Back to School Bags! Sale at my Etsy shop!

It is that time of year, ok I am posting this a bit late, most of you probably have your back to school shopping done..... For those of you that don't,  I am having a sale at my Etsy shop now through Sunday, August 25.  Use coupon code SCHOOL30 for 30% off your purchase.  That is a huge deal! 

I don't know about you, but I like to be different.  I don't like to buy the same school bag everyone else got at Target too.  Check out my gypsy section in my shop.  Here are a couple of my new bags and I have a few more I am working on...

Brown corduroy with vintage fabric flowers.

 

 

 

Brown corduroy with vintage fabric flowers.

               Canvas with a vintage tie and mustard ruffles.  Straps are vintage upholstery.

 Canvas with vintage yellow ruffles.  This bag is on ebay right now, and not etsy.  Starting bid is at 30% off price so no further discounts would apply, email me if you want the link.

A pink velvet heart is on the side of this bag, it is so cute. Interior is Heather Bailey cotton in bright green.

Other than that, are you all ready for school??  I am really excited because this year I will be homeschooling all 3 of my girls.  I have a senior, a 6th grader, and a 1st grader.  Looking forward to this adventure!  And I have a gut feeling I have a few more adventures ahead of me....

If this isn't the cutest idea ever............

I met Becki from whippy cake at The Creative Connection a couple years ago, we traded products, my girls have super cute whippy cake hair accessories and she has a vintage ruffled Lollibag.   I saw the cutest picture of her on my news feed for my Facebook page and went to check out her blog.

I read the  jewelry board tutorial and it is such a great idea!  If my life ever slows down I may have to do this.  Maybe all my girls can help me build it for a homeschool lesson this winter.

Have a great Sunday!

a birthday party

HELLO......... Sophie's 6th birthday is coming up and she is really excited! She has been talking about it since her last birthday.  At first she wanted a fishing themed party because she loves it when her daddy takes her fishing. She is obsessed.  Unfortunately, all the fish in our lake died this spring with the late freezes, so there has not been one day of fishing this year.  I think she has forgotten about her fishing party.

Now she wants a Barbie party.  Ugh, how many of those have I given my 3 girls?  Too many to count. In my mind I have the talents of Martha Stewart and I can see exactly how my house will be decorated.  This is how I envision my daughters birthday parties.....

                                                                     image from pinterest


All nice  and cute with a table set up and an array of coordinating goodies, snacks, and décor......

                                                                     image from pinterest


With a cake like this all pink and perfect and yummy and of course I whipped it up fresh............

                                                                  image from pinterest

But in reality, when I plan parties, I surf etsy and I find all kinds of cute paper straws, cupcake holders, banners, napkins, place cards, goodie bags, etc.... and I add it all up and then decide to scrap the whole thing because the décor is costing as much as the gifts I have bought for her......and my party looks a bit like this.

Why is my daughter, who is turning 16,  giving me that look?  She has no party décor.  I rarely even have matching candles.  And there is my typical chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. At least it is from scratch with organic ingredients, right?

Oh sweet Portia, with her 4th birthday cake (she is 11 now), at least I tried with the decorating gel (before our healthy eating) and some pink sprinkles.  I even had a '4' candle.  There was no décor.

This was my best attempt yet.  It's terrible, I know.  But at least it was 2 tier and had ballerina decorations on it with some cupcakes and it was on my vintage cake stand, which I stupidly sold at a vintage sale.... This was for Sophie's 2nd birthday.

So I am really in need of some advice and help and actually any and everything you can tell me about having a cute little girls birthday party, without spending a lot of money.

I am going to attempt to make a scrap fabric garland and I do have some red and white paper straws.  But I don't want to throw the typical commercial Barbie party, HOWEVER, I would consider a VINTAGE Barbie party.  We do love vintage Barbie stuff.

So please, please send your advice, links, etsy shops, pinterest ideas, etc....I'd appreciate it so much and so would Sophie!