

In May of this year, I was asked by a friend if I could make a TEAPOT as a centerpiece.  My response, "Sure, I can try."  I had the perfect pattern, but I had never made one. Needless to say, I got busy with a sample.  At this point, I didn't know how many she needed.  I'm thinking...1 maybe 2 at the most? Boy, was I wrong!! I got the shock of my life.... 

YIKES, Look at all of those PIECES!!!!

My friend works for a Assisted Living/Retirement Village in our area. They were planning a Mother's Day Brunch and were looking for reasonably priced teapots.  Now, I have to say, my centerpieces are not cheap, but I gave them a deal if they ordered in bulk.  OMG...they needed 20....in a week!!  A week???   I had one of my helpers give me a hand...and production was started.

They came out so adorable!!!  I made all different soft colors and hinged the lid with a little coordinating bow.  I added a little doily to the bottom as well.  

Not only did they want 20 teapots. but they also wanted 100 strawberries!! Luckily, I didn't have another job that week, so I was able to start right away.

I loved the way everything came out.  So darling!  Thanks for stopping by everyone.  More parties coming this week...so visit again tomorrow.  

Stay Cool!

~Margie

Down on the Farm

Yee Haw! 

Just a little something from the farm.  I made two different styles of  cow favor boxes...perfect for baby shower or 1st Birthday, actually a toddler birthday would be fun or maybe even something at the office...from the HERD!!  lol

I have several favorite SVG companies, but both of these came from My Scrap Chick.  I love their patterns; they are so darn cute and so much fun for any party!       

Add a little BELL to the ribbon for perfect necktie.  I love these little guys. The perfect size for a stack of sandwich cookies.  Or maybe some cow pies (chocolate chips) 

Ok, now these little guys... I just couldn't pass up.  I have all of My Scrap Chicks Trio Patterns, but these fit right into the "Farm" Theme.    I would fill and place these at each place setting ...How about MILK DUDS or Bulls Eyes?  Or even some homemade cow pies....ooops, I mean chocolate chip cookies!

Ok friends, 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Margie

  

It's a Jungle out there!

A few weeks ago, I was hired to build a Jungle Themed Baby Naming Party with emphasis on zebras, zebra stripes and prints...so off to the workshop I went. I made a ton of zebras, well I shouldn't really say a TON, I made a dozen, but I make everything double sided, so I actually made two dozen zebras, back to back and mounted them on pink stripy-pixie straws. I call these Pretty Pokes and they are my favorites, I love these darn things!  You can poke them into just about anything.  

How cute would these zebras be on a carousel?  I might have to build one some day.  In fact, I have always wanted to do a circus theme party because I have some darling favor box patterns and many new designs in my little pea brain, twirling around.  At Party Connection Events, we have some wonderful clowns, face painters, wavy mirrors, carnival games, popcorn and ice cream carts. Many cool pieces that would be a perfect addition to a carnival party.  It's a "circus" over there, so give them a call!!     

In addition to those zebras, I made some cute cupcake pics with a herd of jungle animals.  I mounted them on solid and polka dot backgrounds.    Again, I like to make them double sided, so three dozen pics turn into six dozen animals. I LOVE the way they came out.  Very simple, but adorable.  Believe it or not, there are no cupcakes included on this dessert table, but the pics look cute poked into anything, not just cupcakes. 

Let's see, I also made some very large layered palm trees for this party.  Yes, they are flat and double sided, but I was able to secure them with flat sticks so they were firm and would stand up while poked into a narrow jar of candy. So with two palm trees as the centerpiece, I really wanted to hang a cute personalized sign between these trees.  Easy-peasy!  I had an idea in mind, so I cut and built it!  I love starting from scratch and coming up with my own ideas. I added several layers, sculpted leaves and the baby's name in zebra print and hung it from the trees with clothes pins. (I wish I would have colored those clothespins with matching paper)  Very, very cute. It seemed to really pull the theme together.

I can't forget the little monkeys hanging in the trees. Their curly tails make it really easy to hook them in the trees or even on the cupcake stand.

As I was building these cute little guys, I was thinking how cute they would be to hang on a Tabletop Candy Shop with our jungle themed canopy.  

Desiree Chocolates hired me for this Jungle Party job, Thank again Desi, it's always fun to work with you!  Stop by her website...she is totally AMAZING!! Her sweet tables are out of this world!  Believe me, I know...every time we have a meeting, I go home with a sweet tray of sweet eats.  By the time I reach the highway, I have sampled way too many goodies.  It's a chocolate high for me all the way home!  <GRIN!>

So without further ado, let me share the pictures Desi shared with me of the party!  Thanks Des! 

  

Thanks for visiting!!

~Margie

It's in the Bag

Cute little purses are all the rage for baby showers, birthday party favors or gift giving....even to fill up at a candy tablescape...how cute would that be?  In the future I am going to continue to add to this section and give several ideas on Purse Favors, but I am starting with a stinkin' cute favor for baby showers or toddle parties. 

My 1st Birthday Party (my first purse) Favor

These favor bags are the largest I can design using just ONE 12x12 sheet of cardstock.  How do I get two prints?  Double sided cardstock and I like to chose two coordinating patterns.  I think this monkey print cardstock was from Bella Blvd.     This pattern is an SVG from My Scrap Chick...one of my favs.  The pattern can be enlarged but I would have to charge more per piece and I don't like to do that. My goal is to get an entire pattern from one sheet of cardstock. The good news...Order a dozen and get ONE FREE and this will bring down your cost a little more. 

   

 

It's a Boy

I had an order from a Jenn C. in Oregon last week and I wanted to post some pictures, for all to view. I believe she is planning a baby shower...It's a Boy, for her sister-in-law.  

She ordered 7 Sm. Pretty Pokes and 7 Pedestal Table Tops. I am thinking she is going to use these Pretty Pokes with the "candy filled method" (see February blog entery).   Jenn had chosen her colors, but not patterns, so we worked it out that she would visit her local Archivers in Oregon to pick out a pattern she liked and I would run up to my local Archivers in Naperville, Il (which, by the way, is my FAVORITE store) and pick up her paper to be used on her projects.    

Jenn was surprised when I explained that my pieces were double sided.  All of my Pretty Pokes are double sided; I like for guests on the OTHER side of the table to view a DIFFERENT side of the same piece. (that's my event planning coming out).

So in this case, all of my little baby boys are dressed differently on the other side of the Pretty Pokes. I really love the way they came out.  I like to add BLING to my pieces...but no bling for boys! I did add "thread lines" on each of their outfits...I like alot of details. 
She also ordered 7 Lge Pedestal Tops.  I realized I never really explained how these work so I thought I would share with this post. 

These Pedestal Toppers are something I came up with when planning a shower for my daughter.  Sometimes those fancy pedestals are just so costly...but too darling not to have at your shower.  So I came up with this and it worked.  I can cut any size, square, round, or rectangle.  Ribbon is cute to thread through the piece, though, I really like to use matching paper as my ribbon.  I have even printed on the paper, then cut it into ribbon strips...nice to personalize pieces as well.  I think it really ties the pieces together, not to mention they are a true conversation piece, and they keep costs down, with that same darling look.  Weave each paper ribbon strip through in a continuous motion...you don't even have to glue it, it will just stay in place.  Really cute.  Three strips should be plenty to go around a 12x12 square.

Building the Pedestal...find a clear glass.  I like to use my water glasses.  But a wine glass will do, as well as, other stem style glasses with a nice base.  Just make sure you have a wide mouth on the glass with a firm base so it doesn't tip over.    

Now Take the glass and fill it with something...anything...candy works best, but don't limit yourself to just that. Something that ties into the theme...gumballs, ribbons, M&M's, salt water taffy, Kisses, grapes, buttons, strawberries...even something like diaper pins or clothes pins would be cute.  Use your imagination.  

Then take the glass and add a luncheon plate to the top, covering the mouth of the glass.  I like to place the bottom of the plate in the glass, so to speak.

This will help the plate from slipping off the glass.  Good china works great, because it has a nice deep rim on the base of the plate.  If you need a little something to hold it together use glue dots or double stick tape to the top of the glass and the bottom of the plate.  Honestly, I have never had an issue when I did this.  You just need to find the correct combination of plates and glasses and it will be fine. Normally a Large Pedestal Top is just about the size of a luncheon plate.  

Ok, then take the Pedestal Top and place it over the plate, completely covering the plate.  Please do remember, scrapbook paper IS NOT food safe, so use a doily before you place your food on the Pedestal Top. 

I have been told that I spend alot of time on my pieces...but you know what?  I enjoy it!!  Bottom Line....It's a labor of LOVE, kids!!   .

So what do you think? Isn't it stinkin' CUTE????  I can't wait to get pictures from the shower!!!  Don't forget to send them to me Jenn C.  Thanks again for the order!!


~Margie

   

It's a Shower

Bridal and Baby Showers are all the trend for Spring and Summer!!  A couple years ago, I planned  a baby shower for my oldest daughter and a bridal shower for my middle daughter.  I remember how exciting it was coming up with centerpieces for the tablescapes, decor, and favors. Actually, it wasn't as easy as you might think, but both came out LOVELY and that's all that mattered!! I guess planning those special events is actually what brought me to become a Party Stylist, in addition to my Event Planning business.  While I plan large events, I have always enjoyed the tiny details.  So Polka Dots and Parties has become a real passion for me.  I have so many ideas and can't wait to share them all with you.  
This weeks centerpiece is actually the POPPY BOUQUET with a different base...a darling watering can.  So cute for bridal and baby showers or even a Spring/Summer celebration! Remember these aren't your run-of-the-mill centerpieces.  They serve  a few purposes, they can be filled with Cake Pops, Kisses, Gumdrops...just about any type of sweet treat.  I do love the Kisses...the foil give's a touch of BLING to the presentation!  I also added a topper with a greeting or  table number. I have several topper greetings to choose from.  I have even added a company name to it...very, very cute!!  Lastly, you can recycle them.  After using as centerpieces, add your choice of topper, refill with another treat and give it away!! Now that's what I call multi-purpose!!!

As a side note...as you can see I have had more than 4,400 guests on my blog in just a few short months!  That is so exciting to me!  I love to see that number GROW! Please share my website and my blog with family and friends.  Follow me on Pinterest so you have my designs right at your fingertips...thanks!


~Margie