"Allen's Used Clothing Emporium"

When "Ricky" & I got married, I considered myself a frugal gal.  I introduced "Ricky" to the sale rack, something he had never seen before & informed him under no uncertain terms, "This is where we shop"!  I introduced him to Marshalls & TJ Max- he had never darkened their doorsteps before.  However, I drew the line at resale and wouldn't dream of entering a Goodwill store...

...you see, I was somewhat traumatized as a child in England by the "jumble sale" and witnessing stacks of granny knickers (lip curling...) in piles on long tables in community halls.  I know my saintly Mother never purchased said items but I still grew up envisioning 'resale' as granny knickers:/

And then I became a Mom to these two little munchkins and determined to do whatever necessary to stay home with them, such as considering resale!  I'm happy to report that we now frequent our neighborhood kids resale shop several times a month where we've found the majority of our wooden toys & puzzles, kids shoes and lots of clothes:)

 However, it wasn't until approx 6 months ago that I first entered a Goodwill store, half holding my breath as I quickly scanned for any offending granny knickers...

...no knickers but I did find a cardigan, minus the "foreign writing"...

...alas it had a gaping hole in the neckline which caused me to pause.  It was a good quality silk/cotton navy cardi (which I needed!) and was under $4 so I decided to bring it home anyway...

...where I promptly perused pinterest for some inspiration and then set out to Hobby Lobby for some navy satin:)  After sewing the gaping hole closed, I sewed the satin into a long tube, turned right side out, ironed (mucho importante!) and then began pleating & pinning...

 ...I then stitched down the center around the entire neckline & voila!

The navy satin matched beautifully & this little doll totaled less that $5:)

The goal, after all, is to look like this...

...not this!!!

 Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Olivia's 3rd Birthday Farm Extravaganza!!!

And finally, I'm sitting down to share Olivia's 3rd birthday farm extravaganza with you!!!



Guests were greeted by a friendly scarecrow (thanks, Stephanie!)...

...and ushered by the "barn"- original inspiration was from pinterest and I added the seed packet bunting, animal silhouettes and sheets of stickers for the kids to add further embellishment:)  In the rather cavernous club house, the "barn" provided some much needed color!

Since many of my party supplies were packed away for our move, decor was kept pretty low key- I wasn't entirely pleased but I don't think Livy minded:)



I rescued this produce crate from a Winn Dixie in Orlando and transported it all the way back to TX for today- it housed gifts beautifully:)

Punch balloons were suspended on streamers- thanks Granddaddy:)

Seed packet bunting, one of my favorite touches, was draped across the windows:)

And a recycled banner was draped above the favor/gift table- my "special" banner was packed away in the depths of Granddaddy & Gramma's garage...sniff:(

Multiple little guests were expected so I set up the "piglet pen" with appropriate farm toys to help keep them out of the way of wild horses- this turned out to be a great addition!

While guests waited for the organized activities, they were encouraged to guess the number of tractor wheels in the jar...ironically, "Ricky" had the closest guess!!!

Let the games begin!  First off was the egg toss- I placed the eggs outside and had the kids find them & toss them back into the basket...

...Livy (sporting her handmade cow girl ensemble) and friend, Jude awaiting instructions:)

Now that the eggs were gathered, it was time to plant some crops!

And my little farmers had a blast planting their vegetables...

..and then scattering the Milo "soil" to the birds:)

Finally, it was time for a horse race on my DIY stick horses!

Riders took hold of their preferred steeds... 

...or in Jonah's case, a wagon!

 

On your mark, get set...

 

 ...and go!!!

And after a full day's work on the farm...

 ...it was time to eat!

 

 Old MacDonald had a sweet tooth:)

There were Piggy Cookie Pops, a favorite of Jude...

...Chick Cake Pops, another 1st time venture for me (and yes they look frenzied as they're trying to escape from "Mrs. Tweedy"!!!)

 Fresh eggs, (Livy's favorite kind!)...

...Strawberry Patch- the berries were filled with Nutella, thanks to Pinterest!

Baskets of assorted feed (Pirate's Booty, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies & Mini Pretzel Sticks) helped temper the sugar rush...

...as well as the "vegetable garden" cups of carrot & celery sticks nestled in homemade Ranch dressing- sorry no pic:(

The water bottles just barely squeezed onto the table and that red plate house the "Piggys in Mud"!

And finally a cupcake tower "barn" for my little cow girl, complete with burlap wrapped cupcakes, topped with chocolate piggys:)

When I asked Livy what her favorite thing was, she answered, "My eggs!"  Of course, one of the few things I bought and didn't make...sigh:)

While guests finished their munchies, punch balloons occupied little hands...

...and then it was time for the birthday girl to open gifts- we had intended to take the gifts home but several guests requested that Livy open her gifts then:)

Here's a clip of everyone singing to my beautiful, birthday girl:)

Kids trooped outside to the playground for one more jaunt...

...and then grabbed favors on their way out...

...including homemade Piggy Crayons...

 

...and old fashioned 'cow tails':)

Livy's 3rd birthday farm extravaganza was a grand success, as seen here with Granddaddy & Gramma...

...and next it will be Jonah's turn- can't wait!!!

Thanks so much for following along and hope you were inspired to create a special day for your little one:)

Tiffany

P.S. Here are some extra details about Livy's party:

Activities:

Egg bean bags- homemade

Felt Vegetables/sensory gardens- homemade

DIY stick horses- homemade

Table:

Grass blocks- homemade

Piggy Cookie Pops- homemade

Chick Cake Pops- homemade 

Cupcakes- homemade

Chocolate pigs on cupcakes & "in Mud"- homemade

Cupcake tower barn- homemade & free!

Burlap cupcake wrappers & stamped tags- homemade

Decor:

Animal silhouettes & stickers- Dollar Tree

Seed packets- Dollar Tree

Punch balloons & streamers- Dollar Tree

Tractor wheels in jar- Dollar Tree

Hay Bales & Scare crow- Stephanie, life saver:)

Birthday Banner- Stampin' Up! 

Egg crates- free!

 Piglet Pen toys- ours from home

Favors:

Piggy crayons- homemade

Piggy toppers- homemade using all Stampin' Up! supplies

"Not yet, Livy..."

For the past month, whenever we stopped in at the park by Gramma & Granddaddy's house, Livy would run over to the clubhouse, pushing on the doors yelling, "Mama, it's my birday inside"!

Livy's birthday was a day away so I quickly wrapped water bottles after procrastinating about this for weeks!  I love being able to see the gingham & floral prints on this Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper, making it worth the effort:)

Livy made sure that her horsies were rested up, ready for the big day...

...and I went off to decorate the clubhouse:)

Stay tuned for Livy's farm birthday party reveal!

Tiffany