Guest Authors
Penny Warner
Penny Warner has sold over 40 books for parents and kids, featuring ideas for parties, games, activities, snacks, and fun, in over ten foreign languages. Warner has a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master's Degree in Special Education. She teaches Child Development courses at Diablo Valley College, special education classes at Chabot College, and creative writing workshops at Cal-State University, Hayward and University of California, Berkeley Extension and Davis Extension.
Warner appeared weekly on several San Francisco Bay Area television talk shows for four years, and has appeared on national TV, presenting party and activity tips for parents and kids. She was a regular feature on HGTV's "Smart Solutions," appeared on the "Later Today" show offering party tips, and has done numerous television media events. She has articles appearing on several websites, including iParty.com, party411.com, DrSpock.com, ToysRUs.com, and Fisher-Price.com. Warner and her husband, Tom, write mystery parties for large corporations, business, and libraries. She wrote a weekly newspaper column for 11 years on family life, and lives in Danville, CA, with her husband. She has two children.
Party Books
- STORYBOOK PARTIES, Spring 2001, Meadowbrook Press
- SLUMBER PARTY BOOK, Fall 2000, Meadowbrook Press
- BABY BIRTHDAY PARTIES, Spring 1999 Meadowbrook Press
- KIDS' OUTDOOR PARTIES, Spring 1999 Meadowbrook Press
- KIDS' PICK-A-PARTY, 1998 Meadowbrook Press
- GREAT GAMES FOR KIDS ON THE GO, 1998 Prima Publishing
- BIG BOOK OF PARTY & HOLIDAY FUN, 1998 Meadowbrook Press
- GAMES PEOPLE PLAY, 1998 Meadowbrook Press
- KIDS' PARTY COOKBOOK, 1996 Meadowbrook Press
- GIANT BOOK OF KIDS’ ACTIVITIES & GAMES, 1996 Meadowbrook
- SPLISH SPLASH-WATER FUN FOR KIDS, 1995 Chicago Rev. Press
- BIRTHDAY PARTIES FOR KIDS, 1995 Prima Publishing
- KIDS’ HOLIDAY FUN, 1994 Meadowbrook Press
- KIDS’ PARTY GAMES AND ACTIVITIES, 1993 Meadowbrook
- BEST PARTY BOOK, 1992 Meadowbrook Press
- MURDER MYSTERY PARTIES, 1989 St. Martin's Press
- PENNY WARNER'S PARTY BOOK, 1988 St. Martin's Press
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTIES, 1987 St. Martin's Press
Maria Nerius
Maria Nerius has enjoyed scrapbooking since childhood and has been a published designer since 1992. In addition to writing scrapbooking articles for Oriental Trading Company, Maria's articles and projects can be found in a variety of consumer magazines. The award winning author has written two books on scrapbooking, Creating Your Heritage Scrapbook: From Ancestors to Grandchildren along with Digital Scrapbooking: Using Your Computer to Create Exciting Scrapbook Pages, plus books on the topics of rubberstamping, holiday decorations, jewelry making and soap making. She's also been a guest on a variety of TV creativity programs.
One of the leading experts in arts and crafts, Maria has yet to meet an art or craft she doesn't enjoy. "It's a thrill to be a small part of such an exciting line of great scrapbooking products. Oriental Trading Company has made scrapbooking easy, fun, creative, and accessible for everyone!"
Maria lives in Florida with her husband and enjoys gardening, taking care of her vast array of animals, and taking photos of everything above and below the waterline.
