the loot!

jewelry ordered at Oriental Trading

candy sticks by Oriental Trading

How could I forget to show pics of the treat bags which were my pride! I saw on the Nick JR site they have various images you can print for free including coloring sheets and iron ons. I saw two for Olivia, a pink one with Edwin the cat and a blue one with Perry the dog. I knew I would somehow use them in her party. I had seen canvas totes at Michael's and Joann's Fabric and thought that using them along with the iron ons would be a perfect way to add a personal touch to the party favor bags. I ordered some through Oriental Trading as they really are great for the price and quantity. When I saw them I was taken aback by how small they were. I think they are 8x6. I needed them to be at least letter size as I was making coloring books for the kids but in the end they turned out to be the perfect size. I also made activity kits for the kids where I placed both coloring sheets and activity sheets along with crayons so they would be entertained as guests arrived. I'm telling all-coloring sheets are the way to go! It is not only cost effective but you will be amazed how all kids , not matter the age or gender, love to color. Since I was at a public place I was limited to what activities I could do and coloring sheets and crayons travel quite well.

Anyway , back to the bags, my close friend Claudia Sanchez helped me print the iron ons on her fancy ink jet printer. (She also shared her gorgeous calligraphy to filling out the name tags and food label.) These were the first iron-ons I have ever done and here is my tip, wait for the transfer to completely cool before you peel the backing off. Removing it too quickly will peel up some of the actual image and leave cracks. I must say that when I saw the finished project I felt I had some really sharp looking bags.

To fill the smaller bags inside the tote, I ordered some iridescent looking jewelry, once more from Oriental Trading and made little "Diva Kits" for each girl. I did those labels by hand, importing an image and playing with text in photoshop but I believe Word can also be used, just note that Word is pain to work in images. I then added the final touch by using Martha Stewart's edge puncher. I also made "Sweet Treat Bags" for all the kids and finally some Hershey nuggets wrapped in the labels I made using Word.

Voila, a chic, budget friendly treat bag.