Oink! The Blog » {challenge} the barnyard buddies

The excitement has been building in the PiG PeN for weeks and this lil’ piggy is beyond thrilled to finally share a secret project that the Piggy Bank Parties Crew has been working on. One of the reasons Oink! has been so quiet is the ladies of the Crew have been busy designing, crafting, creating, blogging and talkin’ smack! Yep, talkin’ smack…’cuz this project wasn’t a Crew collaboration…it was a party throw-down!

{microphone drops from the ceiling}

Introducing…

The Crew was randomly divided into two teams of four—each member was assigned a number and teams were picked using Random.org. Then each team set up a private Facebook group to brainstorm and share their progress. This lil’ piggy wasn’t a member of either team and didn’t have access to their private groups to keep the pork chop impartial. The Crew has a private Facebook group so needless to say…there was a lil’ bit of smack talk between the two teams along with lots of giggles!

Each team chose a team name and decided who would be in charge of styling and photographing the team’s party. Both teams were given the same printables collection to use as their inspiration and a party budget of $100. Each team had one sponsor—Lynlee’s Petite Cakes and Cuter than Cake—who generously donated one item to the challenge.

Over the next 10 days I’ll be sharing the two amazing parties they designed along with tutorials so you can create the same items for your very own Barnyard Bash! Then starting on Friday, May 25th, y’all will be able to cast your vote for your favorites along with our panel of party lovin’ judges! Did I mention we’ll also be hosting a giveaway or two…or three?

{break for a Happy Dance!}

By the Team Names—Sassy Spring Chickens and Barnyard Babes—you’ve probably already guessed that we haven’t strayed too far from the farm! The inspiration for the challenge was based on a collection we created for a very special lil’ boy named Jakob!

Back in 2007, Jakob was celebrating his 1st birthday and Michelle, his mom and one of my dearest friends, asked us to design an invitation based on “Old MacDonald’s Farm.” {You can see Jakob’s party here.}

The Barnyard Buddies came to life back then and it was the first collection we added to The Market when we opened. Recently, we gave the collection a makeover and decided it would be the perfect inspiration for the Team Challenge. The Barnyard Buddies Collection is great for both boys and girls…young and old! We added a number of ”Create-Your-Own” products so the collection could also be used for non-birthday celebrations—playdates, family reunions, summer picnics, fall festivities and more!

One of my favorite additions to the collection is our new Barn Favor Box. The barn roof can be personalized to use as placecards or with a fun phrase. You can also purchase the printable box separately or if you’re not a crafter…we’ll print and assemble them for you!